Juno

Rating PG13 Formats DVD Genre comedy Starring Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, Allison Janney, J.K. Simmons, Olivia Thirlby Directed by Jason Reitman Publisher Fox Searchlight Pictures External Links Juno Website

In Jason Reitman's, so nerdy it's cool, Juno we follow Juno MacGuff as she wisecracks and smart asses her way through being pregnant at sixteen. With the indie-nerd-rock soundtrack and ultra clever concept it has all the trappings of another bad Sundance-esk Indie film.

The real success of Juno, then, is that you find yourself really caring about these characters. Some might even cry. All will enjoy the nine-month journey that this film takes you on.

Ellen Page's performance of the title character is worth the price of the DVD. Her character is stuck between a childhood that is quickly slipping away and an adult world that is bearing down on her.

She has moments of shocking self-awareness like when she calls, on her hamburger phone, to "procure a hasty abortion" (that she quickly backs out of).

Her world-weariness at such a tender age gives her the aura that she knows what she is dealing with.

And she is right, to a certain point, in her acknowledgement that she does not know how to deal with this. But the deeper message of Juno is a coming of age story that she really does not know what she's doing at all.

Her naivete leads her into a relationship with Mark (Bateman), which would be fine if he wasn't married to Vanessa and was to adopt Juno's baby. Mark starts off like a cool guy; not as uptight as Vanessa, plays guitar, and likes slasher movies.

But he ends up being more childlike than Juno, looking for another conquest, another chance to reclaim his youth. He thinks that Juno wants him, when in fact she doesn't even know what she wants. It isn't until after Mark's advances on her that she realizes what she does want: someone that will love her no matter what.

That realization arc is seen in the relationship she struggles through with the baby's father, track star and tic-tac loving Paulie Bleeker (Cera). Through most of the film Juno spits poison at the worst, supreme disinterest at the best, at the meek Bleeker.

But in the end, she realizes that she's in love with him and is mature enough to admit her failings and that she loves him, orange tic-tacs and all.

Cera's performance opposite Page is a perfect match, and it saves a film that could go campy. His deadpan nervousness plays off of Juno's boorish and witty observational humor.

Diably Cody won the Oscar for best original screenplay. As a first time screenwriter, it is an amazing accomplishment (she is 2007's Jennifer Hudson). The screenplay is the main reason that this film is a success. But, in incapable hands, the film could have been a nightmare.

Jason Reitman has a real talent in his ability to select great material and cast it well. In both Juno, and Thank you for Smoking, he has fantastic scripts that he cast expertly.

The DVD for Juno is chocked full of DVD Film School extras. There is about twenty minutes of deleted scenes with a commentary by Reitman and Cody that gives insight to the decision making process and an example of how editing things out can make a better film.

The other notable extras are screen tests with Page, Cera, and J.K. Simmons and a gag reel. The trailers, music video, and commercials for Reitman and Cody can be skipped as they fall into the 'look at how great these people are' special features which get tiresome.

Juno represents the break out performance for Ellen Page, a stunning debut for Diablo Cody, and another feather in Reitman's cap. This film will not stand the test of time, as the people involved will probably go on to bigger and better things, but it's good enough to add to the collection.