Teen pregnancy comedy sees humor in difficulty

Ellen Page, Diablo Cody deserving of awards for delightful ‘Juno’

By PAUL COMRIE, Features Writer

Published: January 9, 2008

"Juno," director Jason Reitman's follow-up effort to "Thank You for Smoking," is a breath of fresh cinematic air that outclasses all recent rank-and-file comedies and "relationship" films.

The premise: 16-year-old Juno MacGuff (Ellen Page) finds out at the end of her first trimester that she is pregnant from the virginity-ending foray that she shared with her friend Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera). Deciding to keep the baby, she has to struggle through the next six months of pregnancy while juggling school, her relationships and her commitment to giving the baby up to adoptive parents.

It sounds like the start of a horrible, cliched mass of melodrama intended to draw tears from any audience members lacking Y chromosomes, but Reitman and writer Diablo Cody have more respect for their characters and their audience than that. An entire cast of talented comedic actors, led by the excellent Page, makes Cody's story of Juno and her pregnancy frequently hilarious, always insightful and effortlessly entertaining.

Page is fantastic as the unusually intelligent and mature Juno, who takes a bad situation and faces it with a smile and a hefty dose of sarcasm. Cera brings the same awkward charm he exhibited in "Arrested Development" and "Superbad" as Juno's friend Bleeker. J.K. Simmons and Allison Janney are warm, patient and parental as Juno's father and stepmother, respectively. Rounding out the cast are Jennifer Garner and Cera's "Arrested Development" costar Jason Bateman as Vanessa and Mark Loring. The young yuppie couple's roles as adoptive parents provide much of the film's dramatic power and a painfully honest look into issues of marriage and commitment.

Juno's maternal journey is full of sharp, snappy dialogue and endlessly quotable one-liners that make the ride enjoyable, if occasionally difficult to swallow. The only complaint one could level at the film is that a 16-year-old girl carrying a child would not be able to handle the social pressures and strain of high school as well and with as much maturity as Juno does. The writing by Cody and performance by Page, however, make this improbable character both easy to accept and something of a role model by the end of the film.

Oscar buzz for the film is comparing it to last year's "Little Miss Sunshine" as the "little film that could," but that comparison is unnecessary and unflattering. The overrated aforementioned film, while good in its own right, can't hold a candle to "Juno." Where the comparison is fair, though, is how "Juno" will probably be nominated for best picture, though it is most deserving of nominations for best actress for Page and best original screenplay for Cody.

Whether "Juno" walks away with a golden statuette come February's Academy Awards ceremony shouldn't matter to audiences. The film is still a shining example of fantastic filmmaking that deserves to be seen by anyone who is willing to look at a potential tragedy and see the inherent humor underneath it all.

Plot: B+

Acting: A+

Screenplay: A+

Overall: A

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