Great...and yet...

Rating: 8/10 (2 February 2008)

Juno is a very good indy film that shows the trials and tribulations of a 16 year old girl ( Ellen Page ) going through pregnancy and the trials that follow. Involved in this are her close friend/father of the child Paul ( Michael Cera ), her father ( JK Simmons ) and the two perspective adoptive parents ( Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner ).
Sounds like a good yarn- and it is. All of the characters are handled with care and there is an abundance of good lines. Both Page and Cera are very good in their respective roles, while out of the adults Simmons stands out as Juno's father. Having said that, it does have a couple of problems. One of which has to do with Jennifer Garner as the prospective mother who at times seems to be totally obsessed with motherhood.
The only real problem is that this film at times doesn't allow itself to be different naturally but seems to want ram it down the viewer's throat. The first 10 minutes of dialogue is bizarre for any 16 year old to say ( I'm a 23 year old Teacher and I have never heard anything like that ) and seems only to make people to accept it as quirky when it's going to be different if it's good enough.
Juno is a wondefully funny film that is let down slightly because it falls over itself to try and be different.