Juno

With the sure to be brilliant "Horrible Bosses" out this weekend, I wanna review a little sleeper hit also starring Jason Bateman called Juno. This is one of those rare little gems that not only touches on an always "hot button" topic, but actually spends 90 minutes showing the struggle a teenage girl would have dealing with an unexpected pregnancy. Juno is one of those girls that ends up preggers on her first time ever. Not a good start to one's sexual growth, but what the story gives us is a comedy wrapped in a drama, wrapped in high school maturity that is almost non existent....unless you have dealt with your own unexpected pregnancy. So when Juno (Ellen Page) and the love of her life, Paulie Bleeker (Cera) finally embrace that their kooky, quirky vibes fit each other like pieces to a puzzle she ends up with child. Struggling with her own identity and now adding this to her plate, she really needs a support system. Her Dad (JK Simmons) takes the news surprisingly well considering his oldest daughter may have "ruined" her life. Her stepmother is the major comic relief, but the film is laced with super fun humor, then it turns dark at times. Her first stop is the clinic where she changes her mind, then she decides to give the baby to a deserving family who wants it. She finds an ad where she meets a man and wife who have been unsuccessful in the baby making process. Mark and Vanessa Loring (Bateman and Jennifer Garner) win the unborn Juno lottery and she becomes very friendly with them. She feels safe with them, and they give her hope that her baby will be loved. She has an especially good rapport with Mark who is 20 years her senior. They have a love of music and horror movies that bond them almost instantly, but when Mark thinks Juno wants more from him, her newly developed world of trust crumbles. The story is so good, and it is written with a passion and it shows. How is Juno gonna handle all this change? Well, or poorly? Paulie is ever present, but like any 16 year old boy, all he is concerned with is that his Mom does not hear about this. I love this film, and as dark as it gets, I love where it ends up. What a brilliantly written/acted movie that should live on for generations. It does not glamorize teenage pregnancy, and it may be one of the best deterrents in the name of Abstinence with our youth today. Very real, very sweet, very Juno.

NBM rates Juno - Phenomenal