Uniquely Eccentric Tale of Teen Pregnancy Elevated by a Sharp Script and a Strong Ensemble

Rating: 9/10 (17 December 2007)

I have to admit that when I see a preview for a movie about a pregnant teenager, my first thought always goes back to conventional Lifetime TV soapers like "Fifteen and Pregnant" and "Mom at Sixteen". However, director Jason Reitman (who proved to have a wry, ironic eye with "Thank You for Smoking") and first-time screenwriter Diablo Cody, who previously worked as a stripper and phone sex operator, have concocted a genuinely quirky, surprisingly tender dramedy that takes the cliché-ridden story idea and fleshes it out with so many recognizable idiosyncrasies and so much insightful wit that the subgenre feels reborn.
The plot centers on a suburban Minneapolis sixteen-year old named Juno MacGuff, who finds herself pregnant after an experiment in chair-bound seduction with her shy classmate, a geeky, Tic-Tac-popping runner named Paulie Bleeker. Instead of focusing on dramatic confrontations with the parents or morphing into a diatribe on the right-to-life-or-choose debate, Reitman and Cody follow Juno's natural emotional impulses as she awkwardly attempts to figure out the best course of action to take. Things start to look promising when Juno finds a young upscale couple to adopt her baby - Vanessa is a controlling professional with perfectionist tendencies, while her husband Mark is an easy-going composer of commercial jingles, an aging Peter Pan-type whom Juno sees as a kindred spirit with a mutual fondness for rock music, slasher movies and comic books.
What I particularly like about the movie is how it portrays Juno as someone who holds no illusion of becoming a mother and yet discovers the emotional intelligence to match her maddeningly clever smart-mouthing. In fact, I had concerns about the persistence of the slang-heavy dialogue at the outset but was relieved to find the movie settle into sharp bantering exchanges that make way for more human dimensions. As proved with "Little Miss Sunshine" and "Lars and the Real Girl", a perfectly compatible ensemble can make all the difference with a movie as character-rich as this one. Fortunately, the cast is terrific starting with Ellen Page's prodigious turn in the title role. As a follow-up to her knockout work in "Hard Candy", she is impressive in revealing a fearless vulnerability under her character's disconcerting self-possession. As Bleeker, Michael Cera nicely provides a quiet gravity in response to Juno's volatility.
There is great work by J.K. Simmons as Juno's no-nonsense dad and especially Allison Janney as her acid-tongued, dog-loving stepmother (her verbal teardown of the patronizing ultrasound technician is classic). The surprise comes from the sturdy work by Jason Bateman, bringing palpable, almost wistful regret to Mark, and the gorgeous Jennifer Garner truly affecting in conveying Vanessa's unfulfilled state. More predictable are Olivia Thirlby as Juno's teacher-obsessed best friend Leah and Rainn Wilson in a cameo as a smart-alecky convenience store clerk. Indie folk singer Kimya Dawson composed and performs the amusing songs that bridge the seasonal changes in the story. This film is a genuine winner strongly recommended.