It’s hard to imagine any young actress playing Juno MacGuff, the
acerbic, wise-cracking teen at the center of Juno, like Halifax’s Ellen
Page.
Soon to be 21, Page excels at playing characters mature beyond their years, and to see her interviewed you realize it’s not a major stretch for the intelligent, well-spoken actor, who deliberately eschews formulaic teen fare in favour of more challenging roles.
Juno MacGuff certainly is that – a 16-year-old high school student who mistakenly gets pregnant after a one-off with her friend-crush Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera). After ruling out an abortion, Juno contemplates carrying the baby to term and giving it up for adoption.
In her search for the ideal parents she finds Vanessa and Mark Loring (Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman), a well-to-do, seemingly perfect couple unable to have a child of their own. With the grudging support of her father Mac (J.K. Simmons) and stepmother Bren (Allison Janney), Juno goes ahead with the pregnancy.
Penned by stripper-turned-writer Diablo Cody, the clever, hilarious script is so fast-paced you’re bound to miss a joke or two, especially if your attention drifts for even a moment. Though I picked up most of the pop culture references, which range from the Thundercats to Desperately Seeking Susan, I felt decidedly unhip in a scene where Juno tells her friend Leah (Olivia Thirlby) that she’s pregnant. I recall thinking to myself, as the lines whizzed by my head, “Is that how the kids talk these days?”
To call Juno a teen pregnancy comedy is to sell it far short. It’s about so much more – growing up, young love, lost love, the pitfalls of relationships, whether between teens or adults, parenting, responsibility. It’s all here, and treated in a way not at all judgmental or patronizing. Nobody’s perfect in Juno – not the deceptively happy Lorings, not the divorced and remarried Mac, not Juno and Paulie. But for the most part they do genuinely want to learn from the mistakes they’ve made and support each other along the way.
Ellen Page and Olivia Thirlby in a scene from Juno
There’s a great scene between Juno and her dad, one of the few devoid of biting remarks and sarcasm, where she asks him if it’s possible for two people to be happy together forever. Having been married and divorced, he tells her he doesn’t know, but that the most important thing is to find someone who “loves you for exactly what you are.” It’s a sentiment that’s been uttered many times before in film, but in this scene, between these characters, it feels entirely genuine and fitting.
Though Cody’s script is undeniably brilliant, Juno’s success is also due to Jason Reitman’s smart direction, letting the story and the characters take center stage, and excellent performances by Simmons, Janney, and of course Page. Brampton, Ont.-born Cera is funny as Bleeker, and his comedic timing is impeccable, but one wonders if he’s destined to play the same dorky teen again and again.
Juno’s soundtrack is another highlight, from the quirky score by Mateo Messina to the handful of cute-as-pie songs by former Moldy Peaches singer-songwriter Kimya Dawson. Sonic Youth, Belle & Sebastian, and Cat Power are also featured.
The great thing about the Juno MacGuff character is that though it was a dumb teenage mistake that got her into her difficult situation, she matures immeasurably throughout the nine months that follow, and in the end is a remarkably responsible and self-aware teen.
Juno is a terrific film, worthy of all the praise being heaped on it, and if it doesn’t get you thinking about weighty stuff like family, love, and relationships, it’ll at least make you laugh.
Posted by Cate Jones
Agree? Disagree? Email Cate at criticizecate@gmail.com
Juno (**** out of 5)
Rated: PG-13/14A
Starring: Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman
Directed by: Jason Reitman
Written by: Diablo Cody
Related links: IMDB page, Official site, trailer on Apple
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Posted by: hqpnctxu ujmp | May 06, 2008 at 01:03 PM