A real Page turner

Rating: Null/10 (21 July 2010)

An unusual title for an unusual movie but one that is an absolute delight. Juno is a 16 year old girl living in Minnesota, USA who is named after a Roman goddess and she is played by 20 year old Canadian Ellen Page in a wonderfully mature and quirky performance that achieved an Academy Award nomination. Early on in the film, she becomes pregnant and the rest of the story is how she - and her parents and the intended adopted parents of the baby - deal with the situation. J K Simmons, Allison Janney, Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner bring real texture to the adult roles.
The witty script is a cracking one and comes from Diablo Cody, a pen name for one-time stripper Brook Busey and it won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Shooting was in and around Vancouver, standing in for Minnesota, and the tiny budget of US$6.5 million was recouped within three weeks of (limited) release. Personally I could have done without the songs from Kimya Dawson, but in fact the soundtrack was very successful in its own right.
The director is Canadian-born Jason Reitman whose father Ivan directed such movies as "Ghostbusters".