PopcornReel.com Movie Review: "Juno" (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

JUNO

Where Baby Talk from a Teenage Girl’s Mouth Is Like, Wicked Cool -- Not

PopcornReel.com Movie Review: “Juno”

By Omar P.L. Moore/December 14, 2007

Ellen Page as Juno MacGuff and Olivia Thirlby as Leah in Jason Reitman's "Juno", which opened today in San Francisco and other Northern California cities. The film opened in New York and Los Angeles on December 7. John Malkovich was one of the film's producers. (Photo: Doane Gregory/Fox Searchlight Pictures)

“Juno”, the second film from Jason Reitman, is witty and sharp-eyed in its look at teenage bombast, ushering forth a star of tomorrow in Ellen Page, playing the title character with an unrestrained fervor and caustic manner that is refreshing. The film itself however, doesn’t quite measure up, even with the effective casting of Jason Bateman, Allison Janney, Jennifer Garner and J.K. Simmons, who all shine here. Diablo Cody's screenplay has its moments, but after all the sharp barbs and repartees of the first hour, “Juno” settles down and becomes a serious film about the predicament Juno must face when her pregnancy faces a test of surrogacy and a married couple (Bateman and Garner) who are unable to conceive. Bateman and Garner were good onscreen together earlier this year in “The Kingdom”, and they fit well again here, this time as bright-eyed spouses who hope that Juno can illuminate their lives.

“Juno” takes some risks mixing its smart humor (at times) with serious issues of teen pregnancy, and Juno herself seems to breeze through some of the tough decisions she has to weigh. There is a satirical fire burning within some parts of the film; the takes on adolescence and teenage attitudes about sex in particular, but as bright a director as Mr. Reitman is (his debut last year “Thank You For Smoking” was riveting), something is left wanting in his sophomore effort. Ms. Page is good -- supremely good here – playing a smart teen making some questionable choices, but very few others in “Juno” have the energy or fire in their performances to match. Granted, Mr. Bateman’s character interacts well with Ms. Page's, and Ms. Garner has a few nice moments, with the always-reliable Janney and Simmons in fine form, but when “Juno” is examined as a whole, several elements (including a lackluster subplot about the boy who gives Juno an unexpected surprise) don’t belong. Even some of the humor gets tired and worn after a while. The story sustains some interest, but not nearly enough to be viewed a potential groundbreaking experience in the teenage tragicomedy genre.

And whenever a film does a "winter, spring, summer, fall" timeline for its theme, it had better have something halfway decent in each season that will sustain its interest for an audience, and unfortunately, the only thing that does in “Juno” is the great work of Ellen Page.

"Juno" is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America for mature thematic material, sexual content and language. The film's duration is one hour and 32 minutes.

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