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Oscar Watch: "Juno" Review

by Jeanne on February 10th, 2008

“Juno” was released back in December, 2007 and has done well at the box-office and has impressed critics and audiences (it has received several nominations for the upcoming Oscar Awards).  As you may have guessed from the poster, this movie is about teen pregnancy but, more importantly, reveals the emotional journey of a young girl who is just starting to understand love (and herself!) and the importance of making mature decisions. 

It all gets started when 16-year-old Juno (Ellen Page) and best friend, Paulie (Michael Cera of “Superbad“) decide to have sex for the first time.  I’m guessing they didn’t use protection since, well, she gets pregnant.  With incredible restraint, she tells Paulie about the pregnancy and then holds him at a distance for most of the movie.

More after the jump!

After an emotional and unsuccessful trip to an abortion clinic, Juno goes home to tell her father (”Mac” played by J.K. Simmons) and stepmother (”Bren“ played by Allison Janney) the big news.  The scene is almost baffling - there is no screaming, no tears, no drama.  They ask about the baby’s father and, after being told, they don’t speak to him or his parents about any of it.  It is, however, hilarious and well-written.  Ultimately, Juno tells them that she’s found people that she wants to give the baby to (through adoption) and her father offers to accompany Juno to her meeting with them. 

When they meet the potential adoptive parents, Vanessa and Mark, (Jennifer Garner and Jason Batman) the situation seems almost too good to be true - the huge house looks perfect, Vanessa is desperate for a baby and Mark loves the same music as Juno.  Unfortunately, as the months go by, Juno and Mark grow closer and the imperfections in Vanessa and Mark’s marriage become clear and finally reach a breaking point.  Juno suddenly must make a serious decision despite the fact that everything seems to have been turned upside down.  Watching Juno work her way through this is real movie magic.  Ellen Page turned out a truly amazing performance.

I do have to say that I have some problems with the film.  First of all, I found most of the grown-ups to be a bit unrealistic (even though they were far more realistic than the exaggerated characters we usually find in teen-based movies).  Juno’s parents barely flinch when she tells them she is pregnant, they do not question her decisions and they never encourage her to slow down and think things over.  Along the same lines, Juno shows up at Paulie’s house and his mother, who clearly dislikes Juno, does not even ask about the girl’s burgeoning belly!  Jennifer Garner did a great job but I wasn’t sure if I actually liked Vanessa, as a character.  In fact, I was not entirely sure I wanted her to have a baby.  The house was so perfect, she was so unsupportive of her husband (whose things she had placed in “designated areas”) and she was just extremely uptight.  I’m not saying that any of those things is enough to qualify someone as unfit to raise a child but she came off as selfish to me and I just couldn’t be 100% on her side.  Then there was the question of adult males and their relationships with teenaged girls.  Juno and Mark get a little too cozy while Juno’s best friend, Leah, has a crush on one of their overly-friendly male teachers. 

Still, the movie’s finer points almost thoroughly redeem it.  I have personally been in Juno’s shoes and her experiences at school and with a very vocal ultrasound technician really hit home.  The dialogue was fast-paced, witty and incredibly well timed and executed by the entire cast.  It made the whole movie flow with amazing fluidity right until its’ final, emotional scene.

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