Juno, one girl's story

Rating: 10/10 (27 July 2010)

I rarely go the movies, I watch them on cable or rent them usually. When I heard about Juno I was interested but afraid it would disappoint. I Forgot about it and probably would have never seen it if I had not stumbled on it on cable one lazy Sunday afternoon. I think there are some very valid criticisms of the movie and of course there are some errors and questionable choices made, but the movie was filmed in 31 days which I find amazing.
One of the reasons I was afraid to see Juno was that I was Juno. Okay a little different but let's just say 17 and a senior in high school instead of 16 and a junior, everything else very similar. The biggest difference-I never met my child's adoptive parents.
I stupidly got pregnant though I knew better. Almost right away I realized abortion was not for me and that I was not ready to be a mom. No one ever talked about that 20 something years ago. You either had an abortion and no one knew or you kept the baby. At least that is the way it seemed to me.(not true I know but almost no one talked about adoption) Juno's character is quirky. I don't find her annoying in the least. She is a smart kid and she acts like one. While I can understand why some feel this movie showed teen pregnancy as having no consequences I disagree. The consequences are real for Juno. She has to deal with being pregnant, with finding adoptive parents she likes and trusts. She has to deal with school, her best friend Bleeker's emotions, her own emotions.
It is all done subtly and actually very realistically to me. Its a snapshot of what occurred. We don't know every moment of emotion and how Juno dealt with it. We do know at the end she was crying very heartfelt tears and that she felt she picked the best situation for her baby.
Its a gamble, there are no guarantees and she deals with that fact the best she can. I find her innocent relationship with Mark Loring very believable and the shaky marriage of Mark and Vanessa as real as it gets.
Yes Juno's parents seem to be over the top understanding. However you can tell they are simply accepting, loving people and are there for their daughter, why is that such a stretch for people to believe? I think this was well written, well acted, well cast and very real. The message is not that teen pregnancy and adoption is easy. To me this is one girl's story. It wasn't easy but she made the best of it and carried on with her life and gave her child a good start. As for a 16 year old knowing the references and music that Juno did, well in this day and age every one has access to old music, old TV shows, movies, etc. So its very plausible that Juno is a fan of the 1977 era and has been exposed to it via internet, cable and recordings.
It has flaws, and missteps but certainly in the end a great film and one I will watch again and again. As someone who has been through this I cried my eyes out and they were happy tears, to see that some one else saw it the way I did when I was where Juno was.