What is it with all these baby movies all of a sudden? Between Knocked Up and Waitress, we’ve seen both male and female perspectives on pregnancy. August Rush is looking for his parents who don’t even know he exists (I’m not kidding). And now we have the best baby film this year in Juno, director Jason Reitman’s sophomore film after his amazing Thank You For Smoking. This time, he’s gone from razor-sharp satire to razor-sharp coming of age story with one of cinema’s most charismatic heroines in recent history with the only actress who could pull this part off.
That character’s name is Juno MacGuff and she is played by Ellen Page, most notably seen in 2005's Hard Candy. She’s sixteen, quick-witted, and just found out she’s pregnant. The boy involved (I won’t say he did it to her since we find out quickly she initiated) is the shy but cute Paulie Bleaker (Michael Cera). He’s a track runner in school who has two vices: Juno and orange Tic-Tacs. When she finds out, her first thought is abortion, but a combination of pie-flavored condoms and baby’s fingernails force her to back out (you have to see it to believe it). But now the real problem begins: what to do with the baby?
And like the I-Ching it is, the answer lies in the Penny-Saver. Juno finds an ad for a couple looking for a child to adopt. She tells her father and stepmother (The irreplaceable J.K. Simmons and Allison Janney), who takes the matter seriously, but they also take it in stride (“You’ll know I’ll stand beside through anything…apparently.”). Juno assures them she has found a solution.
They are Mark and Vanessa (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner), a well-to-do couple who lives in a suburb where Vanessa has been dedicating preparing the perfect house for a new child. Mark constantly looks as though the word baby would devour him whole. When Juno enters into the equation, she finds a kindred spirit in Mark, who used to be a rocker but now composes commercials. They argue about music and horror movies. We can tell that Juno is being irresponsible towards the couple and Mark is starting to crack under the pressure of the idea of being a father.
The film is devilishly inventive, incredibly smart, and strikingly original. Pregnancy movies usually revolve around the couple growing up. But Juno is not keeping the baby and the film never makes the mistake of making this a decision. But in her situation, her ideas of relationships are challenged and mended. We are seeing everything from Juno’s obscured perspective, giving everything a sharper edge to it. A great scene to see this is when she notices the track boys running by. Yes, it is crude, but that’s Juno. She narrates, but not in the usual sense. We are in her mind, so we’re going to hear her thoughts about the events going on.
A lot of credit must go to first-time scribe Diablo Cody, whose characters are memorable in their plainness. Her dialogue is sharp yet heartfelt. We don’t laugh at characters, but with them. There’s no villains here, no obligatory scenes for the sake of following a formula. Characters are very complex. None other than Juno herself, who is both incredibly smart incredibly stupid at the same time. But I also love how the screenplay respects the supporting characters, allowing them to be honest and real. Yes the dialogue is snappy, but remember that we’re seeing everything from Juno’s perspective and how she hears people talk. Ms. Cody’s screenplay has Oscar written all over it.
But the words can only be brought to harmony with the right actors in the parts. And this film is cast superbly. I just love watching JK Simmons and Allison Janney as Juno’s parents. The tiny mannerisms that Ms. Janney brings when she’s happy or upset that complete what the dialogue starts. Simmons, who was also in Director Jason Reitman’s Thank You For Smoking, again does his rapid-fire, scene-stealing thing that feels like improv, only better. Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner give their best film performance to date as a couple that seems perfect until you start digging a little deeper. Bateman, who is a master at the understatement, uses that to make his character. Garner goes completely against type in playing the guarded perfectionist Vanessa. Michael Cera again plays the shy sweet guy that’s becoming his foray, but this time he puts in a deeper reserve of yearning that isn’t very noticeable but in a few scenes but you can tell they’ve always been there. But the performance to beat this Oscar season is Ellen Page. This complex character in a sea of complex characters is the reason to see this amazing film, and Ms. Page really pulls off the best performance I have seen this year.
Jason Reitman in only two films has shown to be a better filmmaker than his father, the legendary Ivan Reitman of Ghostbusters fame. He allows his characters to be complex and real, not playing towards the laughs but allows the comedy to find it’s way to the story. His film feels independent, which is what this film needed. Reitman’s skill isn’t in amazing shots, but in pacing, structure and getting unforgettable performances out of his actors. And in only that do I feel that he’s going to have a long and fruitful career.
All in all, I love this film, but could I not? And I would have to ask the same of anybody who has also seen it. And who would have thought that a film about an unplanned teenage pregnancy would not only make you feel good coming out, but to make you think about the value of friends, family, and life? To know Juno McGraw is to love her. I implore everybody I can; meet Juno McGraw.