Within the first ten minutes of "Juno," the hopes may not be high. Between the smart-aleck steam of insults from a pharmaceutical worker to a teenage shopper (the director spent a lot of time as well as note cards on 'spontaneous conversation,') One might think they will have a quirkiness overdose.
Although sardonic, wise-ass humor pervades throughout the film, director Jason Reitman wisely tones it down and avoids killing the whole thing. So hold in and wait till the "Fertile Myrtle" guy leaves the picture and the movie finds it's footing.
Ellen Page, a young actress who stunned audiences in the intensely uncomfortable thriller Hard Candy, plays Juno, who like, Haylee Stark, "Candy's" sadistic vigilante, is smart and eloquent, but unlike her former role is not psychotic.
Juno is sixteen, but Ellen Page is actually in her twenties. Juno is an intelligent teenage outsider who has a sharp wit and a fondness for music. Her best friend is Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera,) a pleasant putz whose extreme awkwardness doesn't seem to faze Juno, though her family is not crazy about him and vise versa.
One day, Juno and Paulie get together at her house and end up having sex. Later, discussing the experience, Paulie argues that it was completely her idea and not nessecary to curb boredom. " There was lots of stuff on TV, and The Blair Witch Project was playing on Starz."
They apparently hope that good luck will intervene in the chance of a baby (no condoms are mentioned,) but nasty movie fortune results in Juno finding herself on a second pregnancy test, and reevaluating that the last positive one was 'faulty.'
After casually considering suicide, she tells Paulie and her teacher-chasing friend Leah. She brings Leah for moral support while she gives the news to her dad Mac and step-mom Brenda, who are less than happy but don't go into hysterics.
The natural solution seems to be abortion, but a strange thing- a classmates mentioning of babies' fingernails- strikes her as a disconcertingly human trait and she decides to not follow through with the baby's death. Instead she regards the news for prospective parents, and finds Vanessa and Mark, whose smiling black-and-white faces reassure her of a stable household for the fetus.
Meeting the couple with her dad, she discusses the situation with the baby-starved woman and her immature husband, whose interest in music and horror movies strikes a chord with her. It is hardly clear whether the two have something other than benign feelings for each other, but Brenda and Mac regard the situation with cautious glances. the film, ultimately, follows Juno as she tries to get together again with clueless Bleeker and evaluate her own thought about people and relationships.
"Juno" is another one of those quirky quasi-comedies about teenagers (though better, thank god, than Napoleon Dynamite.) Although Page's character has been compared to Enid in Terry Zwigoff's Ghost World, her portrayal of a bright, sardonic teen reflects mostly good-natured coping strategies, not a hatred of the human race. While Enid lay around insulting people around her, Juno seems to use sarcasm as a personal method for dealing with problems.
Jason Reitman, despite his semi-detached portrayal of teen pregnancy (which reflects his character,) has done an excellent job of balancing humor and seriousness without making the movie look like a TV program they hand out at abstinence classes.
The choice to pick Ellen Page, a very talented young actress, was a good one. Note to people who complain that Page is typecast as a wiseass- loosen up! She's impressive, and will surely branch out nito different characters. Juno is a clever film, and one worth watching. Plus- the music's neat, a have a song or two on itunes.
(Rated PG-13)
Although sardonic, wise-ass humor pervades throughout the film, director Jason Reitman wisely tones it down and avoids killing the whole thing. So hold in and wait till the "Fertile Myrtle" guy leaves the picture and the movie finds it's footing.
Ellen Page, a young actress who stunned audiences in the intensely uncomfortable thriller Hard Candy, plays Juno, who like, Haylee Stark, "Candy's" sadistic vigilante, is smart and eloquent, but unlike her former role is not psychotic.
Juno is sixteen, but Ellen Page is actually in her twenties. Juno is an intelligent teenage outsider who has a sharp wit and a fondness for music. Her best friend is Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera,) a pleasant putz whose extreme awkwardness doesn't seem to faze Juno, though her family is not crazy about him and vise versa.
One day, Juno and Paulie get together at her house and end up having sex. Later, discussing the experience, Paulie argues that it was completely her idea and not nessecary to curb boredom. " There was lots of stuff on TV, and The Blair Witch Project was playing on Starz."
They apparently hope that good luck will intervene in the chance of a baby (no condoms are mentioned,) but nasty movie fortune results in Juno finding herself on a second pregnancy test, and reevaluating that the last positive one was 'faulty.'
After casually considering suicide, she tells Paulie and her teacher-chasing friend Leah. She brings Leah for moral support while she gives the news to her dad Mac and step-mom Brenda, who are less than happy but don't go into hysterics.
The natural solution seems to be abortion, but a strange thing- a classmates mentioning of babies' fingernails- strikes her as a disconcertingly human trait and she decides to not follow through with the baby's death. Instead she regards the news for prospective parents, and finds Vanessa and Mark, whose smiling black-and-white faces reassure her of a stable household for the fetus.
Meeting the couple with her dad, she discusses the situation with the baby-starved woman and her immature husband, whose interest in music and horror movies strikes a chord with her. It is hardly clear whether the two have something other than benign feelings for each other, but Brenda and Mac regard the situation with cautious glances. the film, ultimately, follows Juno as she tries to get together again with clueless Bleeker and evaluate her own thought about people and relationships.
"Juno" is another one of those quirky quasi-comedies about teenagers (though better, thank god, than Napoleon Dynamite.) Although Page's character has been compared to Enid in Terry Zwigoff's Ghost World, her portrayal of a bright, sardonic teen reflects mostly good-natured coping strategies, not a hatred of the human race. While Enid lay around insulting people around her, Juno seems to use sarcasm as a personal method for dealing with problems.
Jason Reitman, despite his semi-detached portrayal of teen pregnancy (which reflects his character,) has done an excellent job of balancing humor and seriousness without making the movie look like a TV program they hand out at abstinence classes.
The choice to pick Ellen Page, a very talented young actress, was a good one. Note to people who complain that Page is typecast as a wiseass- loosen up! She's impressive, and will surely branch out nito different characters. Juno is a clever film, and one worth watching. Plus- the music's neat, a have a song or two on itunes.
(Rated PG-13)
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