Juno (Juno: Crecer, Correr y Tropezar) [NTSC/REGION 1 & 4 DVD. Import-Latin America]

I'm hoping JUNO helps make Ellen Page the star that HARD CANDY should have made her. She was completely unknown to me when I went to see that harrowing piece, and her performance was Oscar caliber. I've been eagerly awaiting more work from her, but other than a tiny part in X-MEN: LAST STAND, I've had a pretty long wait.But she totally steals JUNO...which is saying a lot, because almost everyone is pretty terrific in this highly entertaining film. But Ellen Page is some sort of unique energy source. She seems to do so little, but the tiniest facial tic or change in tone conveys so much. She's clearly a super-intelligent actress and her characters are also intelligent (probably almost to the point of stretching credulity...but who cares, it's so much fun), and they are funny and in JUNO, sensitive.Juno is a sixteen year old who has just discovered she's pregnant, after one encounter with her longtime friend Bleeker (they are mostly just friends...not really girlfriend/boyfriend). June at first considers abortion as her only option, but she quickly decides she'd rather carry the child and pass it on to a loving but needy couple for adoption. She does this knowing full well that she'll be an object of much discussion at school, AND she'll have to tell her father (JK Simmons) and her step-mother (Allison Janney). And she'll have to tell the baby's father (Michael Cera from SUPERBAD and ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT).She finds her immediate family to be shocked but supportive, and her dad comes with her to meet the couple Juno has selected (from the "Penny Saver" no less!). These childless yuppies are played by Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman, and at first we think Garner is a bit of a control freak, and Bateman is the "cool" one...but this movie plays with our expectations of this couple right from the start. I won't say much more, because much of the richness of the film comes in the changes Juno sparks in this couple.Juno is a whip-smart almost loner, who we find early on, is probably secretly pining for the love of goofy Bleeker. And Bleeker certainly loves his old friend...yet these two have never faced these feelings...because they are both so confounded by them. Juno is accustomed to having her act very much under control, and I believe she has a hard time admitting she has feelings that make her vulnerable to another person. And Bleeker (played sublimely by Michael Cera...who is now officially in danger of being typecast for the rest of his life) is just too shy, goofy and flummoxed to believe his feelings would ever be returned.There isn't a lot of plot to the film. It follows Juno through her voyage of discovery, at the child growing inside her, at her own feelings towards the boy who may become the man in her life and at what she discovers about the family she wants to give her child to. What makes JUNO so much fun is the crackling dialogue (from current hot screenwriter Diablo Cody) and the equally snappy performances.(I appreciated too that Juno made the choice not to have an abortion. Not only would there have been no film if she had...but it was refreshing to see a major film character make the choice she did. Not because she was against abortion, but because she was able to make a reasoned decision that was not only great for her child, but great for another couple and quite enriching for her. It also serves as a reminder that there are other choices besides abortion or deciding to raise a child yourself. I don't feel the film was trying to make a statement...except to say "whatever you decide, think it through a little bit.")The dialogue is the kind that no one would ever speak in real life, yet it hews close enough to realistic that it becomes its own style of "hyper-realism." Ellen Page has the aura of someone who might actually speak in this very cynical yet open and intelligent manner, and thus she pulls it off. Therefore, everyone else (none of whom are quite so snappy as Juno) seems positively normal by comparison. Thus, the dialogue works!The performances are very good as well. As I said, Cera is wonderful at the type of part he plays...I hope he gets to stretch soon as an actor...but for now, seeing him work is a delight. Janney is very good as the stepmother, who both loves and is exasperated by Juno. Garner is touching in her smallish but important role, and Bateman brings interesting shadings to what could have been a one-dimensional role. He underplays, and this is in keeping with the style of the film. It's no wonder that his character and Juno's hit it off so well.But to me, other than Ellen Page, the MVP of the film is the always fantastic JK Simmons. Can someone please sometime give this actor an award!! From the over-the-top newspaper editor in the SPIDERMAN films, to the hilarious thief with irritable bowel syndrome in THE LADY KILLERS, to competent Dr. Skoda in "Law and Order" to the chilling white supremacist in "Oz"...this guy may be the best character actor around. He plays Juno's dad so well, and their scenes together have a true warmth that spreads to the whole film. He's a blue-collar guy...no doubt perplexed by Juno's immense vocabulary and her way of speaking...yet we can also see in his manner that he's a big inspiration to how Juno turned out the way she did. It's a well-written part, and he knocks it out of the park.The movie is not perfect. Again, the wonderful screenplay is a bit mannered. It struck me that way a Woody Allen or Neil Simon script might strike an audience...these characters are too witty to be believed. So while I thoroughly enjoyed the script and while it was well-executed...it still did not 100% elude the "hey, no one in real life would think to say that" syndrome from time to time. It would say it was more like 95% of the time.Jason Reitman (who also directed the excellent THANK YOU FOR SMOKING) keeps the film moving nicely...but he's not a super-inventive director. He finds good scripts and a good cast (90% of the battle) but there's nothing inspiring about what he brings to the film as a crafter of beautiful imagery or masterful framing. He lets his actors do great work, and that's most important. Some day, I hope he tries his hand at something that doesn't really on Aaron Eckhart's or Ellen Page's masterful delivery.But this is certainly a film high on my list for 2007. I truly love Ellen Page, and I predict some more great things for her. Her performance alone makes the film worth seeing...but thank goodness there are so many other great things as well.

