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Juno
In theaters December 14th 2007
Mature thematic material, sexual content and language
Run Time: 92 min
Matt's rating - 4
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Review by Matt Mungle
I am often asked what makes a movie great in my
eyes. What do I personally enjoy watching as a regular
movie goer. My answer is always the same. Enjoyable
characters and creative dialogue. When I first saw the
previews for Juno I was hooked. This was one film I
was dead set on seeing, regardless of time and
scheduling. And I must say I was not disappointed.
From the music, to the directing to the look and style,
Juno delivers a movie with heart. This flick takes a
humorous look at a serious circumstance and creates
a love story colored far outside the lines.
Juno MacGuff (Ellen Page) finds herself pregnant at
the age of 16 and is forced to make decisions and
deal with issues that most adults struggle with. But
she handles them with a depth and maturity far above
her high school pay grade. Juno is a character unlike
any female role I can recall ever seeing. Diablo Cody
(writer) created a young girl who is quirky and loveable
yet overlaid with rapid fire wit and sarcasm. Since it
takes two to make a baby there had to be the male
counterpart to Juno. Enter Paulie Bleeker (Michael
Cera). Cera is perfect as the puppy love interest. He
is 90% nerd but in that cool, quiet, arty sort of way.
There is gentleness about him that balances
Juno's, "say what you are thinking" lifestyle
What I love most about this story is how Juno's family
reacts and deals with her situation. There is a tone of
mercy and grace, with a banner of support above all
else. This film could have gone many different
directions. But it allowed the characters to be decent
at their core and with their dealings with each other.
Juno has tough decisions to make and she just wants
to do the right thing. Cody's script allowed her to do
that. And that in itself makes this film endearing. It
offers up the issues of marriage, adoption, abortion
and love subtly. It makes its point with humor void of
cynicism. Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman are the
couple wanting to adopt a child and you get to see the
struggle that process often is. Garner as always is
adorable. Add great character actors like Allison
Janney and J.K. Simmons as Juno's parents and you
have an unbeatable cast.
Juno is rated PG-13 for mature thematic material,
sexual content and language. Unlike most teenage
movies there is not a hint of sex for shock or
sophomoric humor. It is dealt with maturely and
wonderfully. The language is mild though Juno has a
descriptive way of referring to anatomy and the
pregnancy as a whole. But it makes her character who
she is. Those 15 and up will probably see this film
100 times so parents might as well go with them the
first time or two. You will laugh out loud and it might
even spark some dialogue between you and your
kiddo. And can that ever be bad? I give Juno a solid 4
out of 5 tic-tacs. Jason Reitman has delivered another
terrific film and to him I say thank you for directing!
With a look at Juno, I'm Matt Mungle
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Matt and Cindy are members of the North Texas
Film
Critics Association (NTFCA). For additional
reviews
and interview clips visit the website.
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Mungleshow Productions
Matt Mungle
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