Movie review: Juno, the best of a bad situation
by Kaleigha Ramey, Arts & Culture Editor
Though this movie has been out almost a month, it has become almost as popular as Little Miss Sunshine, and has been the topic of many of my discussions throughout the holiday break, so I thought a review was in order. Most people love it, some hate it, and some just can not decide what to take seriously and what to laugh at. The film walks the fine line between an "indie" film, and a "studio" film, resembling the quirkiness and graphic integration of films like "Napolean Dynamite," while still bearing the professionalism of a blockbuster drama-comedy.
The main character, Juno (Ellen Page), is a smart-mouthed, quick-witted character who defies all social casts by sleeping with a "jock," dressing like a boy, and having a teacher-loving cheerleader as a best friend. She says everything you wish she wouldn't, and shows no fear in telling adults exactly how she sees it.
Sixteen-year-old Juno gets pregnant early on in the film, due to a boredom inspired sex-capade with her friend Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera), who, as her dad says later, "doesn't seem like he has it in him." Gawky and extremely young looking, Bleeker runs cross-country with the pack of runners that provide a background for the entire film. Also making up the supporting cast is Juno's best friend, Leah (Olivia Thirlby), a sharp-tongued young lady, with a "fondness" for male teachers. Juno's parents, played by Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner, also play a huge role in the humor of this movie.
The plot is good, the execution better, the humor dry but appealing, the only thing wrong with this movie is the reality factor of it. Juno is too young to be having sex, to be pregnant, to make a decision about adoption, much less deal with the emotional repercussions of all of these things. In its attempt to be humorous, the film makes a lighthearted affair out of teen pregnancy, and though Juno's situation is probably the best that it could be, supportive parents, and a loving adoptive situation, the truth is, it is still sin. This fact makes the ending hard to swallow, as we see Juno sitting on the sidewalk strumming on her guitar with Bleeker, singing a love song, without a care in the world. There is no redemptive quality to the movie, no evidence that Juno will make better decisions in the future. Instead, we are told that it's all okay because she "loves" Bleeker. How long will that last, one wonders? She's still only 16.
For entertainment purposes, I'd give the film an eight out of 10, but try to extract any morally sound values, and the rating falls to a six.