Oh no, not another teenage pregnancy movie! Yeah, that’s what I thought when I first heard about Juno too. I gave it a chance anyhow: one, because I’m a sucker for teenage pregnancy movies (what can I say – I can get sucked into those Lifetime movies too, I’m not made of stone!) and two, because I wanted to see more of Ellen Page.   So I gave it a chance and I loved it.

 Page stars as Juno MacGuff, a 16-year-old girl who finds out she’s pregnant with her best friend Paulie Bleeker’s (Michael Cera, Superbad) child.  After weighing her options (keep the baby, abortion, or adoption) she decides to give the baby up for adoption, and even finds a couple in the local penny saver paper that fits the bill.  From here we follow Juno’s pregnancy and how she deals with it. We also see how Juno’s pregnancy affects those around her.  

Page really shines as the title character, and was even recognized with an Oscar nomination.  I first spotted Page in Hard Candy and was blown away at the talent and promise she showed, and her turn as Juno MacGuff did not disappoint.  She totally embodies Juno, and plays her with ease and confidence. I know people have criticized Diablo Cody’s script for the dialogue, saying that no teenagers actually talk that way or that the script was trying too hard to be cool, but I think Page makes the dialogue believable.  She seems like that type of hip, sarcastic, edgy girl that would talk that way.  Apparently I’m not the only one who thought so, as Cody also won an Oscar for this movie – her very first screenplay!

Not everyone in this movie needs an Oscar nomination, or trophy, to show that they were wonderful.  All of the supporting actors in Juno are very well played, including J.K. Simmons (Spiderman) and Allison Janney (The West Wing) as Juno’s parents and Jennifer Garner (Alias) and Jason Bateman (Arrested Development) as the adoptive parents.  Both couples help show two different types of relationships that Juno can observe and decide what she wants for her own life, and her baby’s life.  Everyone’s performance is this movie is pitch perfect, down to the actors with only a couple lines.   

Another thing I really enjoy about this movie is the title sequence.  I found it refreshing and different and helped show that Juno would be on a journey though this movie.  Director Jason Rietman (Thank You for Smoking) is the man behind the journey.  Rietman really seems to understand this character, and tries to show the audience all sides of Juno – the good, bad, and ugly. 

I realize that this movie may not be for everyone, but I can’t help but love pretty much everything about it.  The only couple criticisms I can really come up with are that the movie ends too happily, everything is just tied up so nicely for Juno.  This whole movie seemed like it was trying to be close to real life, but that part just seemed a little much for me (although I enjoyed it and it still made me tear up a bit).  Then there is Cera’s performance. I like Michael Cera.  I think he’s a funny guy, but he plays the same character in every movie he’s in.  Just like his character on Arrested Development, and his character in Superbad he is kind of meek, unsure of himself and pining over some girl.  You can’t really blame him for that though, just the casting directors, but I can’t wait to see him break out of that shell.   

Overall, I’d have to give this movie an A.  I may be biased as I’ve watched this movie a number of times now, but I will stand by this and hope you enjoy it as much as I do.  Also, if you like the music in the movie be sure to check out the soundtrack - I think it’s almost as great as the movie and introduced me to the amazing Kimya Dawson.  

Peter Bretter (Jason Segel, Freaks and Geeks) thinks he has it all with his hot celebrity girlfriend of five years, Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell, Veronica Mars).  Unfortunately for Peter, Sarah doesn’t agree and in one of the funniest scenes in recent memory she breaks up with him.  So begins Peter’s journey to becoming truly happy which includes a trip to Hawaii where he meets and befriends the guests and staff of the hotel he’s staying at.

But of course there’s much more to the movie than that, including a refreshing performance by Mila Kunis (That 70’s Show) who plays Rachel, a new love interest for Peter and the receptionist at the hotel.  Kunis’ Rachel is the perfect opposite to Bell’s Sarah.  There’s the obvious difference that one is dark and the other is fair, but there’s more to it than that.  Rachel is a laid back girl who cares about others while Sarah is very high maintenance and self centered, but still has her moments of sensitivity.  Both actresses are wonderful in their roles and really help make the audience see Peter’s dilemma in deciding whom he’d rather be with. 

