Authentic sensitivity meets ambiguous seriousness: life has meaning. Juno’s confession of premarital sex and pregnancy is anything but a concession. With fortitude and honesty little seen on screen, Juno makes a declaration of independence from current cultural pressure. Displaying the wit of a comedienne, the wisdom of a sage, and the longsuffering of a protester, Juno communicates that no one will dissuade her from the quest to do what is right.
Add the following ingredients and mix thoroughly: Juno’s director’s (Jason Reitman) first film was the sarcastic Thank You For Smoking; Juno’s star’s (Ellen Page) first film was the revenge-against-cyber-stalkers Hard Candy; Mateo Messina, in his first composer role, utilized Kimya Dawson’s tunes to capture the sweet spirit of the picture; Juno’s screenwriter (Diablo Cody) was once a stripper and phone-sex operator. Such collaboration would seem a “goof” to most in Hollywood. But like The Office, put together a group who cares for their craft and the results can be astounding.
Each person in their freshman or sophomore credits fused with the experience of John Malkovich as producer or character actors such as J.K. Simmons and Allison Janney (Juno’s pitch-perfect parents) create a film without parallel. Michael Cera’s performance as Paulie Bleeker captures the clueless, caring spirit of a boyfriend caught in a situation he cannot fathom with a love he cannot relinquish. Jason Bateman, as the potential adoptive father, portrays more adolescent behavior than Juno forcing the story toward a surprising yet fitting conclusion.
Planned Parenthood was surely outraged by the portrayal of a less than caring and still clueless response to a teenager “making a choice.” The lone protester outside the clinic knows Juno from high school and can muster little retort to a possible abortion save “it has fingernails.” This is all Juno need know. Taking the baby to term, damn the response of all naysayers, is exactly what she believes to be right setting her on a course to seek adoptive parents. Motivation for Juno’s ethical stance seems only to be inherent: something she knows to be right without preachment.
In Roman mythology “Juno” was queen of the gods. Thought to be the guardian spirit of females, she would appear in statuary armed, dressed as a Roman legionnaire. When the combativeness of Juno’s character is considered, the intentionality of the name may well speak to the plotline of the story. Uninterested in publicly blaming her boyfriend-father, Juno stands publicly alone, though buttressed by kindhearted, honest parents.
Paulie’s training with the everpresent track team wins him the race where the finish line is the hospital. The seasons of life, as does a nine month pregnancy, continue unabated. Yet the final scene brings Juno to her beau broken free of monotony. People may struggle with how to live; but life takes on new meaning as life is given meaning.
Rated PG-13 for sexual situations, mature subject matter, and language.
Mark Eckel wondered how Planned Parenthood responded to their depiction in Juno.