Juno

"Juno" - Starring Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Jason Batemen,with Allison Janney, and J.K. Simmons written by Diablo Cody and Directed by Jason Reitman.

Juno tells the story of a teenager, Juno, (Page) who in her ends up being pregnant by her best friend Paulie.(Cera) In choosing to keep the baby, Juno then plans to give the baby up for adoption to the willing Loring couple. (Garner and Batemen) From there the story 'stretches and grows' to show the bumps of teenage pregnancy and the world. The plot holds true to the tag line "A comedy about growing up... and the bumps along the way." The credit of this film goes to not only the actors who all show a great deal of maturity, humility, and individuality but also to the screenwriter and director who all acknowledge the nuances and eccentricity of everyday life. Page's performance is strong and shows a great deal of sophistication for her relatively short stint as a leading lady of full length films. Her performance not only holds the character needed to carry the film but keeps the youthful exuberance and 'innocence' of a teenager who openly admits in trying to decide "what kind of girl I am." The rest of the ensemble cast is a perfect compliment to Page's excellent performance. Another accolade of praise must go to the screenwriter, Cody, who resists the temptation of falling into a "same-ol, same-ol" independent film formula she keeps the film fresh and alive showing many angles of American teen culture and strays away from a typical formulaic "coming of age" fable. Reitman also deserves a great deal of praise for leading the actors to strong yet subtle and unobtrusive execution of dialogue and script. Reitman isn't afraid of silence and awkwardness, which he uses to his advantage in his telling of the story. This film deals with modern life with humor, grace and compassion. It lives up to its "one of this year's ten best" billing and is a great joy to screen and to watch. 5/5 Remotes