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Java Man Reviews "Juno" (Rated
PG-13)
Directed
by Jason Reitman.
Written by Diablo Cody.
Starring Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman,
Allison Janney, J. K. Simmons & Olivia Thirlby.
Running Time: 92 minutes.
Overview...
Juno MacGuff (Page) is
a 16-year-old girl who decides it's time to have her first sexual
experience. In an inelegant seduction scene, she persuades
her
 best
friend Paulie Bleeker (Cera) to participate in her adventurous
experiment. Of course she gets pregnant. After a
touching trip to an abortion clinic, she decides to put the baby
up for adoption. Her girlfriend Leah (Thirlby) suggests
looking at the ads for potential parents in the Penny Saver...
"They have 'Desperately Seeking Spawn,' right next to the pet
ads." When Juno breaks the news to her mom and dad (Janney
and Simmons) their reaction is both priceless and hilarious.
Her dad accompanies her to meet the upscale prospective parents,
Vanessa and Mark Loring (Garner and Bateman), pictured.
Vanessa seems overly obsessed with becoming a mom, while Mark is a
jingle-writer who always wanted to be a rock star. Juno and
Mark have similar tastes in music and hit it off -- almost too
well. The film follows Juno for the full nine months as we
get glimpses of the deeper feelings beneath the teenager's
wisecracking exterior. What will she eventually do?
The film has too many surprises to make that an easy guess.
Review...
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4
out of 4
Java Mugs |
When
Jon Stewart hosted the Oscar telecast earlier this year, he
commented on the dark themes that characterized the other four
Best Picture nominees: war, betrayal, murder and greed. Then
he said... "Thank God for teen pregnancy." Though this
film doesn't quite qualify as "feel-good movie of the year," a
picture this well-made makes a film appreciation teacher feel
pretty good about the state of cinema.
First
of all, the screenplay is smart, and so are the characters.
Though a serious subject, there is plenty of humor, which comes
from witty dialogue and inspired plotting and not from people
taking pratfalls. Director Reitman
has also done an exceptional job of casting the film with such old
pros as Janney and Simmons who play Juno's parents to perfection,
and newcomers Cera and Thirlby as Juno's perceptive pals.
Garner brings unexpected depth to a character we originally
perceive as hopelessly shallow.
While
all the parts are well-acted and well-written (by Oscar winner
Cody), the movie belongs to Ellen Page. With dazzling
brilliance, she portrays a very bright girl who makes a mistake,
lives with it, and attempts to solve her problems in unique and
imaginative ways. A star in the making? The 21-year
old Nova Scotian has actually been around for a few years, burning
up screens in Canadian theaters and on north-of-the-border
television.
My
Oscar class debated whether or not this movie has a political axe
to grind. Pro choice or pro life? We couldn't agree.
We did agree on one thing... Juno is one of the year's best.
To Watch a Preview of Juno
Click Here
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