Movie Review: Juno

I followed up Lars and the Real Girl, a story about a guy and his sex doll coming out of his shell, with Juno, a poignant comedy about teenage pregnancy. Juno goes for more laughs but refreshingly, no one is an idiot or a caricature.

I won't say much about the plot; not because it will give away spoilers, but because it won't make much sense without understanding how the characters develop throughout the film. Juno MacGuff (Ellen Page) is 16 year-old smart aleck high school junior who finds herself pregnant. The father is her friend Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera), a dorky cross country runner who will support her with whatever she wants to do but the situation is way beyond what he is equipped to handle. Juno decides to have the baby and give it up for adoption to a family (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner) she found in the Penny Saver. She then tells her parents (J.K. Simmons and Allison Janney) who are stunned and so supportive as to be almost cavalier about it. Nevertheless, as the film goes on, you quickly see where Juno got her quick sarcastic wit from.

I thought Knocked Up was too much comedy broken up by drama. I think Juno's mix is much better. Parts are very funny and the snappy dialog is rapid fire. Sometimes too much so. I'd see it again just to catch all the lines I missed from laughing at the previous lines, not that I think it will work any better the second time. A friend said they heard complaints that "real people don't talk that way" and his response was "clever people do". The clever dialog also works in the drama when characters are not so much arguing but struggling with some difficult situations.

As strong as the dialog is, lots of the drama and character development comes through the wonderful performances by all involved. I shocked to look on imdb and see that Ellen Page played Kitty Pryde in the last X-Men film (she's the one who ran through walls). It's hard to imagine a more different role. She's sure to get an Oscar nomination for Juno and I wouldn't be surprised if anyone else gets a supporting nod. Looks and glances constantly add more to what's said and left unsaid. This film isn't trying to make profound statements about life but is telling the story of these characters and making it heart felt. They may be somewhat exaggerated for comedic or dramatic effect but I was happy to see characters more verbally adroit and more sincere than people I know.

Juno is the first screenplay by Diablo Cody. Diablo started as a blogger who eventually wrote about her experiences as a stripper. This turned into a successful memoir, Candy Girl. She was encouraged to write a screenplay, which was Juno. It was written in two months and filmed pretty much as written, without the usual never-ending tweaks by other screenwriters Hollywood is now known for. I'm thrilled to see she has several other scripts in development as well as a Showtime pilot in development, The United States of Tara starring Toni Collette.

Jason Reitman directed Juno. This is his second feature after last year's biting Thank You for Smoking; and I'm happy to see he's signed up to direct the Tara pilot. His father is Ivan Reitman, who worked on Animal House, Stripes and Ghost Busters as well as a lot of crap. I think Jason is off to just as good a start.

See Juno, you'll like it.