Juno (Single-Disc Edition)

"I'm just gonna go ahead and nip this thing in the bud. Cuz you know, they say pregnancy often leads to, you know... an infant" - Juno Diablo Cody writes an incredibly balanced script with an intellect and sharp wit for all of the wonderful characters involved in "Juno" (and No, not named after Juneau, Alaska!) Good friends Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera) and his sixteen-year-old 'friend' Juno MacGuff (Ellen Page) decide while up in his bedroom chilling out to horror movies that it might be a fun idea to make out a little, then, oops, they went way overboard. Now Juno faces pregnancy in her junior year of high school. Having a friend in Leah (Olivia Thirlby) who sticks with her from her hamburger phone call placed to the helpline and going to a place where Juno quickly exits and decides to go full term and adopt out 'the' baby to a 'deserving' couple. The two girls find the Lorings in the PennySaver free newspaper personal ads and strike gold while sitting in a park one day. "Oh, wicked pic in the PennySaver, by the way. Super classy - not like those people with the fake woods in the background. Honestly who do they think they're fooling"? - Juno Vanessa Loring (Jennifer Garner) was born to be a mother and is uptight over Juno's care and that of the baby while her husband, Mark (Jason Bateman), is way too laid back and goes on and on over his old rock and roll band days, horror movies and trying to relate to a much too young Juno. Her father Mac MacGuff and second wife Bren support her decision with their equal senses of amazing humor and helpful cynicism - I wonder where Juno gets it from? - at every turn balanced with their obvious love of their daughter. Overall, this movie is crammed with a sarcastic rapport, and words you may think are very quick to catch. Mainly Juno's one-liners and quips are now classic for movie quoting that I hear everywhere and all of the time; from "pork swords" to "the stink eye" to "her house smells like soup", and the many other catch phrases which are also crammed into this super smart script... Bravo to a new type of full season come around in a circle - starting with Juno finding out her "eggo is preggo" in Autumn and going into all the other three. This is an informative and hilarious script that shows that the young people have brains and their vulnerabilities show at the same time. A film well worth your time for its obvious humor that runs over but also its underlying poignancy. There are some real heartfelt moments. I recommend this for the great dialog in the entire brilliant cast and for a fun watch.

I'm not really surprised that this film was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar. I'm more surprised by the films it was matched up against in that catagory (look up John Stewart's comments about this from when he hosted the Oscars in 2008 as I cannot do them justice.) Ellen Page, at the time a fresh face in my book, played a teenaged girl who could never be fit into any molds or stereotypes or anything else of the like. While Juno's friend Leah, played by Olivia Thirlby, had some actions and dialog that felt contrived, Ms. Page's Juno was witty and alive to the point where you have to wonder if there even was ever a script or if this young woman is just amazing at improvising and reacting perfectly to everything going on around her. Having Allison Janney and J. K. Simmons as the lead's parents was a stroke of pure genius as I am a huge fan of both of these talented individuals, though I wish Mr. Simmons let his character out of his shell a bit more like he did in the Spider-Man movies. As for Michael Cera, he played the lovable awkward kid that you just can't help but root for and played him well. Come on, Paulie! Get your girl! I don't know if this was intentional, given that I've now watched this movie through to the end and am writing this review about it, but there was definetly an awkwardness between Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman right from the beginning...and not in a good way. Also, Mr. Bateman wasn't funny. I cannot recall him being at all funny in this rather light-hearted film. Jennifer Garner was just awkward, period...and again, not in a good way. But now that I'm done nit-picking, I'll say that this is a great film that takes a different look at a plot seen so often before. You just can't help but enjoy the witty charm and down-to-Earth characters at any time. I'd definetely reccomend it as, again, my negative comments are really just nit-picking. This film earned the five stars I give it. Enjoy.

