November 23, 2007 -- “Juno” is a smart, funny little teen romantic comedy about a quirky high school student who becomes pregnant, but handles all kinds of resulting adult problems in her own strange way. The main character, Juno MacGuff, is played by Ellen Page of “Hard Candy.” After having sex with a friend, Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera of “Superbad”) she gets pregnant and decides to have an abortion, then decides against it. She then decides to give the baby up for adoption. She and her friend, Leah (Olivia Thirlby of “United 93”) find some prospective parents for her child in a local shopper classified advertisement. The couple, Vanessa and Mark Loring (Jennifer Garner of “The Kingdom” and Jason Bateman of “The Kingdom”) seem perfect. They look good. They have a nice house in the suburbs and seem well-to-do. Juno becomes friends with them.

Things go along pretty smoothly until she becomes jealous when Paulie Bleeker asks someone else to the prom. Juno confronts Bleeker, who reminds her that she has been ignoring him. He likes her, but she has been taking him for granted and that is not fair. Then she finds out that Vanessa and Mark Loring are not the perfect couple she hoped they would be. Through it all, Juno's parents, Mac (J.K. Simmons of “Spider-Man 3”) and her stepmother Bren (Allison Janney of “Hairspray”) support her decisions. Suddenly, Juno finds that she has to make some new decisions and she has to revisit some decisions she made before. Through all of her problems, Juno handles herself with intelligence and her own unique style.

The dialogue in the film (written by former stripper Diablo Cody) is filled with hip cultural references significant mainly to people a lot younger than I am. The characters talk about cheap horror films and obscure music, but you don't have to be up on this small talk to appreciate the qualities of the characters, particularly the luminous Juno. This is an excellent performance by Ellen Page, and a major shift from the sinister character she played in “Hard Candy.” She seems like a young star on the rise. Simmons and Janney, who play her parents, are also excellent in this film, as are Jennifer Garner and Cera. The direction by Jason Reitman (“Thank You for Smoking”) is crisp. This is a light, heady romantic comedy, reminiscent of John Hughes' work in the 1980s (“Sixteen Candles,” “The Breakfast Club,” “Ferris Bueller's Day Off”). The oddball soundtrack matches the film's frothy style. The funniest song of all is way back at the end of the credits. It is called “Vampire,” a silly little ditty written by Bear Creek and performed by Antsy Pants. This film rates a B.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in video and/or DVD format, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

Copyright © 2007 Robert Roten. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

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