Juno MacGuff (Ellen Page) is sixteen, smart, sassy  and not above deflowering her best friend Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera). Unfortunately their tryst leads to Juno getting pregnant and facing the prospect of motherhood. Ever the pragmatist, she decides on finding a couple who are looking to adopt a child. Things may not always go to plan but they do tend to work out in the end.

I’m really pleased this won the best original screenplay as I’m a big fan of the sassy one liners that pep the script throughout. I know it tends to stretch the credibility of the  characters if they’re all capable of punching out a funny line, but I think that’s acceptable in a smart comedy. I’m also glad that the drama is kept to a minimum. I’m not sure I would have wanted to watch a lot of teenage angst. It was kind of refreshing that Juno just gets on with things.

Page is excellent as Juno and a lot of fun to watch throughout. Garner is perfect as the uptight woman desperate to become a mother and Bateman is okay as her seemingly trapped husband. It’s also good to see J.K. Simmons pop up as Juno’s dad, although it’s hard not to instantly think of him as Spiderman’s J. Jonah Jameson even without the trademark hair. Michael Cera is probably the one actor that could have benefited from a bit more to do than look slightly bemused from time to time.

The only minor gripe I have with this film is that no character really gets to grow apart from Juno.  It would have been great to see how Bleeker would have coped with the prospect of fatherhood, rather than having him on the outside looking in.  I was also left wondering what the adoptive couple saw in each other in the first place. They seemed  such a mismatch from the start that it was hard to see how they had ever gotten together. For a young married couple it’s kind of scary to see them drift apart so quickly.

I thought this movie was funny from start to finish. Perhaps not as well rounded as I was expecting but I think it builds on the jokes to make an entertaining glimpse into Juno’s world. I don’t think this film set out to be the coolest movie on the block, it just went it’s own way and couldn’t have turned out much better. A lot of fun and very entertaining.  It’s a must watch movie for me.

Ever since Ellen Page became well known from her role in Juno, anything that she has made beforehand has become popular. I fell into this trap when I rented The Tracey Fragments. I’d read about the movie before hand and though it sounded interesting, and I have been impressed with Page before so I gave it a chance…I could not have been more wrong.

I really should have just taken the name of the movie literally – it really is fragmented. The whole movie is done in a specific style. It’s rare when you only see one screen, instead of several. The best way to describe it would be to say you have a picture in picture screen, but more than one picture at the same time. Sometimes they show the same thing sometimes all the screens are different. I get it, it’s supposed to be artsy, and cutting edge – it actually is just annoying to watch. I’ll give the editors credit for their hard work. I read that it took only 14 days to shoot the movie, but 9 months to edit! It’s pretty easy to see why it took them that long.

From what I got from the plot of this movie, if you’re still interested in reading what it’s about, is that Tracey is a 15-year-old runaway. She’s the outcast in school, and spends more time in her daydreams that actual reality. One cold day she is watching her little brother who thinks he is a dog and they are playing fetch. Her dream boy distracts her, and the next thing she knows her brother is gone. Most of the plot is driven by her trying to find him, but the story goes back and forth. There seem to be some subplots, but they were even more confusing to follow. To Page’s credit though, she does well with what she had to work with. I believe her panic when she is racing around to find he brother. The other standout performance (the only other one) is Slim Twig’s Billy Zero. Billy is Tracey’s dream boyfriend, but in real life a complete jerk. Twig does well showing both versions. The other performances are lacking, especially those of Tracey’s parents (Erin McMurtry and Ari Cohen). Her parents seemed kind of oblivious most of the time, and the actors weren’t much better. Did they just wake up out of their trance and think “hey, I’m in a movie today,” because that’s what it felt like to me.

I hope nobody tries to copy The Tracey Fragments and use the multiple screens aspect. I think the movie would have been interesting without adding all of that, but it just ruined the movie for me and I’ll have to give it a D. Only barely passing due to the two performances that made this movie worthwhile to keep watching and not just turn off.

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.