The Film Junkie

Here Diablo Cody has done the opposite.  She has given us the highly intelligent Juno (Ellen Page), but she has also allowed for Juno to have a limited scope, allows her to be taught and be constantly learning.  We see that the walls she has built up around her come from her own lack of self-understanding.

The story follows Juno as she discovers she is pregnant by way of her best friend (the incomparable Michael Cera, once again bringing awkwardness to a new peak).  Juno decides to sell her spawn to a wealthy upper middle class couple played by Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner.  They seem to be the picture of perfection, but trembling underneath is the reality that there are at different stages of life.  Bateman is intense and sarcastic but also incredibly caged.  He has rarely been so reserved and quiet, here the smart aleck is replaced somewhat by a yearning for one’s youth.  Garner has never been so good.  The Queen of Hollywood archetype she has been perfecting is replaced by a raw and lonely woman searching for a child to give her life meaning and constantly afraid her dreams are going to be crushed.

But onto Page, after all this movie is all about her.  She showed tremendous promise in the amazing ‘Hard Candy’, but here she has solidified herself as the face of new Hollywood.  She is witty, hard and sarcastic while also letting Juno be a real girl.  She is a rare breed of young female star and one can only hope that town doesn’t swallow her up.

A brilliantly written, acted and directed film about what people really need, whether they know it or not.

Oh, and it has one hell of a soundtrack.