A breath of fresh air!

Rating: 9/10 (3 February 2008)

I am so delighted I went out and saw this film after catching so many - in my opinion - truly awful films this season. My faith is restored.
The film follows a tried and true formula but whirls and spins it into something so delightful that one is left awestruck by the confluence of talent that made it all happen. A teenager gets pregnant and has to deal with the pregnancy. She is a bright and witty young woman and is nobody's fool. She marks out her own path for this pregnancy.
Juno MacGuff (played by Oscar worthy Ellen Page),is the 16-year-old who gets pregnant following an experimental sexual encounter (initiated by her) with her best friend and high school track star Paulie Bleeker (played by Michael Cera).
After flirting with the idea of an abortion, Juno decides on having the baby and giving it up for adoption to a couple Vanessa and Mark Loring (Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman) that have advertised in the local Pennysaver free paper. The scene where she breaks the news to her parents Mac MacGuff (J.K. Simmons) and step-mom (Allison Janney) just about brought down the house in the show I attended.
Thanks to the brilliance of the script (By Diablo Cody) "Juno" is a stream of witticisms from beginning to end and the supporting cast are flawless in executing them.
I found the underlying themes all coming to a satisfying fruition at the end. Every thread tied beautifully. There are many true emotional moments in the film and you are never quite sure where it is going. I was so glad it wasn't flawed by a hokey Hollywood ending.
But it all belongs to Ellen Page in the end. Her brilliance as an actor is confirmed for once and for all. She is in just about every scene and plays Juno as a sharp, sassy, intelligent and decisive young woman. She is quick, smart and competent and everyone knows it. Great musical score also.
Highly recommended. 9 out of 10.