A highly praised film about teen pregnancy, but I'm afraid I can't join the majority on this one!

Rating: 4/10 (27 April 2010)

This movie was definitely a success when it was released, with its critical reception and box office results. Over two years passed before I got around to watching it, but I remember knowing about the film very shortly after its release and hearing the soundtrack, which I didn't like. I wasn't too interested in seeing the film for quite a while, and the main reason why I finally watched it after all this time was probably because the lead role is played by Ellen Page, who played Treena Lahey in several early episodes of the Canadian cult hit comedy series, "Trailer Park Boys". Still, despite the reputation of "Juno", I wasn't expecting to like it very much from what I had read about it, and wasn't surprised when I was left puzzled about all the hype!
Juno MacGuff is sixteen years old and has recently had sex with a fellow high school student named Paulie Bleeker. Even though they are not in a steady relationship, Juno soon discovers that she has become pregnant from that session, and does not feel ready to become a mother, so she intends to have an abortion. However, she soon changes her mind and decides that she will have the baby and put it up for adoption. She searches the local Pennysaver for people who are looking to adopt, and comes across a couple she thinks are a good choice. They are Mark and Vanessa Loring, a very wealthy married couple who live in a large, expensive house and don't have any kids. Juno goes with her father to meet this couple at their house. The pregnant teenager soon gets to know the two of them and befriends Mark, discovering that she shares his taste in music and horror movies. At this point, it looks like Juno's plan for her baby will work out, but something could happen in the months remaining before the delivery.
I never liked the soundtrack, like I said, and actually seeing the film didn't change this. Not ALL the songs in this film are that bad, but there certainly are a number of memorably bad ones with truly awful vocal work! They sometimes sound like kids' songs, and this isn't even a kids' movie! Watching "Juno" showed me that there are certainly other major problems with it, not just the songs. It's supposed to be a combination of comedy and drama, and none of the jokes ever even put a smile on my face, so I can't say much for the comedy aspect. I take it Juno's father saying, "Next time I see that Bleeker kid I'm going to punch him in the wiener," is supposed to be funny, but it's not, it's basically just a little weird! We also hear the lead character say, "I haven't taken a dump since Wednesday," at one point. Thanks for sharing, Juno! Yes, there certainly are weak bits of dialogue in this film, and I also didn't find the characters in general too fascinating, nor did I care for the lingo spoken a lot here. As for the dramatic aspect of the movie, I'll admit, I did find some parts of it mildly touching and even meaningful starting at some point after the first hour, but this was not enough to cut it.
A while ago, I remember looking this film up and seeing that it was in the IMDb top 250, but I had never seen so many negative reviews on the first review page for a movie on that list before! As I write MY review, I can see that "Juno" isn't in the top 250 anymore, but it's still close. I doubt I would give a 4/10 to many movies with ratings this high, but I have to make an exception here. I don't hate this dramedy as much as some people do, and don't think everything about it is terrible, but I still find myself jumping on the "overrated" bandwagon. For the most part, I found this indie blockbuster very dull and uninteresting, with some fairly annoying aspects, and I can't imagine a second viewing changing my opinion for the better. For me, sitting through it once was enough, or maybe even more than enough! Others can say what they like about this critical and box office hit, but personally, I think it's mostly overrated trash.