Written by Diablo Cody
Directed by Jason Reitman
Starring: Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, J.K. Simmons, Olivia Thirlby and Allison Janney

Juno is a movie that mines comedy from very unfunny ideas and through wit, romance and skill, delivering a comedy that is crass, but not vulgar, with a story that is quirky yet traditional. It is a film that presents the unexpected in a manner and purity from a first time screen play by writer Diablo Cody and director Jason Reitman whose last film Thank You for Smoking

led to much uncomfortable laughing.

The film’s plot is simple; Juno McGuff (Ellen Page) goes and drinks a bottle of orange drink before taking a pregnancy test. After the test is declared positive, Juno who reminisces about the act that lead to her pregnancy and decides to tell the father of the child to be Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera) She does so by moving the furniture used for the conception from her house to Paulie’s front yard. Many uncomfortable moments of dialogue occur and then the movie goes onto a strange set of scenarios. First off, Juno tries to procure an abortion, but finds the facility cold and disturbing. So with the decision to keep the child in play she looks to give up the child to a couple in need of a child named Mark and Vanessa. (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner). The plot then twist and turns in funny and bittersweet way leading to an ending that gets to the point and works into an overall entertaining film.

The story itself from first time writer Diablo Cody is very distinct. The parents of Juno (J.K. Simmons and Allison Janney) receive not only a very positive portrayal as understanding parents, but through their conversations it explains in a subtle way why Juno is how she is. The kids act like high school kids and not super smart kids, the adults have jobs that deliver a sense of lower and upper middle class life turned up side down by a person’s stubbornness. The dialogue from Juno McGuff’s mouth is silly, yet very insightful. Juno has no fear, even while 8 months pregnant she says what is on her mind, and it leads to a lot of the conflict and entertainment in the movie. The greatness is that Juno is sympathetic and stubborn with a bit of indifference that is unique.

Jason Reitman’s direction reinforces the off kilter references in the script by offering a visual style that is distinct for the film. Every room is distinct and different from all the other rooms. This sense of design shows in subtle ways how each person is defined. The McGuff family home is a mix and match mess, while Vanessa’s home is very sterile with the exception of Mark’s room filled with music equipment. Each place brings some thing different and unique to every scene. The music of the film is very quiet and can almost come off like it was made for the film with good punctuation by the score complimenting the entire movie.

The most amusing part about Juno is the use of television actors to present a nuanced human work. The trend as of late is that Television acting delivers stronger work than film does and it makes perfect sense that Jason Reitman went with TV actors. Ellen Page did some time on the Canadian shows Trailer Park Boys and ReGenesis. J.K Simmons was on Oz and the guest villain on many a TV show. Jason Bateman and Michael Cera delivered a mini Arrested Development reunion, Allison Janney served on West Wing and Jennifer Garner kicked butt on Alias. Everyone was essential and their work is appreciated.

Hopefully Juno continues to entertain people as it goes onto the award circuit with the film and lead actress Ellen Page getting nominations. The film was a fantastic work and Page is a talent worth looking at. Juno is the best comedy of 2007 and could honestly be the best film of that entire year. So if you have the time, go and watch this truly funny, great and slightly serious film

Discuss this topic here.