Amazon.co.uk Review
Somewhere between the sharp satire of
Election and the rich human comedy of
You Can Count On Me lies
Juno, a sardonic but ultimately compassionate story of a pregnant teenage girl who wants to give her baby up for adoption. Social misfit Juno (Ellen Page,
Hard Candy,
X-Men: The Last Stand) protects herself with a caustic wit, but when she gets pregnant by her friend Paulie (Michael Cera,
Superbad), Juno finds herself unwilling to terminate the pregnancy. When she chooses a couple who place a classified ad looking to adopt, Juno gets drawn further into their lives than she anticipated.
But
Juno is much more than its plot; the stylised dialogue (by screenwriter Diablo Cody) seems forced at first, but soon creates a richly textured world, greatly aided by superb performances by Page, Cera, Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman as the prospective parents, and J.K. Simmons (
Spider-Man) and Allison Janney as Juno's father and stepmother. Director Jason Reitman (
Thank You For Smoking) deftly keeps the movie from slipping into easy, shallow sarcasm or foundering in sentimentality. The result is smarter and funnier than you might expect from the subject matter, and warmer and more touching than you might expect from the cocky attitude. Page's performance is deceptively simple; she never asks the audience to love her, yet she effortlessly carries a movie in which she's in almost every scene. That's star power.
-- Bret Fetzer, Amazon.com
Synopsis
The word 'quirky' has become the quick and easy way to describe films such as
Little Miss Sunshine and
Lars and the Real Girl that straddle the lines between indie and studio films and comedy and drama. While
Juno fits into that same category, this distinctive dramedy is in a class all its own. Ellen Page (
Hard Candy) stars as Juno, a witty teenage girl whose boredom doesn't lead her to the mall. Instead, she makes a one-time trip into the arms of her best friend Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera,
Superbad). When Juno discovers that she's pregnant, she's forced to grow up fast as she tries to find adoptive parents for her quickly growing child.
Juno might have a lot of strengths--Page's award-worthy performance, a pitch-perfect soundtrack, excellent direction from Jason Reitman--but it's the screenwriting debut of writer Cody Diablo that makes this such a winning film. Famous for her blog and her book
Candy Girl - A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper, Diablo has a unique voice and an incredible ear for dialogue that led to her winning a Bafta and an Academy Award for
Juno's script. But even the nearly perfect script wouldn't sound so good if it weren't for the talents of these actors, particularly Page. She won rave reviews for her first major role in
Hard Candy, but this performance proves it wasn't a fluke. The rest of the cast, especially J.K. Simmons as Juno's dad, is just as worthy of attention.
Junocontinues Cera's cinematic ascent after his success with the hit comedy
Superbad, and his
Arrested Development co-star Jason Bateman uses his dry delivery to great effect as a potential parent for Juno's baby.
![Juno [DVD] [2007]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51IEUiNa4WL._SL75_SS50_.jpg)
![Juno/Little Miss Sunshine/The Waitress [DVD]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Rfdm2sJNL._SL75_SS50_.jpg)
![Nick And Norah's Infinite Playlist [DVD] [2008]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51BzfOtNyeL._SL75_SS50_.jpg)
![Little Miss Sunshine [DVD] [2006]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51T7A7BDBWL._SL75_SS50_.jpg)
![Little Miss Sunshine [DVD] [2006]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51T7A7BDBWL._SL500_SS90_.jpg)
DVD ~ Abigail Breslin
![Forgetting Sarah Marshall [DVD] [2008]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51m6rk0Te1L._SL500_SS90_.jpg)
DVD ~ Kristen Bell
![27 Dresses [DVD] [2008]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ElaR07FXL._SL500_SS90_.jpg)
DVD ~ Katherine Heigl
![Definitely, Maybe [DVD] [2008]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51mdweBZCLL._SL500_SS90_.jpg)
DVD ~ Ryan Reynolds
~ Various Artists
