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Juno
(PG-13)

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Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman are the potential adoptive parents for Juno's baby.
As tough as it may be, do yourself a favor and try to avoid reading or hearing too much about Juno -- the terrific movie directed by Jason Reitman (Thank You For Smoking) and written by former stripper/blogger Diablo Cody -- before you see it. It's a funny, skewed, unexpected little gem that works best when it sneaks up on you unaware. Juno MacGuff (brilliantly played by Ellen Page) is a razor-sharp teen unexpectedly pregnant by her track-running, Tic Tac-popping, sort-of boyfriend Paulie (Michael Cera). The dialogue and situations ring consistently sardonic, hip and wise; no wonder the actors look so fired-up.

Ellen Page stars as Juno, the pregnant high school student.
Page, who co-starred with Catherine Keener in An American Crime and who slightly resembles a young Barbara Hershey, is astonishing. But everyone in Juno is spot on, including Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman as a rich, childless married couple; Allison Janney and J.K. Simmons as the heroine's parents; and the terrific Olivia Thirlby as her deadpan best friend. Juno feels indie-minded and refreshingly free of formulas and clichés -- the sort of movie that can happen when very smart people don't get micromanaged by studio bosses. It takes some time for Reitman to seduce us into the right mood of whimsy, heart and edge, but once he does, the movie never lets up. Even if it sometimes flies its quirk flag too high and proud, like Knocked Up, Juno finds big laughs and lump-in-the-throat moments in the twisty, perilous absurdity of contemporary relationships.

by Stephen Rebello

photo credit: Fox Searchlight Pictures

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