Juno

“Juno”

USA. 2007. Directed by Jason Reitman. Written by Diablo Cody. Starring: Ellen Page, Michael Cera, J.K. Simmons, Allison Janney, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, Olivia Thirlby, Eileen Pedde, Rainn Wilson, Daniel Clark, Darla Vandebossche, Aman Johal and Valerie Tian.

Rating: ★★★½

The key to embracing Juno is to harbor the anticipation of seeing real growth throughout. The titular character played by the brilliant Ellen Page is a whip-smart teenager who gets pregnant who grows up by realizing how she is not as mature or as intelligent as she thinks she is and that her precocious assumptions about the adults around her does not translate into reality. The same can be said for this film that starts off with a sputter but gradually picks up steam to close in thunderous, moving finish.

I have to admit that the rocky opening had me worried, as all of the film’s dialogue for the first 20 minutes sounds like it is trying too hard to be quirky in that now somewhat clichéd indie-film fashion. A notable example is the exchange between Juno and the store clerk, Rollo (Rainn Wilson), who sees a plus sign on her pregnancy tester and says, “What’s the prognosis, fertile-myrtle? That ain’t no etch-o-sketch. This is one doodle that can’t be undead.” Even her discussions with her best friend, Leah (Olivia Thirlby) about what to do with the baby seem awfully glib for a teenager and it looked like Diablo Cody’s first-time screenplay was inserting every cutesy phrase it could think of without finding a steady rhythm.

Soon enough, however, the film turns warm and truthful and the characters very particular when she decides to tell her dad and stepmother, Mac (J.K. Simmons) and Bren (Allison Janney), who has to be the most understanding, benevolent set of parents in movie history. Her parents react in shock of course; even with the consolation that she has decided not to have an abortion and that she has already found a willing couple of potential adoptive parents, Vanessa (Jennifer Garner) and Mark (Jason Bateman) from a classified ad. Neither of the parents panic or get angry, however, and when Mac flatly but not coldly says, “I thought you were the kind of girl who knew when to say when,” Juno’s reply is the most honest line in the film: “I don’t know what kind of girl I am.”

That forms the bedrock for the rest of the story and on which the full strength of Ellen Page’s much-praised performance builds. She may continue to talk like a smart aleck at times in front of the couple of potential yuppie parents and generate some big laughs with her timing of delivery but her eyes often simultaneously hint at a sense of insecurity underneath. And her facial expressions that widely range from younger to older are crucial in keeping her engaging and lovable rather than arrogantly callow as in lesser teen comedies.

Cody’s screenplay also finds its direction and purpose once she allows her characters to become believable and thus allow the quirks to be genuine and humorous. Under the direction of Jason Reitman, the film effortlessly paints perhaps the kindest and most supportive world for a pregnant teen like Juno to have her nine-month term, which the film closely follows. The environment is so supportive that one scene between Juno and Mac is able to share the rare but true insight that parents can give useful advice even when a child asks for it without telling the real context. It is no coincidence that Mac calls out to Juno in this scene, “Hello, little puffy version of Junebug” referencing another wonderful film where Amy Adams played the most cheerfully upbeat pregnant woman around amidst a dysfunctional suburban family.

There is also the complicated story between Juno and Paulie (Michael Cera), the unlikely high school jock that got her pregnant (though it was her idea to sexually experiment with her best friend) and it is here the film finds the most emotional truth in. Cody never makes the mistake of highlighting Paulie’s aloof demeanor as what many will see as too geeky or jock-like and remains true to how Juno feels about him including a scene where she, as played by Page is all too adorable when she says that she thinks he is the coolest person she has ever met. Also, the series of dramatic character shifts that cause the two to ask about the concept of true love builds opportunities for every supporting actor to shine in unexpectedly emotional moments (all of which I will leave you to see for yourself).

Unexpected, too, are some real zingers interlaced throughout such as what Allison Janney says about doctors when Juno needs a painkiller. It is no wonder director Jason Reitman, who previously wrote and directed the shockingly witty Thank You for Smoking, decided to direct this screenplay for his second effort. And he and Cody wisely make them sparse and pace them well in between the quieter comic pauses as when Mark mistakes Juno’s name to be “like the city in Alaska.”

No doubt some, like me, may feel the urge to ask the characters to talk more normal, until we see these oddball characters made so fresh, individual and lovable. And people will find the movie growing inside their minds and hearts as much as Juno and her baby do in this movie. It is only later we appreciate that Juno has pulled off no small feat in tackling the subject of teenage pregnancy in every life-affirming way possible.