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JUNO
Directed by Jason Reitman.
Produced By: Lianne Halfon, John Malkovich, Mason Novick & Russell Smith.
Written by Diablo Cody.
Director of Photography Eric Steelberg.
Edited by Dana E. Glauberman.
Music by Mateo Messina.
Songs by Kimya Dawson.
Released by Fox Searchlight.
USA. 91 min. PG-13
With Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, Allison Janney, J.K. Simmons & Olivia Thirlby.

Blogger-turned-screenwriter Diablo Cody makes an attention-getting debut with her comedy about an unplanned pregnancy involving two young and ill-equipped parents. Unless you've been on an Into the Wild-like excursion these last few months, this premise might ring a bell. At the crossroads where Garden State meets Little Miss Sunshine, Cody's script, however, is a witty, breath of fresh air in the teen comedy genre that recently has been monopolized by films relying on cheap laughs and what I like to call “dude humor.”

Juno, a 16-year-old cynical whippersnapper, finds herself pregnant – the father-to-be: her dweeby best friend Paulie (Michael Cera). Unable to either abort or care for her child, Juno, with the support of her liberal and supportive parents (Allison Janney and J.K. Simmons), seeks and finds the seemingly perfect, rich, eager-to-be-parents (Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman) to adopt her baby. At least, that’s the plan.

While some scenes fall short of their full potential and raise question marks, such as Juno's weak and unexplored reason for not following through with a planned abortion, steering way clear of controversy, such shortcomings will be soon forgotten as a result of the emotional attachment you will invest in the main characters – each with well-constructed conflicts of their own.

For the most part, director Jason Reitman (Thank You for Smoking) lets the story tell itself, getting out of the way of Cody’s dialogue – the real star of what is ultimately a conventional film. His cast is close to flawless, and Cody hits the mark with unique and timely tongue-in-cheek humor that finds its perfect medium in deadpan Ellen Page as Juno. While the humor, at times, toes the line of being overbearing, too glib for its own good, it never gets out of hand or senselessly takes away from the character-driven story, which is too often the case in today's comedies. Matt Alesevich
December 4, 2007