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 Rating: PG-13
Starring: Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, J.K. Simmons, Allison Janney, Olivia Thirlby
Directed by: Jason Reitman
Juno, the new film by director Jason Reitman (Thank You for Smoking) and first-time screenwriter Diablo Cody, is a cinematic stew of intelligence, humor and emotion that is sure to please just about any patron"s appetite in movies.
Winner of several film festival awards, Juno is ninety minutes of laugh-out-loud hilariousness that is far more rewarding than most of today's films dealing with the topic of pregnancy (in terms of Knocked Up, but smarter and with more sensitivity).
Juno MacGuff (Page) is a quirky, smart-mouth sixteen year-old high school student who becomes pregnant after having unprotected sex with her friend and fellow misfit, Paulie Bleeker (Cera). After being unable to follow through with an abortion, Juno, with the help of her supportive and loving parents (Simmons, Janney) and best friend, Leah (Thirlby), decides to give the baby up for adoption.
Searching for the right couple to adopt her unborn child, Juno comes across an advertisement in the local PennySaver with a photo of a childless husband and wife that she believes is the perfect fit to raise her baby.
Vanessa Loring (Garner) is a successful business-woman longing for motherhood, while her comic-book loving, guitar-playing husband, Mark (Bateman), has a serious case of Peter Pan Syndrome, with his dreams of being a rock star conflicting with parenthood. Nonetheless, Juno and the Lorings decide to go through with the adoption process, and from there the movie takes off in such a pleasant and heartwarming way that audiences may very well make this film one of the sleeper hits of the year.
The strength of the film is the witty dialogue between Juno and her family and friends. There are some wonderfully written lines that will have teens and tweens repeating in schools, malls, or during make-out sessions such as "Boysenberry condoms make your genitals smell like pie," and "He's the cheese to my macaroni."
Ellen Page is magnificent as Juno MacGuff, and her relationship in the film to Bleeker is particularly rewarding. The young pair's friendship has elements of both innocence and intimacy, making Juno one of the better date movies (although, not limited to that genre) to hit the big screen in the last few years. The rest of the cast does a fine job as well, but, make no mistake about it, Juno is Ellen Page's grand introduction as a ready-for-primetime young actress in Hollywood.
Final synopsis: The movie begins and ends with a chair (subtle eroticism at its finest), yet Juno is a comedy aphrodisiac that will have audiences standing, cheering, and longing for more. This is theatrical fun that deserves more than just one sitting, so do yourself and that special someone a favor, and go for seconds.
This Reviewer's Rating:   4 / 5
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