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.