Juno

Starring: Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Olivia Thirlby, Jason Bateman

Directed by: Jason Reitman

RS: 3.5of 4 Stars Average User Rating: 3.5of 4 Stars

2007 Fox Searchlight Drama

There's a special kick that comes in finding a new star. So step up, Ellen Page, and take your bows. You won't find a sass queen around who can touch Page as Juno MacGuff, a pregnant sixteen-year-old with a smart mouth that won't quit. Page (Hard Candy) has the rare knack of being brutal and funny simultaneously. Her flow of quips and put-downs comes courtesy of debuting screenwriter Diablo Cody, another find. I'd also include director Jason Reitman, son of Ivan, in the newbie box, for making such a cleanly executed, pungently comic job of it, but he's an old hand, having directed Thank You for Smoking last year.

Here's the thing about Juno: She says a lot, but not always what she means. Take her treatment of Paulie Bleeker (Superbad's Michael Cera), the geek who fathered her baby. Cera is a young Jedi master at low-key, but you can see he's hurt when Juno casually rejects him. And watch Juno get all fake-certain when she tells her parents, hilariously rendered as non-fools by Allison Janney and J.K. Simmons, that she wants to give up her baby for adoption. She thinks rich Vanessa (Jennifer Garner, quite good) and her husband, Mark (Jason Bateman, quite disturbing), are ideal, until Mark — attracted by her Dario Argento-loving movie tastes — hits on her.

Is Juno sometimes too clever and facile for its own good? You got that right. But it's also a hip and hilarious antidote to High School Musical goo. The devil in Cody's script lets in wit, anger, distress and the pain of romantic longing. Juno is more than a few smiles — it makes you laugh deeply. It's one from the bruised heart.

>>Watch every episode of our weekly Peter Travers video podcast by subscribing via iTunes here (when prompted, click “Launch application”). Every Friday, a new episode featuring clips from the week's newest movies will be delivered to your iTunes. [If you don’t have iTunes, download it here.]

>>Watch Peter Travers' video review of Juno here.

PETER TRAVERS

(Posted: Dec 13, 2007)

Your Turn

Give us your review of
Juno

Review 1 of 9

2of 4 Stars

Juno was a slighty funny comedy featuring a teenage girl getting pregnant and giving her baby away to a family that can't have a baby. This move was not remotly interesting, I suggest a better film.

May 24, 2008 21:46:38

Review 2 of 9

Not Rated

Juno 6/10

Faced with an unplanned pregnancy, an offbeat young woman makes an unusual decision regarding her unborn child

Awesome Acting
Witty Humor
Kept me interested
Go see it.

Rating: 6/10
www.myspace.com/yohavsmovies

Mar 17, 2008 15:46:16

Review 3 of 9

4of 4 Stars

The atmosphere it builds doesn't come in the vicinity of the best film at this year Oscars. But it's a lovely movie with great acting, songs and fluent and talkative dialogs. A first rate achievement for sure. But I think Rocket Science is a better last year comedy.

Mar 2, 2008 18:49:42

Review 4 of 9

2of 4 Stars

over rated.

Jan 21, 2008 08:48:58

Review 5 of 9

4of 4 Stars

Jason Reitman's "Juno" is a film that invites the audience to
have one of two reactions in strict polar opposition to one
another. Sure, you could resist it's almost cloyingly
independent/pseudo-edgy vibe from the first frame through
the end credits, which ranges from a too-clever by half
adolescent narration (by stripper turned screenwriter Diablo
Cody), to the hand-drawn rhotoscoping title sequence, to the
cutesy, catchy and childish songs of Kimya Dawson. You can
steel yourself against the heart-warming story of an
unplanned pregnancy and the softening of the sardonically
witted 16 year old heroine (Ellen Page of "Hard Candy" fame)
at the film's center. You could even argue that the film is flatly
directed, with no style or color to its mise-en-scene. But that
would make you former EBERT & ROEPER guest critic Robert
Wilonsky of "Higher Definition" and occasional contributor to
Seattle Weekly, and that would mean you're a total douchebag
(though, in his defense, even he liked it by the time it was
over - if only somewhat).

Ultimately, mine is the latter reaction. This is almost my
favorite film of the year (and could take that spot with repeat
viewings of this and other contenders!) and everything I
mentioned above, which should be an irritatingly self-
conscious, collective shot in the foot, is in actuality a HUGE
credit to why this film has been given so many kudos from so
many critics and audiences. From first-time writer Cody's
brilliant screenplay, to the more than game cast: Page, former
Arrested Development alums Michael Cera and Jason
Bateman, Alias' Jennifer Garner, The West Wing's Allison
Janney and Spider-Man's own J.K. Simmons, Reitman's follow-
up to 2006's inspired anti-tobacco satire Thank You For
Smoking is, in reality, a complete and utter GEM!

Jan 8, 2008 20:59:46

Review 6 of 9

4of 4 Stars

Ah Peter, again we agree.

I went into this movie knowing nothing about it, other then that 2 Bluth's were in it.

However, within 10 minutes of screen time, it became my all time favorite film.

Ellen Page was, for lack of a better term, stunning as the title character. Who else could play that role in retrospect? No one. She was brilliant, and her award buzz is greatly warranted.

Great supporting roles by Michael Cera, Jason Bateman, and JK Simmons. My only qualm, although minor, was the slightly overbearing Jennifer Garner, although I was (mostly) able to over look her role.

All in all, it was, in my opinion, the best film of 2007

Jan 3, 2008 17:00:25

Review 7 of 9

3of 4 Stars

You said it Peter: "a smart mouth that won't quit." And for me, that was the only problem with this film. In a movie where seemingly every line is supposed to be funny, smart alec queen Juno MacGuff began to wear down my sense of humor. Sarcasm can be a great comedic device, but Juno's sarcasm went far beyond overkill. Even some second-half-of-the-movie lines which I would normally have found hilarious caused me to roll my eyes as Juno had simply pushed sarcastic humor past the brink. Juno is nonetheless a lovable character, kind of like Lisa and Bart Simpson combined. Her maturity and naivete are brilliantly interwoven. The supporting cast was brilliantly chosen. The direction was fantastic. I could have used a little more Bleeker in the movie, however, but maybe that's just me. Despite its over-indulgence in dry wit, Juno is not just a very good comedy, but a very good film.

Jan 2, 2008 11:32:06

Review 8 of 9

3of 4 Stars

Reel Geezers, the dynamic octagenarian duo give a fresh and
insightful review of the new indie film Juno. These two movie
veterans bring intelligence, humor and wit to the conversation
about this film.

Check it out on YouTube...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZPF7DdVrwI

Dec 13, 2007 10:21:20

Previous Next