In the past month our local theater chain (we have but one in the Zenith City) has started listed "Critic's Choice" movies in their theater listing. The only two movies selected for such an accolade at the present time were the Coen Brothers' " No Country for Old Men " and "Juno." I have already told you everything I know about the former, but of the latter I had heard nothing. However, Roger Ebert's review of "Juno" appeared in the paper, and after scanning the first two paragraphs, where he calls it "just about the best movie of the year" and raves about Ellen Page's performance, I decided I wanted to see the movie. The accompanying photograph showed Page running down the stairs in front of her house in between Allison Janney and J.K. Simmmons. Recognizing the cast was enough to confirm my decision and I did not bother to read the caption for the photograph or the rest of the review. Consequently, I sat in the theater today to watch "Juno" without any idea of what it was about and I hope that some of you are fortunate enough to have the same experience because with all the time you know what a movie is supposed to be about and you are bitterly disappointed, being pleasantly surprised and falling in love with a movie is pretty sweet.So I am not going to say anything about what the movie is about, although as a teaching of Classical Greek & Roman Mythology I feel compelled to point out that Juno is the wife of Jupiter in Roman mythology and not in Greek mythology, where she is called Hera (Juno is a much better name for the lead character in this movie). I am going to say that first time writer Diablo Cody should win the Oscar for Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen on the basis of his dialogue in this movie. At first I was thinking that the dialogue is like a condensed compendium of the sort of language we enjoyed for seven seasons of " Buffy The Vampire Slayer ," but that does not do Cody's dialogue justice. The last time I heard dialogue that made me set up and take notice it was probably Quentin Tarentino's " Pulp Fiction ," but that was diction and timing rather than word choices. Probably the closest comparison is between "Juno" and " A Clockwork Orange ," and that still does not do justice to the delightful verbiage that comes out of the mouths of these characters.The performance from the ensemble is stellar. Those who have been debating whether Dakota Fanning or Evan Rachel Wood is the best actress under 21 are going to have to include Ellen Page in the debate. I recognized her from " X-Men - The Last Stand " and Michael Cera from " Superbad ," but clearly these roles go to the top of their resumes. I know there is a bandwagon for Page for an Oscar nomination, but Janney and Simmons should be touted for their superb supporting roles as well. "Juno" is the best thing that Jason Bateman has ever done and he is probably the biggest surprise here, although when Jennifer Garner's name came up in the opening credits I wondered what she was doing in this film, but seeing as how Bateman and Garner made " The Kingdom  together immediately before filming their roles in "Juno," I suspect that might be the connection. I have to think that everybody who read this script, from director Jason Reitman (" Thank You for Smoking ") to the entire cast immediately signup for the joy of making this film.The one thing to be aware of is that you should stay for the end credits just to check out the songs that are in this movie, although once the Antsy Pants start playing "Vampire" you should want to stick around. Be forewarned that "Juno" is one of those movies where you are going to want to get the  soundtrack  on the way home from the theater (or, um, download it as soon as you get home). The songs done for the movie are by Kimya Dawson, who is a perfect fit for Cody's screenplay, because she seems to be channeling Gilbert & Sullivan through postmodernist sensibilities. But the great thing about the soundtrack is that all of the key songs that either play in the background or are actually played by (or sung by) the characters in the film are on the CD. I should also mention that the  shooting script  is out there as well, if you want to read over the choice dialogue again while listening to the eclectic mix of songs on the soundtrack (while waiting for the movie to come out on DVD).

