Like a “Little Miss Sunshine,” this indie-spirited film has the distinction of both living up to the buzz and delivering a few surprises. To go down the laundry list of the film’s strengths: Performances? Check. The cast plays the right tune and Ellen Page, far better served by the script than she was in her role as Kitty Pryde in “X-Men: The Last Stand,” is a knockout. Direction? Check. Jason Reitman, who brought us the hilarious and sharp satire “Thank You for Smoking,” gets a “Napoleon Dynamite” kind of vibe. Or “Little Miss Sunshine.” Or any low-key character study that’s perfectly happy sticking with an un-flashy, naturalistic filming style to let the focus remaining on the actors, story and dialogue. And dialogue? Diablo Cody’s script is chock-full of zippy, zingy, occasionally self-conscious dialogue that has the quality of the wittiest sitcom writing, with the added benefit of going beyond delivering gags to working as a revelation of who the characters are. Juno (Page) comes up with the quirkiest metaphors, but that’s who she is. And given the tendency of her own parents – stepmom Bren and dad Mac MacGuff (Simmons) – to indulge colourful turns of phrases, we get a rare kind of character: One whose personality makes sense given the personalities of her family. Then again, this is a rare kind of film in its depiction of a family whose members have genuine love and respect for one another, even throughout disagreements and disappointments. The MacGuffs are not dysfunctional in that spectacular way that gives family movies their quirks and puffs of drama, and comedy doesn’t pop from watching how the film’s characters fail to relate to one another.
Spreading the Kudos
The laundry list could go on. Praise could, quite rightly, be lavished on other cast members, like Michael Cera as the unwitting love-sick father of Juno’s baby. It’s perhaps more important, however, to note how “Juno” takes the sensitive topic of teenaged pregnancy and gives it an intelligent, mature treatment. No histrionics here, not even a hint of melodrama; “Juno” shows mature people – or people growing into maturity – how to deal with a difficult situation. The only blot, if it can be called that, is that the film may have too light of a touch. The issue of Juno surrendering her child to adoptive yuppie parents is pregnant (pardon the pun) with dramatic possibilities, especially in the form of Mr. Yuppie’s (Bateman) ex-rocker sensibilities brought out by Juno but actively suppressed by Mrs. Yuppie (Garner). Yet “Juno” is content to let that particular plot threat dangle loosely, while tying up the rest into a non-controversial resolution. Bateman exists, stage left, with nary a whimper. Much like “Dan in Real Life,” the ending, while appropriate, could have used a slightly brawnier build-up to stave off the Church Lady’s condemnation: “How convenient!”
Sweet, but Not Too Sweet
At least the film’s shortcoming in the conclusion department isn’t remotely as egregious as “Dan in Real Life,” an otherwise good film whose feel-good ending stretched believability just a tad too much. With involving, human characters sparked by authenticity and a tone of non-cloying sweetness, there’s barely enough cognitive dissonance going on in “Juno” to notice the dramatic shortcuts. It’s a wonderful little film, surprisingly quiet despite its protagonist’s big mouth, and a reminder how it’s not always necessary to have a heavy cinematic hand. Sometimes, likeable and memorable characters in a humane plot are all that’s needed.
Entertainment Value: ** (out of two)
Technical Quality: ** (out of two)
Gold Star Awarded!
Juno. Written by Diablo Cody. Directed by Jason Reitman. Starring Ellen Page, Michael Sera, J.K. Simmons, Allison Janney, Jennifer Garne, and Jason Bateman. 92 minutes. Rated PG-13 (for mature thematic material, sexual content and language).