Juno

Genre: Drama, Comedy
By Fox Searchlight
Directed by Jason Reitman
Runtime: 92 minutes
Starring Ellen Page (Juno MacGuff), Michael Cera (Paulie Bleeker), Jennifer Garner (Vanessa Loring), Jason Bateman (Mark Loring), J.K. Simmons (Mac MacGuff), Allison Janney (Bren MacGuff), Olivia Thirlby (Leah), Valerie Tian (Su-Chin)


What happens when you are not even twenty and pregnant? What happens when your 16 year old kid is pregnant? OH NO! I certainly can’t entertain the thought of my niece being impregnated at such a tender young age! The mere thought of it gives me sleepless nights!

Instead of showing the ups and downs of an unwanted pregnancy, the movie is a quirky take on teenage pregnancy and how the teenager deals with it in a matter-of-fact manner, going about finding the best home for her baby.

Written by a 29 year old university graduate we was also a strip dancer going by the pseudonym of Diablo Cody and a 30 year old director, this film veers away from the tears and fears of other similar films dealing with similar subject matters. Ellen Page, a mere 20 year old actress has been put in the same league as the veterans in the industry with the likes of Cate Blanchett, Julie Christie, easily moulds into the character Juno. Isn’t it such an honour to be mentioned in the same breath as the above on-screen thespians? Yet Ellen Page certainly deserving of all the accolades she has received.

A refreshing take on the tough subject, Juno is a teenager, who has the foibles of a teenager yet is a bit different from most of her age group. Juno plucked the forbidden fruit on a hot summer day and had to bear the consequences of it. The stirrings of a young teenage girl with a wild imagination is well depicted by a group of runners, wearing filmsy short shorts, bouncing along their barely covered butts and thighs, as they regularly ran around the neighbourhood.

Juno, has many classic liners worked into her character, giving her depth, charisma and lots of likeability. Her responsibility in wanting to bring the innocent child into the world coupled with her awareness of not being grown up and responsible enough to take care of another human being, while being very much a child herself, is totally believable and admirable.

It’s so funny seeing a barely grown up teenager nursing a big belly, watching horror movies and discussing about the hard rock or underground music scene. Ellen Page brings to live the character Juno who has to go through her pregnancy despite being ostracized by her school mates, having to go through her pregnancy without the support of the impregnator and having to ensure that her baby is in safe hands once it arrives.

The picture-perfect family image of her baby’s foster parents were shattered one day when she discovered that the couple were not as happy and in love as they appeared to be initially. She was devastated and was at her wits ends if not for the strong relationship between her father and loving step-mother.

There was one scene in which she asked her father if he believed in everlasting love and got the answer in the affirmative. That was the affirmation she needed to believe that her baby will be happy in the home she has found for her and give up her baby to.

One thing I enjoyed about this movie is that it is not didactic and does not sugarcoat teenage pregnancy nor berate the character. Through a very different way of treatment, messages like the cruelty and cowardly option of going for abortion and that love exists echoes throughout the film.

The step-mother’s willingness to be there for Juno, be it altering Juno’s clothes in her pregnancy or accompanying her to the gynae, standing by her when she announced her pregnancy, and Juno’s father’s love, albeit, understated way of representation by accepting her pregnancy and accompanying her to find a good foster home for his grandchild, all goes to show that love and support is what keeps a family alive.

A refreshing movie you will enjoy with the plethora of sad movies available currently.