Segel takes on multiple duties in this movie.  Not only does he star, but also wrote the script, some of which was taken from real life experiences.  Now I don’t know if these experiences were as funny when they happened to Segel, but he had me laughing until I cried at some of the things that happened to his poor character.  He makes the audience really feel for Peter’s character and everyone will be rooting for him by the end of the movie.  How could you not root for someone who wants to write a Dracula musical with puppets? (Another great scene in the movie, believe me…it’s hilarious!)  

Although Segel is the obvious star of the movie, there are other great performances that shouldn’t be overlooked.  Paul Rudd (The 40 Year Old Virgin) shows up as a stoner surf instructor, and Jonah Hill (Superbad) cannot be forgotten in his waiter role.  Russell Brand shines in his role as Aldous Snow, a full on rock star and Sarah’s new boyfriend.  I’ve not seen Brand in anything before, but I look forward to seeing lots more of this wonderfully engaging actor.

Directed by first timer Nicholas Stoller and produced by the well-known Judd Apatow (Knocked Up), Forgetting Sarah Marshall is a comedy that both guys and girls will enjoy.  I could end this with some funny little quip about not forgetting this movie, which I hope you won’t, but instead I’ll just say that I can’t wait to see more of Jason Segel’s work because he is a talent that has been overlooked for too long and is finally breaking out.  So if you haven’t heard of him before, take this opportunity and go see this movie!

I’d definitely give this movie an A.  I think it has a little bit of something or everyone, and is a definite must see for any fan of the Judd Apatow crew.

Kate (Tina Fey, 30 Rock) wants a baby.  Angie (Amy Poehler, Saturday Night Live) wants money.  What better way to help these two women than for Angie to become Kate’s surrogate aka baby mama.

Surprisingly enough this movie was not written by Fey, as I had hoped, and it showed.  If you’re a fan of 30 Rock don’t expect the same kind of flair in Baby Mama, which was actually written and directed by Michael McCullers (first time director and sometime writer for SNL).  Although McCullers pulls off a decent movie, there are a few stumbles upon the way that really hinder the movie.  He tries to put in an occasional twist and some funny quips, but ends up with a pretty predictable movie.  Halfway though my mom had guessed the ending (and that’s saying a lot if you’ve ever seen a movie with her - she’s usually wrong about her predictions!)

If you’ve seen the previews for this movie, and I’m sure you have, then you’ve already seen most of the funnier moments.  But there are still at least two reasons I can think of as to why you should see it anyway (or rent it later).  First, there’s the obvious chemistry between Fey and Poehler.  If you ever saw them do Weekend Update on SNL then you know what I’m talking about.  These two actresses play off each other with ease and it’s this relationship that makes the movie work.  Secondly, there’s Steve Martin.  If that’s not reason enough, I’ll explain further.  Martin plays Kate’s new age, hippie boss and every time he’s on screen he completely steals the scene.  He doesn’t even have to talk, but just stare into Kate’s eyes to “share his genius” and the whole audience began to laugh.  When it went on longer than necessary we continued to laugh at the awkwardness of it all, which was done perfectly.

There are a few other reasons, like Romany Malco (Weeds) showing up as Kate’s apartment doorman to lend some funny lines, but he doesn’t have much screen time to really shine.  Instead the audience is left with Greg Kinnear (Little Miss Sunshine) and Dax Shepard (Employee of the Month) as the ladies’ love interests.  Unfortunately neither of these men really brings much to the movie, although Shepard once again proves that he can play a loser with ease. 

In the end Baby Mama does prove that two women comedians can make a decent comedy movie, but given another opportunity I think Fey and Poehler could have made a great movie.

 Overall, I’d give this movie a B - . It’d be higher if I hadn’t seen the previews first.  I would suggest waiting until it comes out on DVD to see this one.