Juno.....quite a little film...

Ok so to be honest I really thought I was going to hate Juno. Like blind stinking rage filled hate and I actually enjoyed it - a lot! I waited and waited to see it once the spin and publicity and hullabaloo surrounding it died down and I could actually enjoy the film for what it was.I have to say that the first ten minutes were cringe worthy with enough puns and ill fitting jokes to fill up a Comedy Central Roast, but once I got past it, I sort of fell in love. It was quite refreshing to see a character like Juno, played flawlessly by Ellen Page, where her alternative and irreverent nature was honest and real and not a defensive mechanism. I thought it was interesting that the story wasn't simply about her pregnancy, which a lot of screenwriters would have done, but the complete confrontation she had with the real and a very adult life that had punched her square in the face. What I also found interesting is since she distanced herself from the baby so early on into the pregnancy, it wasn't at all shocking that she had a more visceral reaction to the break up of the "happy home" her baby was going to than actually giving up the baby.

The points that the movie touched on like how easy it is for kids to end up pregnant, how it so directly effects the girl in a negative way and actually works in upgrading the perception of the guy, how difficult a choice of abortion is and how sobering it is to realize you were working so hard at love it didn’t even exist anymore were what made it worth watching. Juno confronting her best friend, the boy she is actually in love with and the father of the baby, Paulie, again with a wonderful performance from Michael Cera, was truly inspirational since it always seems, even when the baby daddy is a good guy, the female is the only one to truly suffer. Another poignant scene was where Vanessa, which was Jennifer Garner's best work to date, tries to talk to the baby in Juno's belly in the mall was one of the most human and real life things I have ever seen in a movie. The authenticity of this woman, struggling with the hand she had been dealt and the desperate want for a child, was an incredibly sad and common story. And the fact that she was continuously relying on her husband to help her in this search to no avail was even more soul crushing. This movie, more than anything, celebrated the strength in women during certain times of their lives and allowed for a very different outlook on a not such peachy situation. For all those who were yelling about this movie a few months back not confronting the issues in a real way, I believe Juno could not have been anymore authentic. And the whole movie was worth the line "No, it's Morgan Freeman. You have any bones that need collecting". The casting was flawless, soundtrack emotional and it really was a wonderful film worthy of all its accolades. After watching this movie, I can see the positive direction many of the star's careers can take, but also the development of the teen movie, where real life issues do not have to be a comedy killer and we can look at dramatic results with a glimmer of hope. I hope this little film that could aids others in their attempt at giving humor to the angst that is teenagedom and life.