I'm hoping JUNO helps make Ellen Page the star that HARD CANDY should have made her. She was completely unknown to me when I went to see that harrowing piece, and her performance was Oscar caliber. I've been eagerly awaiting more work from her, but other than a tiny part in X-MEN: LAST STAND, I've had a pretty long wait. But she totally steals JUNO...which is saying a lot, because almost everyone is pretty terrific in this highly entertaining film. But Ellen Page is some sort of unique energy source. She seems to do so little, but the tiniest facial tic or change in tone conveys so much. She's clearly a super-intelligent actress and her characters are also intelligent (probably almost to the point of stretching credulity...but who cares, it's so much fun), and they are funny and in JUNO, sensitive. Juno is a sixteen year old who has just discovered she's pregnant, after one encounter with her longtime friend Bleeker (they are mostly just friends...not really girlfriend/boyfriend). June at first considers abortion as her only option, but she quickly decides she'd rather carry the child and pass it on to a loving but needy couple for adoption. She does this knowing full well that she'll be an object of much discussion at school, AND she'll have to tell her father (JK Simmons) and her step-mother (Allison Janney). And she'll have to tell the baby's father (Michael Cera from SUPERBAD and ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT). She finds her immediate family to be shocked but supportive, and her dad comes with her to meet the couple Juno has selected (from the "Penny Saver" no less!). These childless yuppies are played by Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman, and at first we think Garner is a bit of a control freak, and Bateman is the "cool" one...but this movie plays with our expectations of this couple right from the start. I won't say much more, because much of the richness of the film comes in the changes Juno sparks in this couple. Juno is a whip-smart almost loner, who we find early on, is probably secretly pining for the love of goofy Bleeker. And Bleeker certainly loves his old friend...yet these two have never faced these feelings...because they are both so confounded by them. Juno is accustomed to having her act very much under control, and I believe she has a hard time admitting she has feelings that make her vulnerable to another person. And Bleeker (played sublimely by Michael Cera...who is now officially in danger of being typecast for the rest of his life) is just too shy, goofy and flummoxed to believe his feelings would ever be returned. There isn't a lot of plot to the film. It follows Juno through her voyage of discovery, at the child growing inside her, at her own feelings towards the boy who may become the man in her life and at what she discovers about the family she wants to give her child to. What makes JUNO so much fun is the crackling dialogue (from current hot screenwriter Diablo Cody) and the equally snappy performances. (I appreciated too that Juno made the choice not to have an abortion. Not only would there have been no film if she had...but it was refreshing to see a major film character make the choice she did. Not because she was against abortion, but because she was able to make a reasoned decision that was not only great for her child, but great for another couple and quite enriching for her. It also serves as a reminder that there are other choices besides abortion or deciding to raise a child yourself. I don't feel the film was trying to make a statement...except to say "whatever you decide, think it through a little bit.") The dialogue is the kind that no one would ever speak in real life, yet it hews close enough to realistic that it becomes its own style of "hyper-realism." Ellen Page has the aura of someone who might actually speak in this very cynical yet open and intelligent manner, and thus she pulls it off. Therefore, everyone else (none of whom are quite so snappy as Juno) seems positively normal by comparison. Thus, the dialogue works! The performances are very good as well. As I said, Cera is wonderful at the type of part he plays...I hope he gets to stretch soon as an actor...but for now, seeing him work is a delight. Janney is very good as the stepmother, who both loves and is exasperated by Juno. Garner is touching in her smallish but important role, and Bateman brings interesting shadings to what could have been a one-dimensional role. He underplays, and this is in keeping with the style of the film. It's no wonder that his character and Juno's hit it off so well. But to me, other than Ellen Page, the MVP of the film is the always fantastic JK Simmons. Can someone please sometime give this actor an award!! From the over-the-top newspaper editor in the SPIDERMAN films, to the hilarious thief with irritable bowel syndrome in THE LADY KILLERS, to competent Dr. Skoda in "Law and Order" to the chilling white supremacist in "Oz"...this guy may be the best character actor around. He plays Juno's dad so well, and their scenes together have a true warmth that spreads to the whole film. He's a blue-collar guy...no doubt perplexed by Juno's immense vocabulary and her way of speaking...yet we can also see in his manner that he's a big inspiration to how Juno turned out the way she did. It's a well-written part, and he knocks it out of the park. The movie is not perfect. Again, the wonderful screenplay is a bit mannered. It struck me that way a Woody Allen or Neil Simon script might strike an audience...these characters are too witty to be believed. So while I thoroughly enjoyed the script and while it was well-executed...it still did not 100% elude the "hey, no one in real life would think to say that" syndrome from time to time. It would say it was more like 95% of the time. Jason Reitman (who also directed the excellent THANK YOU FOR SMOKING) keeps the film moving nicely...but he's not a super-inventive director. He finds good scripts and a good cast (90% of the battle) but there's nothing inspiring about what he brings to the film as a crafter of beautiful imagery or masterful framing. He lets his actors do great work, and that's most important. Some day, I hope he tries his hand at something that doesn't really on Aaron Eckhart's or Ellen Page's masterful delivery. But this is certainly a film high on my list for 2007. I truly love Ellen Page, and I predict some more great things for her. Her performance alone makes the film worth seeing...but thank goodness there are so many other great things as well.

