Juno is a sweet movie about a teenage girl who falls pregnant after talking a boy friend into having sex for the first time for both, then decides pragmatically to find adoptive parents for the baby because 16 is too young to become a mother.
It is an American-Canadian production directed by Jason Reitman (Thank You For Smoking). The sparkling script, which captures every nuance of 21st Century teenage life, is the debut screen work of Diablo Cody, the pen-name of raunchy Los Angeles blogger Brooke Busey-Hunt, a former sex worker. It is set in Minnesota, the main locations switching between the typical American suburb where Juno MacGuff (Ellen Page) lives with her dad Mac MacGuff (J.K. Simmons – Spiderman 1, 2 and 3) and stepmum Brenda (Allison Janney – West Wing); and the Stepford Wives-like gated community of palatial homes where live Mark and Vanessa Loring (Jason Bateman – Arrested Development and Jennifer Garner – Alias), the perfect but childless couple whom Juno and her best friend Leah (Olivia Thirlby) choose to adopt the baby after looking up babies-wanted ads in PennySaver, a Trade and Exchange lookalike.
Ellen Page is very much the star of this film and it is no surprise she has just been nominated for Best Actress in the forthcoming Academy Awards (doubtless the reason Juno has had rushed preview screenings in New Zealand this weekend in advance of its scheduled opening next Thursday). Only 21, Canadian Page was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia where she still lives, despite having a fast-growing film career that already includes Hard Candy, X-Men: The Last Stand and parts in other films and television shows since she was 10. Page describes herself as a lifelong tomboy and as such probably brings much of herself to the role of Juno, who is, shall we say, regarded as somewhat “odd” by her high school peers. Juno — named after the Roman goddess by her father, who was “obsessed with Greek (sic) mythology” — cogitates on life from an armchair she takes with her in the family’s battered Previa, sitting in it with a Sherlock Holmes pipe (blessedly never lit) clenched in her jaw. Her interest in the father of her child, Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera) is because he is also different, preferring to bury his head in schoolwork when he is not out training in sun, rain and snow for the track meet that happens the day Juno gives birth.
When Juno discovers she is pregnant (there is a hilarious scene where she takes a pregnancy test in the toilet of a local store), she decides to have an abortion. At the clinic she goes to, she has to run the gauntlet of a placard-holding classmate who stands outside chanting anti-abortion messages, including telling Juno the fetus already has fingernails. This surprises her, but worse is inside, where a goth receptionist gives Juno a boysenberry flavoured condom, saying she and her boyfriend use them every time, and they make his semen smell like fruit pies. Revolted, she opts on the spot to forgo the abortion and give the baby up for adoption at birth.
Many have been the parents told by teenage daughters they are pregnant. Mac and Brenda, summoned by Juno to be told important news, fervently hope she is going to tell them she has been expelled from school or is taking drugs. When she confirms their worst fear, they are incredulous that a boy like Paulie is even capable of having sex, making Juno retort he was good at it. But Mac stands by his daughter as staunchly as any girl would wish a father to, but many don’t. He goes with her to meet Mark and Vanessa, who have a lawyer on hand to sign an adoption contract, and seem astonished when Juno doesn’t want to be paid for the baby, just give it to a good home.
While Mark and Vanessa give the appearance of having it all, their marriage in reality is falling apart. Mark resents how Vanessa insists he keeps all his favourite things, his guitars, his comics, in a little room. In a sub-plot, Juno discovers this and she and Mark become friends, impressed by his tastes in music and horror films, there being one stomach-churning (literally) moment where they watch one together. Perhaps the most poignant scene comes near the end, where a note Juno leaves on the doorstep for Vanessa is shown hanging, framed, on the wall. Also full of emotional impact is Juno watching Vanessa in a shopping mall playing happily with a small child, then approaching her and getting her to pat her swollen belly and talk to the baby inside.
The comedy lines are nicely understated. One of my favourites is in a scene where Paulie is with another boy who asks if he’s heard Juno is pregnant. When he grunts he has, the friend asks “have you heard you’re the father?” In an exchange with Leah, Juno says: “I could like, have this baby and give it to someone who like totally needs it.” Leah: “You should look in the PennySaver.” Juno : “They have ads for parents?” Leah: “Yeah! ‘Desperately Seeking Spawn’.”
Some people have queried the similarity in name and plot between it and the 2005 Korean film, Jenny, Juno, about a boy who stands by his pregnant girlfriend, but Diablo Cody has said she knew nothing of Jenny, Juno before Juno was made.
I found Juno evocative of Eagle v Shark, Taiko Waititi’s beautiful 2007 Wellington romantic comedy, in that Juno and Paulie are as nerdily likeable as E v S’s Lily and Jarrod (Loren Horsley and Jemaine Clements) and their relationships unfold in equally haphazard ways. Both films have many catchy, off-beat songs as backing and were low-budget, art-house creations that well deserve the critical acclaim each has received. As well as Best Actress, Juno has been nominated for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay in the Oscars. It is up against some heavyweight competition, so I wish it well. In the truncated Golden Globes on January 14, it missed out to La Vie En Rose, No Country for Old Men, and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, in the three categories it was a finalist in. Out of five stars, Juno for me is an easy four.
Juno, starring Ellen Page, Michael Cera, J.K. Simmons, Allison Janney, Jason Bateman, Jennifer Garner and Olivia Thirlby, directed by Jason Reitman, screenplay by Diablo Cody. 96 minutes, M – contains offensive language.****
1 Comment
June 8, 2008 at 7:08 pm
What did the note SAY that is framed on Vanessa’s wall? I couldn’t read it! Please let me know.
Sharon