Juno
(2007)
20th
Century Fox
Cast:
Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Jason Batemen.
Rating:
PG-13.
Run
time: 96 mins
Genre:
Comedy.
Verdict:
Beautiful
(see rating
system)
Ellen
Page gives a great performance as tomboy Juno MacGuff in this
charming Oscar-winning (for best screenplay) comedy.
In
fact, "comedy" is a bit misleading because while
there are some decent chuckles, the subject matter is serious
and there are some touching scenes.
Page
plays a 16-year-old forced to deal with an unplanned pregnancy
after having sex with her best friend Paulie (Michael Cera).
The movie could have taken the easy way out and made her a
babe and him jock, but they are neither.
Her
dad Mac (J.K. Simmons) would almost rather the "trouble"
June comes home with have been drugs, but he and Juno's stepmom
Bren (Allison Janney) try to do their best to help out.
While
Juno initially decides an abortion would be the best solution
to the "problem" - the favoured option of other
girls in town who've gotten pregnant - she changes her mind
and opts to carry the baby for a couple desperate to adopt
(Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman).
But
beneath the seemingly solid relationship, the couple is having
problems, leaving Juno with a difficult choice.
Smart
dialogue, quiet humour and some moving scenes - such as the
big-bellied Juno walking down a school hallway past disdainful
fellow students - make this a nicely layered little flick.
