Far more interesting and entertaining than I originally thought...

Rating: 9/10 (9 November 2008)

I have read many, many of the reviews listed here, both good and bad, and can only come to one conclusion: An amazing amount of people either a) have completely forgotten what it's like to be 16, b) have no idea what today's teenagers are like when not in the presence of adults, or c) are being intentionally obtuse about what it's like to be 16.
First, I should say that I'm an over-the-hill father of 2 young ladies, one of which did get pregnant at 16. When I remember that period of our lives and look at the "Juno", it came back to me as interestingly realistic without being "sad" or "dismal". The repartee between Juno and her girlfriend was very realistic, having had the fortune (or misfortune) of overhearing my daughters speaking to their friends here and there. Whomever says that teenagers aren't that sharp and off-beat witty and still being surprisingly naive (almost seemingly on purpose) should pay attention to their teens more often and not just dismiss them out of hand.
It was stated that Juno's father's reactions and attitude were unrealistic, yet I found a serious kinship with the character, as it seemed much like how I was with my daughter when it happened.
The stepmother's reaction to the Ultrasound Technician's nasty comment about a teen parent being "poisonous" without knowing anything about her was spot-on. "We may criticize each other, but we're family and know each other... just who do you think you are to cast aspersion?!" I found myself saying "BAM! Way to go!" during her step-mom's tirade.
I also saw someone mention how Juno's flipping attitudes regarding Bleeker (her child's father and her she-wants-him-to-be boyfriend) and him taking another girl that he's already said he didn't like to the Prom was unrealistic, as well as several of her shifts in attitudes. This is the sign of someone who's never been pregnant nor been around a pregnant woman for any length of time. The hormonal mood shifts from love to hate and all shades in between in the movie are amazingly realistic. I often times found myself forgetting the movie is scripted...
Initially, I didn't want to even watch the movie. One afternoon, there was nothing on On-Demand that I was interested in and queued it up. I couldn't be happier that I did.
The only reason I gave it a 9 instead of a 10 was because they could have gone so much further with it than they did, though what was there was so enjoyable and refreshingly realistic for an indie comedy.
I spent a lot of time here responding to the comments of others, but as I read through the reviews listed here at IMDb, I actually got irate and the ridiculousness of some of the remarks, especially in regard to how Juno spoke, her dad's reactions, her step-mother's attitudes to strangers' criticisms, and calling the potential adoptive father a "40 year old who hasn't grown up" when referring to his hobbies. I was unaware that hobbies had upper age limits... If enjoying horror movies and rock music is immature, someone better alert Wes Craven and Mick Jagger that they need to quit their jobs...
I've watched the movie several times now; each time, I find something more in it that I enjoy about it overall. Now, after all that, I do think you need to like this kind of movie to get any real enjoyment out of it, but then that goes for a movie of any genre... I still don't see how anyone enjoyed No Country for Old Men, let alone how it could have gotten best picture over much better works. Shoot, no one even heard of that movie before the awards.