Juno
(2008)Juno (Ellen Page), is a whip-smart teen confronting an unplanned pregnancy by her classmate Bleeker (Michael Cera). Juno’s hot best friend Leah (Olivia Thirlby) helps her find her unborn child a 'perfect' set of parents: a wealthy suburban couple, Mark and Vanessa (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner), who long for a child. Juno’s parents support her through the rollercoaster ride of coming close to adulthood.
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Best Original Screenplay at the Academy Awards and BAFTAs in 2008
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Directed by Jason Reitman
Starring Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, J.K. Simmons, Olivia Thirlby
Written by Diablo Cody
On Demand, DVD & Blu-Ray
Available from 6 providers
Flicks Review
BY Andrew Hedley Flicks Writer
The much celebrated Diablo Cody (former phone-sex operator & stripper) script is worthy of some applause. It's a tight little number, and every character is believable. But it's also as light and fluffy a take on teen pregnancy as you could get. The 'daring' subject matter (for Hollywood anyway) has been packaged up in cheery colours and cutesy camerawork just so Mum can say she saw an 'indie' film.
Director Jason Reitman kind of ruins it a little bit with his regurgitated bag of indie tricks made popular five years ago. The soundtrack lies on the daft end of the indie pop spectrum. Twee vocals and guitar strumming do not equal instant credibility with an alternative crowd. The name dropping that goes on – Sonic Youth is, like, the best band ever – is slightly embarrassing. It makes the filmmakers seem like frauds: pretending they are hip and innovative but craftily stealing from better material, painting over it, and selling it as new.
And as for the character Juno, herself: some will like her, some won't. I found her a smug, smarmy, insufferably obnoxious know-it-all (to give the filmmakers some credit, I merely disliked her by the end). Screenwriter Cody puts such cloyingly self-reflexive dialogue into Juno's mouth that it's initially hard to warm to her.
But the film's major saving grace is that, even if Reitman is lacking in stylistic originality, at least he knows how to get actors working. Ellen Page, as Juno, does a fantastic job, even if the words that come out of her mouth are grating. Jason Bateman is marvelous as a hen-pecked husband, and Jennifer Garner is quite sweet. Michael Cera, as always, steals the show. He is not in this movie enough. He should be. He is great.
But the film is painfully aware of what its purpose is, of what it's trying to achieve. Arriving heavy with hype, Juno is a disappointment to anyone hoping for something great. Juno is well-performed but unremarkable.
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Juno
This was one of the most stupiest movies I have ever seen. For one thing it's almost like the tv show the secretn life of an american teenager excipet Amy in that show is 15 and much more muture and realistic. Juno doesn't even want care about having an open adoption and doesn' want to see her baby again. Do you really think that any pragnet mom is not going to see there baby again.
This is such a good movie. Lots of teenage girls get pregnant now days and this movie shows what happens to one of these girls. This a funny movie too. I recommend it for teenage girls!
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I had expected a bit more of this movie, but it is a non pretentious, easily likeble, "don't have to think much" movie. I enjoyed it on my long flight to Melbourne last week. Page is absolutely excellent as Juno. Some of the language is sometimes a bit on the slap stick side and a bit over typical language of a teenager. Overall a great movie on flights, but wouldn't really have paid money to see.
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The Press Reviews
94%
of critics recommend.
Rotten Tomatoes Score. More reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
1/2 What a great film! I love Juno so much I want to pick up and hug it; it's so heartbreakingly adorable. In this crazy mixed-up world where happily ever-after doesn't exist, teenage girls grow up way too fast and grown men not at all, Juno is a ray of light. Full Review
With all its surprising idiosyncrasies, Juno provides much more than a simple coming-of-age story and while, at times a little too self-conscious for its own good, both the film and Page's Oscar nominations are well-deserved. Full Review
A sharp-edged, sweet-centred, warm-hearted coming-of-age movie that’s always just that little bit smarter than you think it is.... Full Review
Page gives Juno just the right amount of vulnerability and honesty, ensuring she's not just a cynical motormouth, but there isn't a single dud performance. However, the real star is Diablo's script... Full Review
Juno is one of those rare films that you expect little from, but 90 minutes later you walk out of the cinema expecting more from other films because it's so quirky and fresh. Full Review
Juno is one of those films you can't help telling all your mates about IMMEDIATELY. Its also one of the films which defies genre and target marketing, and isn't easily slotted into a box. Full Review
The way the torrents of archly amusing, vocabulary-bending dialogue trip off the tongues of the characters, you know you’re in the hands of some manner of distinctive writer, and she would be Diablo Cody -- a young scribe very handy at shotgunning bright teen quips, as well as catching the attitudes of two distinct types of adults... Full Review
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