Dir. Jason Reitman, US, 2007, 96 mins
Cast: Ellen Page, JK Simmons, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman
Review by Richard Mellor
As good as Juno is, UK critics collectively caught their breath when the film gained four Oscar nominations – including for Best Film, Director and Actress – shortly after its first screenings. Not to say that Jason Reitman’s directorial debut doesn’t deserve the acclaim; but when did the Academy ever pay heed to smart indie films made on shoestring budgets with few to no recognised stars? Now, apparently, and not a movie too late...
After cute, cartoon-like opening credits and the first of many wry ballads by the Moldy Peaches, 16-year-old Juno MacGuff (Page – known only to fans of internet paedophilia shocker Hard Candy) learns that she’s untimely pregnant via her on-off boyfriend, the goofy and unassuming Paulie (Cera). This despite his gangly frame and skimpy yellow running shorts. Cue Juno’s awkward confession to her liberal but morally strict father (Simmons), and a choice between abortion, adoption and premature parenthood.
Despite this serious premise, Juno is wildly funny, thanks to a crackling script that raises laughs from the off. After the eponymous teen prissily disqualifies her third affirmative pregnancy test, the local convenience store points out: “That ain't no Etch-A-Sketch, fertile Myrtle. And this is one doodle that can't be un-did”. Post-conception confession, Juno’s step-mum admits: “I hoped she was expelled, or into hard drugs”.
And so it continues. Juno initially plans abortion on the grounds that ‘they say pregnancy often leads to, you know… infants”. Unable to go through with the termination, she then opts for adoption, resulting in a cute scene where straight-laced 30-somethings Mark (Bateman) and Vanessa (Garner) almost audition for the role of adoptive parents. Offered a drink by the couple, a poker-faced Juno replies deadpan: “I'll have a Maker's Mark, please. Up.” It’s wicked, but delicious, humour.
However, teenage pregnancy is of course not a laughing matter, and there inevitably come weightier moments, pun or otherwise. To his credit, Reitman confronts the issues gamely, paying tender moments just as much heed as funny ones. He gives voice to anti-abortionists, infertile parents and those for traditional parenthood as his heroine wades through the ethical quagmire in search of the right decision.
It’s rare to find a film that juggles serious and scurrilous quite so easily. The sombre scenes here are just as pertinent as Juno’s many comic moments. Witness a worried Juno asking her father if it's "possible for two people to stay happy together forever” in a believable rites-of-passage moment, or Vanessa’s moving tears as she lays her head on Juno’s bulging stomach, listening to her would-be child.
This latter scene is aided by Garner’s triumphant portrayal as Vanessa, somehow eliciting sympathy despite her wannabe mother’s slightly eerie maternal craving. In fact, full of colourful characters, Juno is the type of film where a supporting actor traditionally steals every scene. Simmons and Alison Janney both try to play ball: the former is uproarious as Juno’s chief ally, while the latter excels as a step-mum rivalling her daughter in the sassy stakes.
But this is Page’s show. Somehow her Juno is at once achingly cool, wholesome, fragile and fiercely intelligent. She sings well and references the bible. She knows all about rock music circa 1977 and Dario Argento horrors. And she’s so very funny: never more so than when advising Vanessa: “You should've gone to China, 'cause I hear they give away babies there like free iPods.” The film hangs on whether we like its title character – and, thanks to Page, we surely do.
Are children really this smart, and adept at dealing with serious matters? No – but Juno never pretends as much. Instead, this is a film about a remarkable girl dealing with a remarkably common teenage girl-dilemma. It’s a dream of a movie about a nightmare of a situation, and the funniest thing to come out of America since George Bush.
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