We enjoyed this movie.

Ja, ich kannte den Film bereits vom Titel. Eigentlich hätte ich ihn nicht gekauft, wenn ich nicht eines Tages erfahren hätte, dass auch Olivia Thirby, darin eine Rolle hatte.Nun, aber auch die Hauptdarstellerin und alle anderen Schauspieler bringen das Thema "Un-gewollte" Schwangerschaft bei Jugendlichen ganz prima in Szene. Der Film ist völlig unverkrampft und bietet allein schon daher eine angenehme Unterhaltung mit Witz und tollen Dialogen.Kurzum: auf ganzer Linie ein empfehlenswerter Film für fast Jeden; zumindest aber für die, welche sich für das Thema interessieren oder sich vielleicht beruflich damit auseinander setzen müssen (Lehrer, Pädagogen, Eltern, etc.) ...

Ellen Page ist der Hammer. Die Rollen, die Sie spielt leben. Auch hier wird der amerikanische Film gezeigt, wie er seinkönnte, wenn in Holywood nicht die Dauerkriegshetze dominiert.Junges Mädel bekommt mit Ihrem Freund ein Kind. Da Sie noch so Jung ist, wollte Sie abtreiben. Sie entscheidet sich gegen das Töten des Kindes, und möchte es nach dem Austragen an nette Leute, die kein Kind kriegen können, weitergeben. So symphatisch durchdacht, so nette Charaktere. ein Genuß.

Ich hab den Film im Fernsehen gesehen und musste ihn unbedingt als DVD haben da hier Gott sei Dank nicht die ganze Geschichte durch blöde Werbung unterbrochen wird, die in diesem Film besonders nervig ist!!!So herzerfrischend und lustig, ich bin ein voller Fan davon!!Bei der Geschichte passt alles zusammen, angefangen von den Schauspielern (hier besonders hervorzuheben ist Ellen Page als Juno!!) Einfach göttlich und sowas von super gespielt, ein Traum!!Die Lachmuskeln werden sehr strapaziert und ich denke mir er hat auf der komischen Basis doch etwas wahres als Kern.Aber bitte selber schauen und in meinen Augen auch mal etwas mit der Realtität vergleichen. So manche Ansage findet hier durch die Blume statt, die uns auch etwas lehren möchte!!!!

This film has a great sense of humor. It handles the sensitive topic of teenage pregnancy in a refreshing, heartwarming, and clever way. The lovable and charismatic characters are brought to life with amazing performances. I have watched this film countless times and I still laugh and smile just as much as i did the first time I watched it. I would give it 94%.

Un film interessante che riguarda la gravidanza adolescenziale. adoro il film Finalmente trovato! Un vero capolavoro del genere cinematografico indipendente. Consigliato