INSTEP Magzine

Juno can very well be termed as part of the new wave of 'pregnant comedies' after Knocked Up and Waitress, but this one involves a 16 year old who shows a level of maturity not expected of somebody her age.
She is all grown up and yet naive. The way the young girl deals with unexpected changes she is willing to go through makes the story interesting. The character of Juno is a witty, hyper-literate rocker chick who merges pop references into her daily speech. Nothing seems to put her off, yet as weirdly mature as the kid seems, she's still a kid, who uses a bedroom hamburger phone.

Juno is more intellectually active than the grown-ups give her credit for, but emotionally she's still struggling. She doesn't have too many of the 'luxuries' that define a teenager in Hollywood, like clothes, boys and cheerleading, but she has an inquisitive mind, which has led her to her pregnant state in first place. The movie is about how she comes to realize that and builds on it.

When Juno decides to have the baby she also decides to puts it up for adoption to a childless couple. She finds the perfect couple for her baby. They are Mark and Vanessa Loring (Bateman and Garner), who live in a huge house, which is an hour's drive away from where Juno lives.

One must appreciate the writer's precision at getting the colloquial language spoken by teenagers correctly, which adds to the finesse of the humour. "Honest to blog?" gasps Juno's best friend Leah (Olivia Thirlby) upon hearing the baby news. In another scene Juno acknowledges her iconic status in the school hallways as "They call me the Cautionary Whale."

Besides, the actual experience of being a pregnant teenage girl in America is – one can just guess – probably not as simple. Parents aren't this positive and sympathetic, physical discomfort isn't this minimal especially for a kid's unexpected first time, besides one doesn't see the character being scared of the doubt and the isolation. There is nothing terribly painful or humiliating about Juno's high school experience as a pregnant teenager; Juno is a great, empowering character because she takes everything at a step before being humbled but she also makes having a baby look easy, which is where the real appeal of the movie lies along with its end.

The actors in Juno, though not that well known are, without exception, brilliant. They have what it takes to deliver the clever lines that the award-winning writer has penned, that added oomph, which actors get when they know their lines are good. Page has to carry the entire movie on her tiny shoulders and she is very realistic even when it's clear that no 16-year-old could be as wittily sarcastic as she.

One sees great potential from every person involved with film and if everyone's first films got unnoticed this one sure has got them all the attention they deserve. The hip comic relieve is sure to be a favorite of many and if nothing one wouldn't be able to resist applauding Ellen Page for her talent. Now here's an actor Hollywood should be proud of.

This comedy movie is about teenagers that won't give the viewer a sense of de ja vu. The humour of the film is intelligent as well as satrical and the lead character Juno (Ellen Page) handles it in a fresh and mature manner in spite her young age. Juno that had four nominations at Oscars has a number of new comers who have done a superb job in their respective fields. Diablo Cody who won the best screenplay for the movie at Oscars, Critic's choice and BAFTAs rightfully deserved what she was awarded. Her quirky one-liners were delivered with much precision and timing by young Page. The movie also won a Critics Choice award for Best Direction.
-- Ayecha Ahmed

*YUCK
**WHATEVER
***GOOD
****SUPER
*****AWESOME