Juno Movie Review
Ellen Page, Jennifer Garner, Allison Janney; Directed by Jason Reitman
It's the little dark comedy that could. Nominated for multiple academy awards, winning the hearts of film critics and audience members everywhere, Juno is 2007's equivalent of last year's indie poster child, Little Miss Sunshine. Witty, sarcastic, punk-rock aficionado Juno Macguff is 16 years old when she finds out that she is pregnant. At first, she considers abortion as an option, but after becoming thoroughly creeped out just five minutes after stepping into the clinic, she changes her mind. Instead, Juno decides to give her small miraculous accident to a nice couple who cannot have children of their own, as long as one of them is "something cool, like a graphic designer." When she thinks she has finally found the perfect couple, they meet one fateful day, and the young surrogate mother unknowingly triggers further unthinkable complications.
A lot of praise has been given to actress Ellen Page for her portrayal as Juno, and the acclaim has even gone so far as to earn her an Academy Award nomination. But I just want to give a big shout out to Jennifer Garner, who I believe turns out a performance of equal caliber in this film. I can't spoil it here, but there is a turn of events that throws her strait-laced white-collar businesswoman for a complete loop. She is one of the strongest women portrayed on screen in 2007. There is a hard edge to her, she seems to be all business and no fun at first, determined not to get her hopes up about being a parent. But at the same time, she can't stop herself from shopping for baby clothes or picking out paint for the nursery room. And by the end of the film, such deep sympathy is felt for her that you just want to reach through the screen and give her a big hug and a lot of chocolate. There is one particular scene in the film where Juno and Jennifer Garner's character run into each other at a mall. The small moment they share together is so profound and moving that your heart just breaks for her. Continuing on with the acting, Allison Janney continues to please as Juno's no-nonsense stepmother. She's an underrated talent that never disappoints. J.K. Simmons as Juno's dad does a fine job as well.
I respected the writing and found the story intriguing, but I still have to say that I ultimately found this film to be overrated. It's charming, dark, funny, and edgy, but it still seems to be trying too hard to please. This film will greatly appeal to Hot Topic's entire consumer base (you can't tell me that they haven't got about three dozen of their nifty t-shirts ready to go to print in service of this film), but that will be just about it. I have to say that it also bothered me how Juno's parents reacted to her news. They joke afterward about preferring the trouble to have been about hard drugs or other such rebellion, but otherwise seem to be amazingly (and alarmingly) quite laid back about the whole ordeal. They fully support her, which is great to see and shouldn't be any other way. But I still couldn't shake the feeling that they were reacting to their teen daughter's pregnancy as if it were just a bought of chicken pox that she had to get through.
Grading:
Story = B+
Originality = A
DVD Features = N/A
Acting = A
Enjoyability = B
Visuals = B
Overall = B
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