Juno is one of those rare films, like 1996's "Jerry McGuire" which starred Tom Cruise in one of his greater performances, that leaves you feeling good and refreshed after youve seen it, then makes you want to tell someone else to see it, then youll see it again as if you didnt see it already. Its that good. The great Ellen Page (i love her) plays Juno, a cute, hip, at times smart-alecky teen whose life is turned upside down after she discovers shes pregnant by her best friend. I know some people made a slight fuss over this film because they thought it was glorifying teen pregnancy, but i think they totally missed the point. The filmmakers, including director Jason Reitman and first time scriptwriter Diablo Cody, handle this scenario with wit and a sweetness that doesnt seep into annoyance or contrivance, which another filmmaker mightve felt compelled to do. This is a great film with characters that we totally invest our time and energy with, from J.K. Simmons as Juno's understanding yet firm dad, to Allison Janney as her no-nonsense stepmom, all the way to Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner as the young yuppie couple who want to adopt Juno's baby but have some major issues of their own, to Michael Cera, great as the young, innocent soon to be dad. There is not a bad performance in the bunch, none whatsoever. I saw this film in a theatre and loved it simply because here was a story that didnt have car explosions, shootouts, nasty people screaming foul language at each other....just a nice, original human story with human characters that we all could relate to and sympathize with and who made us laugh, care and root for. Get It.

Juno remains one of my favorite films. Each actor was perfectly cast and did a great job in this film. You wouldn’t think a film about teenage pregnancy would be positive and heartwarming, but this one does just that.

Saw this when it originally hit the theatres and wanted to see it again. It had more of an impact in its day and feels dated now. What I thought was cute in the Juno character then has not evolved as well for our modern day. Best scenes in the movie are stepmom, Brenda. Wish she'd had more screen time. :)

I will be watching this movie over and over again because I already like this movie.

My wife and I loved this movie so much we subsequently saw it three more times, the fourth time with me sitting in the theater with the Shooting Script book in one hand, and my cell phone in the other to illuminate its pages. I'd watch/listen to the movie, and scribble in the script where the movie on screen differed from what was written. (For the record, the movie is about 40% different from what appears in the Shooting Script.) I did that because I'm a budding screenwriter myself and I wanted to understand how this superb movie was created. So I took it apart the way someone would disassemble a watch or a car engine, examining every part to see why the whole worked so well. In the end, what I concluded is that Juno is the perfect marriage of a well-crafted script by Diablo Cody, brilliant directing by Jason Reitman, and sublime acting by everyone, but especially Ellen Page, Michael Cera, and Jason Bateman. This is how Hollywood *should* work -- with no one aspect of the film process dominating another. I don't know what to say about Juno that hasn't already been noted in all these reviews. You know what the story is about: a 16-year-old who gets pregnant, decides to keep the baby and put it up for adoption, and what happens to her life given her decision. Ellen Page deserved the Oscar for her performance, but an Oscar nomination is equally as impressive for an actress who just turned 21. Yet, if you want to see a study in absolutely sublime acting, watch Michael Cera, who plays her boyfriend Paulie Bleeker. His mannerisms, facial expressions, and dialog delivery are so totally spot-on that he doesn't appear to be acting at all. He truly looks like Paulie Bleeker, a high-school student who discovers his girlfriend is pregnant. The reason why Juno received so much attention (including a well-deserved Oscar win for screenwriter Diablo Cody) is because this is the freshest, most intelligent, most endearing movie to come along in decades. There's nothing not to love about Juno. Even the quirky soundtrack is perfect. (And I bought it the minute it was released.) Juno is now nestled in my all-time Top Five movies. True, it's not as "important" as Casablanca, Chinatown, The Godfather, or even When Harry Met Sally. But it represents what I hope is a new level of excellence to which Hollywood should aspire. This is a very funny, heartwarming movie that bears up to many repeated viewings. (Try that with 75% of the movies Hollywood releases each year.) Lest you think I'm a Juno fanboy (which I am), I will admit this slight criticism of the movie: at times, the dialog is too witty and too quick to come from the mouth of a 16 year old. At times, Juno seems so precocious that you just know she's reading lines. Yet, that can be forgiven with a movie as good as this because the story is just so darn good. I absolutely, totally, unabashedly love this movie.