In
today’s conservative times, you may expect a story of teenage
pregnancy to be a shocking morality play espousing the dangers of youthful
promiscuity - but a heart-warming, smart-mouthed comedy? The traditionalist
nanny-staters would be most upset.
16-year-old Juno MacGuff (Hard Candy’s Ellen Page) is cynical,
acerbic, feeling out-of-place and kicking out at her parents and the
world - just your average mixed-up teenager yet to find her purpose
in life. In her ennui she decides having sex with long-time friend and
admirer Paulie Bleeker (Superbad’s Michael Cera) may be good for
a laugh, until she discovers the worst has happened.
One bottled trip to the women’s clinic later and she’s searching
the classifieds for prospective adoptive parents, eventually finding
the perfect couple in Mark and Vanessa (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner),
and sets about preparing for the handover nine months down the line.
What follows is a coming-of-age story whereby Juno learns a little about
selflessness and to appreciate the love and support of those closest
to her and such.
All sounds very standard. It’s not. The script is perfectly crafted,
defying convention at every turn and never slackening pace for a moment.
It’s shot through with razor-sharp, witty dialogue, full of pop-culture
nous that roots it in the real world and makes it entirely believable.
Ellen Page shines in the title role she was born to play. An old soul
in a dinky elfin body, she oozes a natural ease and confidence with
the material, portraying young Juno as totally in control of a daunting
situation with a wisdom and enlightenment that defies her years.
In fact, each and every performance is outstanding, from main cast to
the well-rounded ancillary characters. By contrast, would-be suitor
Michael Cera is all asses and elbows - bony, nervous and awkward. It
would be hard to imagine why Juno could fall for such a geek if he didn’t
infuse the character with such loveable innocence.
Practiced and proven character actors JK Simmons and Allison Janney’s
understated performances as the calm and controlled parents only add
to their respective track records of beautifully judged and astounding
work. Even Pob-featured, talent vacuum Jennifer Garner manages to come
off well.
The underlying strength of the film is its even-handed and non-judgemental
approach to the core situation. There are no hysterics, no preaching.
Any morally upright or self-righteous characters are shot down in typical
sharp-tongued fashion. Little time is given to making a moral judgement
on teen pregnancy, rather the process of getting through a commonly
occurring state of affairs, its effects on the relationships and the
coming-of-age tale therein. In short, a perfectly-judged mixture of
performance and story-telling.
Cynical yet sweet, caustic yet funny, it hits every note perfectly (speaking
of which, the soundtrack is also excellent) and is a guaranteed sleeper
hit, fully deserving of the list of gongs it has already been nominated
for this awards season.
by Phil Dixon
Juno
Ellen Page interview
- Juno
Diablo Cody interview - Screenwriter
Alison Janney interview
- Juno's stepmother Bren
