Being Pregnant and Growing Up

Rating: 10/10 (22 April 2008)

Quirky, indie films are seen as reliable alternatives to the generic bubble gum blockbusters, but some of them could go head-to-head with the big boys. "Juno", a coming-of-age dramedy (drama meets comedy) is one of those contenders, and it should be proud that it is. Hell, it earned an Oscar nomination for Best Picture for 2007. What more do you want?
Spunkiness, sarcasm and maturity are wrapped up in the title player, high school junior Juno MacGuff (Ellen Page), who's confronted with being heavy with child, after causal sex with track and field runner and good pal, the turtle-like Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera of "Superbad" and "Arrested Development").
Abortion seems plausible, but the (inane) notion of a fetus having fingernails gets to our heroine, forcing her to admit a "mea culpa" to her parents and have the child put up to for adoption. Childless yuppies, Mark and Vanessa Loring (Emmy-winner Jason Bateman of "AD", "Smoking Aces" and "Hancock"; Jennifer Garner of "Alias" and "Catch and Release") are the possible couple, but Juno realizes that growing up doesn't mean growing up perfectly.
If you imagine subversive comic Jeanane Garofalo in her late teens/early adulthood, and having the brain of Oscar legend Kate Hepburn, you have Ellen Page, who approaches the role like a giddy sharpshooter and earned an Oscar nom for Best Lead Actress. Though he has the personality of a tadpole, Cera's Bleeker is basically unique. Being an individual, only Juno could befriend, let alone copulate with, a person who's so cool, he doesn't even have to try. Bateman and Garner are picture perfect, effective in hiding the deep chasm between them. They contrast with Juno's folks; caring Mac (J.K. Simmons of the Spiderman films and "The Closer" and he should have been nominated) and blunt step mom Bren (Allison Janney of "The West Wing") are domestically grounded.
Other impressionable players include Rainn Wilson ("The Office", US version) as a snarky pharmacy clerk; Olivia Thrilby ("Snow Angels", "The Wackness") as Juno's wild-hearted, cheerleader gal pal and mousy Valerie Tian ("Long Life, Happiness and Prosperity") as an amusingly exploitable pro-life classmate who's the impetus of Juno's change of heart.
But the real star in is the film's scribe, Diablo Cody (nee Brook Busey), an ex-stripper (a lot of material she got!!!) who had fame knocking on her door after she wrote an Internet blog, displaying her sarcastic, non-conformist prose. It shows up in "Juno", earning Ms. Cody an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. This is the third time I've seen a movie whose story's so powerful, it reduces the director to a joystick (Taxi Driver and American Gangster are the first two). You could feel sorry for the film's helmsman, Jason Reitman (son of comedy legend Ivan; "Thank You For Smoking"), but he won't mind. Being Oscar nominated for Best Director is rewarding enough.
If you have animosity for "Juno", either because of Ms. Cody's success or the lead character's personality or both, you're wasting time. Like Travis Bickle of "Driver" (excluding the Mohawk cut), Juno's a force or nature, cutting through society like a hot knife through butter, and she mirrors her creator's disposition, whose maiden screenplay reminds me of mine own (no details, you thieves). "I'm sixteen, pregnant and smart! Hear me roar and joke!" is the film's mantra, and both are monoliths to be reckoned with.