Fox Searchlight. 2007.
Screenplay: Diablo Cody
Run time: 96 minutes.
Rating: PG-13.
Watcher’s Annotation
Juno is 16 and pregnant with Paulie Bleeker's baby. All she needs now is a nice family to adopt their child.
Cast
Ellen Page, Juno MacGuff
Michael Cera, Paulie Bleeker
Jennifer Garner, Vanessa Loring
Jason Bateman, Mark Loring
Alison Janney, Brenda MacDuff
J.K. Simmons, Mac MacGuff
Olivia Thirlby, Leah
Plot Summary
In this comedy 16-year-old Juno MacGuff discovers she is pregnant with best friend, Paulie Bleeker’s baby, and she doesn’t know what to do. She decides to have a quick abortion, but is put off when a schoolmate is outside the abortion clinic. Talking with her friend Leah she then decides to put the baby up for adoption. After finding an ad in the Pennysaver, Juno then tells her father and stepmother about the baby. First shocked by Juno’s news, the parents try to support her decision. Juno is happy with her selection of the adoptive parents. Vanessa and Mark Long have a nice house, and good jobs, but Vanessa is a little standoffish. Mark, on the other hand, is happy to have a little buddy to talk to about music and slasher movies. As Juno’s pregnancy progresses she stops by Mark and Vanessa’s house occasionally to fill them in on baby news. Juno brings out Mark’s inner child. He makes a mild pass at Juno and tells her he is leaving his wife. Juno is furious, and Vanessa is heartbroken because she really wanted Juno’s baby. Juno makes a deal with Vanessa that excludes Mark, and when the baby is born Vanessa becomes the adoptive mother. In a parallel story, Paulie (a track star) feels slighted by Juno and decides to take another girl to the prom. Juno is jealous and begins to realize that she is in love with him. They become a couple just before the baby is born.
Critical Evaluation
Although it doesn’t sound like it from the plot summary the film is very funny and touching. Diablo Cody wrote a sweet treatise with another viewpoint about teen pregnancy. Sometimes things happen and it all works out for the best. This movie is not a big sobfest. Cody’s characters are superb, and the acting is natural and understated. Ellen Page as Juno is a wise cracking teen that admits that she’s just a kid. Her boyfriend, Michael Cera as Paulie just wants to do what’s best and still be Juno’s best friend. Mom (Alison Janney) and Dad MacGuff (J.K. Simmons) are probably the funniest characters of all. When they find out that Juno is pregnant there is no screaming and yelling, they just comment that it might have been easier if Juno had gotten a DWI. They are smart and funny parents, which is unheard of in a teen film. It’s true that Juno doesn’t talk like a normal teenager. Yet she is compelling. Underneath her snarky exterior is a really nice kid who is trying to do her best. The quirky soundtrack by Kimya Dawson is perfection. This film was nominated for many awards including Best Picture at the Oscar’s. Cody won the award for Best Screenplay in 2007.
Genre
Comedy, contemporary issue.
Curriculum ties
None
Challenge Issues
Teen pregnancy
Challenge defense ideas
· Become familiar with the film and its content.
· Refer to the collection development policy of the library.
· Refer to reviews from Internet Movie Database (IMDb) at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0467406/externalreviews
· Try to get reviews of the film from teens that have seen it.
Why I included this title
I like the film and it is included on the ALA 2009 Best Films for Young Adults.
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