Juno

It seems that most years find a way to way to let some indie movie darling into the hearts of critics and movie goers everywhere. Sometimes it is justified(Little Miss Sunshine) and sometimes it is not(My Big Fat Greek Wedding) but it happens almost every years and this year Juno is that indie movie. Juno has been called the female Knocked Up and been given all kinds of praise, most notably for the lead actress, Ellen Page. Some of us already knew about her potent on screen presence from Hard Candy, which might be the scariest movie ever and others remember her as Kitty Pride from X3, but this is her breakout movie, in the words of critics everywhere. Well, any movie championed for dialog is a movie that is going to pique my interest, so I was excited for it, very excited for it. Of course, often these kinds of movies end up disappointing, how did this one fare?

Juno(Page is a 16 year old girl with a wit and intelligence beyond her years, but the judgement of your normal teenage girl. After a night where she had sex with her best guy friend, Paulie Bleaker(Michael Cera) because she was bored, she gets pregnant. Her father(J.K. Simmons) and step mother(Allison Janney) are incredibly understandable and actually handle the news with a smart wit of their own. Juno's best female friend, Leah(Olivia Thirlby) helps her pick out possible adoptive parents and they eventually land on a yuppie couple, Mark and Vanessa Loring (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner) and it seems to be a perfect fit. Vanessa is a kind and tender woman dying to be a mother, and Mark and Juno click over music and movies. Paulie appears to be infinitely understanding and loving, but the movie focuses on Juno's growing up. Juno realizes she is in love with Paulie, but her smart aleky outer confidence won't allow her to admit she is in over her head. She has a quip for everything but every so often when she lets her guard down we see a scared teenage girl not sure how to go about life.

This is not the perfect movie people are making it out to be but it still a very funny, charming and endearing movie and the perfect vehicle to make Ellen Page a star. Her dry sarcastic delivery is perfectly balanced with the under current of self doubt she brings to Juno. As the parents, Simmons and Janney score some great laughs and even better tender parent moments. Cera is perfectly cast as the goofy, uber cool yet geeky lover and he delivers every line with the perfect amount of honesty and hilarity. But to me the biggest surprise is Jennifer Garner. This is the first time I have seen her really act and she is very good. She plays Vanessa without an ounce holding back, always being completely vulnerable on screen and she plays the kind of woman that everyone would trust with their kids. Bateman gets some laughs and even gave me a bit of the creeps in the right moments. Director Jason Reitman (Thank You for Smoking) mostly stays out of the way of the actors and dialog and just shoots the movie. It is a nice thing, however, there is never any doubt you are watching an indie comedy.

Therein lies the problem with the movie. Juno is so hell bent on being quirky that it gets in its own way. From the hand drawn opening credits, painfully indie soundtrack and Juno having a hamburger phone, it gets to be too much at times and left me wondering how good it could have been if it was just telling a story. I am always a fan of fast, funny and smart dialog, but at times (especially the first 30 minutes) it feels like more of a chore than anything else. It takes so long to get used to lines like "I was just calling to procure a hasty abortion" (said into the hamburger phone, of course) that when the movie takes a turn into more realistic, touching fare, we feel jilted because we are finally used to "That ain't no etch a sketch. This is one diddle that can't be undid" and then that kind of stuff is taken away from us. That being said, most of the jokes and one-liners work, and when they work they are absolutely hilarious. I could have done with a little more Michael Cera as well, but I can always use more Michael Cera, so that is nothing new.

Overall this is a great movie with a real meaning behind it and for a first time writer it is quite the triumph. Ellen Page deserves all of the praise she is getting for carrying the bulk of the movie on her tiny shoulders, but everyone deserves kudos for their contribution to the movie. Also, this is not a movie promoting teen age pregnancy, but it is a movie about a young woman trying to find her way through tough situations. The movie is about being tough , but also about being loving, kind and understanding. It is an incredibly satisfying movie going experience and it's flaws are almost endearing in themselves because they almost make the movie even more quirky and lovable.

Overall Grade= B+