Things that make you go "Awwwwwwwwww" Volume #665221

Rating: 7/10 (31 July 2008)

Back in 2007, a little Indie flick rises from the ashes of obscurity and finds its way into the underground pop culture. A small yet charming little story about a 16-year-old giving away the baby still inside her womb won the hearts of audiences and critics across the entire globe. Even the story behind the making of the story was something else, as Diablo Cody, an ex-stripper works her way up from humble beginnings as a well-known blogger. But, with every grand film that makes a surprising amount of money, comes the backlash. The screams of "overrated," "not that great," "Propaganda," among other lashes have been hitting this film, and hard. So is Juno a film that was riding a wave of praise that suddenly crashes after the hype is gone? Or is it actually a decent film?
I've had my share of being in the backlash end of highly-praised and lower-budgeted independent movies like Sideways, Little Miss Sunshine, and especially (especially) Napoleon Dynamite. However, Juno doesn't quite fit the mold with the other movies previously mentioned. The story is indeed unique, the characters and their reactions are definitely different, and the script (despite unrealistic dialogue) is spectacular in its ability to blind you from what's happening next. While the morality, themes, and decisions are definitely up for debate and may find you cursing the screen, Juno is one of those little movies that can actually deliver. Few times can a movie run on purely amazing acting, but Juno has easily the best acting ensemble of 2007 and among the best this decade.
You should all know the story by now: Juno (Ellen Page) sleeps with her best friend (Michael Cera) and of course, winds up pregnant. However, the story twists in another direction because Juno decides to give up the baby to a couple (Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman) the second it is born, no questions asked. The rest of the movie deals with the struggles (emotional mostly, rarely do we see the physical side effects) Juno and her closest people face as the baby is one step closer to arriving in the real world. While Juno pursues the right ending to the ordeal, the conflict complicates itself, and emotions start running on overdrive at all the wrong moments.
One major complaint is about how easy Juno treats her pregnancy. To the observant eye, you can see that Juno hides her emotional stress underneath her sarcasm and bitter tone. This is the strongest and weakest point of Juno: the writing. The script itself contains layers upon layers of great dialogue, subtle themes, smart surprises, and wraps up the whole piece nicely by the end. However, there is such thing as a script being too smart and trying too hard, and Diablo Cody wrote herself into a corner. Juno herself is interesting, spunky, smart, but too smart for her own good. It is almost impossible for a 16-year-old to be able to have any sort of knowledge of the first punk movement in 1979, especially when it seems like she is the only one in her social circle that even knows of this. Her constant pop culture references are to things that existed way before she was born; her usage of words is much too strong for someone her age. Everyone else in the movie is believable, but Juno herself is sometimes too over-the-top.
While Juno is unbelievable, Ellen Page is not. Ellen Page does a great job portraying the sly main character, as she can also shed layers of emotion much like the script. However, we cannot forget the incredible performances of J.K. Simmons, Allison Janney, Michael Cera, and best of all Jennifer Garner. The persistence of Vanessa in the movie is perfectly done by Garner, who should at least have gotten some sort of Oscar nod. The acting carries this movie, and gives it a heavy dosage of realism and gritty passion that you will not find in the typical Hollywood flick. The movie tugs at your heart as the final act rolls around and we see everyone trying to be at their strongest spiritually.
Bottom Line: The backlash comes mostly from those who don't truly understand Juno. Juno isn't trying to beat a message about abortion over your head, its trying to give you a charming and distinctive tale about having to face maturity several years too soon. Juno was forced to "grow up," albeit temporarily, because an "adult" event is occurring in her teenage life. Yes, her decisions may seem a bit strange, right from the getgo, but that's who Juno is. If we can accept a man killing people while wearing a mask resembling a clown, why can't we accept a teenager that enjoys moving furniture from inside her home to the front yard of someone else's?
With that said, its not the best script in years, like the Hollywood underground was saying. The movie was too smart, Juno was too smart, and relied a bit too much on pop culture. It's like Family Guy, except with actual heart and no randomness whatsoever. Diablo Cody obviously has the talent, now she has to tweak upon her mistakes made here. Juno is entertaining, will deliver laughs, is highly-quotable, and has a delightful little ending. You just want to hug this movie with all its cuteness. This movie is a bit on the overrated end, but isn't disappointing, unlike the average indie flick riding praise waves. If you want a different motion picture experience, I recommend Juno.