Juno

Starring: Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman
Directed by: Jason Reitman

I loved this movie but was a little surprised at its entry into the Best Movie category of the Academy Awards for this year. It is I guess the Little Miss Sunshine of this year. Plenty of ironic laughs and powerful insight along the way. It may not take home the statuette but I have a gut feeling it will be the one movie everyone actually watches off the list for this year.

Your synopsis first, Juno MacGuff (played magnificently by TIFF regular Ellen Page), finds herself pregnant, knocked up by her best friend Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera) on their first attempt at sex. Juno, with the help of her best friend Leah (Olivia Thirlby), takes it upon herself to find some adoptive parents. Courtesy of the local Penny Saver, she soon finds childless couple Mark and Vanessa (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner). Not too complicated eh? That's something I like about it!

With the help of her surprisingly supportive father (J.K. Simmons) and step-mom (Allison Janney), Juno embarks on her pregnancy, which ends up affecting everyone in some unexpected and touching ways. I think there was maybe a lesson to be learnt from the parents. It's quite amazing the way they take the news and adapt to her way of thinking.

Everyone should go to High School with a Juno. That smart alec independent tomboy, cute, refreshing and fun to be around but not cool to date or be seen with. And the further removed from high school you are, you look back and wonder why? Ellen Page gives a wonderful performance as Juno, convincingly portraying her as a real independent free spirit. I had no idea who she was until I watched the movie and I can now say that they got something right with the nominations this year! Michael Cera was good and funny, although I occasionally had trouble divorcing his character from George-Michael Bluth. J.K. Simmons and Allison Janney did a nice turn as Juno's parents. Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman were great as the adoptive parents who, while seemingly the perfect suburban couple on the outside, have their own sets of issues on the inside. Bateman especially gave a great performance as Mark, who is worried about sacrificing his own dreams as he connects with Juno over a shared love of music and the reality of the baby sinks in.

This is director Jason Reitman's follow up to his first feature film, Thank You For Smoking, which was one of the greatest movies of 2005 – remember that? This is one movie that has remained right at the top of the Box Office for quite a while this year and that is certainly saying something!

I knocked off my DVD player this time around very content and knowing that I could probably picture a Juno McGuff in nearly every kid and be happy about it! Enjoy this movie it is sincerely worth purchasing!

Tagline: A comedy about growing up... and the bumps along the way.
He said/She said: I never realize how much I like being home unless I've been somewhere really different for a while.
Watch it if you liked: Little Miss Sunshine
Movie Hall of Fame: No