Juno (Single-Disc Edition)
by Jason Reitman
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Allison Janney, Ellen Page, Jason Bateman, Jennifer Garner, Michael CeraDirector: Jason Reitman
Brand: Fox
Producer: Brad Van Arragon
Producer: Daniel Dubiecki
Producer: Jim Miller
Producer: John Malkovich
Producer: Joseph Drake
Producer: Kelli Konop
Writer: Diablo Cody
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: French (Unknown); English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language); French (Original Language); Spanish (Original Language); French (Dubbed); Spanish (Dubbed)
Format: Color, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.77:1
Running Time: 96 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-04-15
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Product features:
- DVD Details: Actors: Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, Allison Janney
- Directors: Jason Reitman
- Format: Color, Widescreen, NTSC. Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only)
- Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1; Number of discs: 1; Studio: 20th Century Fox
- DVD Release Date: April 15, 2008; Run Time: 96 minutes
Movie Reviews of Juno (Single-Disc Edition)
Movie Review: 4 1/2 - Surprisingly good
Summary: 5 Stars
"All I notice is those `pork swords'"
Juno (Ellen Page) walks around taking swigs from the largest bottle of Sunny Delite you will ever see. She hurries into a convenience store and purchases a pregnancy test from the clerk (Rainn Wilson, TV's "The Office"). Her fears are realized. She is pregnant after having sex for the first time with Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera, "Superbad", TV's "Arrested Development"). She tells her father Mac McGuff (J.K. Simmons) and step-mom Bree (Allison Janney) and decides she wants to have the baby, but give it up for adoption. Enter the perfect couple, who are unable to conceive, Vanessa and Mark Loring (Jennifer Garner, Justin Bateman). As the pregnancy progresses, Juno has trouble with her feelings for Paulie and the perfect couple have problems of their own.
I know. From the description I just relayed, "Juno" sounds like an afternoon special, a precautionary tale, a drama. It couldn't be any more different than that. Director Jason Reitman ("Thank You for Smoking") takes a screenplay by first time writer Diablo Cody, a former exotic dancer, and creates one of the funniest films I have seen this year. Much like the equally funny "Lars and the Real Girl", both films take characters who are off center, but believable, and allow us to watch as they use humor to deal with difficult situations.
"Juno" works so well because Juno is so believable. She seems like your average rebellious teenager. Ready and willing to act out, albeit mildly, she is just a teen girl trying to figure things out. So when she is in a band with Paulie, and there seems to be an attraction, he might be the right guy to try sex with for the first time. He is also attracted to her, so he agrees. They are testing out sex together. As Juno relates these events, she provides us with amusing insights, noticing Paulie's addiction to Orange TicTacs for instance. Also, Paulie is on the Junior High running team, so she seems to notice eight or nine of his team mates running by her, wearing their short gold running shorts, their "pork swords" moving underneath, at all times. This is a constant running joke, no pun intended, because Paulie's teammates always seem to be running by Juno whenever she is outside, emphasizing the fact she is noticing boys for the first time in her life.
JK Simmons and Allison Janney are also very good as her parents. As each is introduced to us by Juno, she also provides amusing antidotes for them as well. For instance, we learn her step-mom Bree (Janney) runs a manicure salon, so Bree, like all people who are preoccupied with the one thing they are good at, talks about nails, and manicures, and everything related to it, sneaking in these references as much as possible. When she takes Juno to see a doctor, and the doctor prescribes a particular vitamin, Bree quickly notes how this helps to make nails stronger. Their reaction to Juno's news about the pregnancy is also very funny.
Michael Cera is very good as Paulie, a smart kid, member of the track team and a kid who seems genuinely interested in Juno as a girlfriend, but also as a friend. They really seem to get along together and Paulie is attracted to her. Because he is so sweet, and good-natured, he is also extremely likable. His mother, who clearly doesn't like Juno, puts up with her because she knows her son is attracted to her. He usually makes good decisions, so she gives him the benefit of the doubt. But she isn't beyond giving Juno a dead stare any time she comes to the house. But Juno knows this will happen and simply ignores her until she retreats to Paulie's sanctuary, his bedroom. There, she feels safe.
When the two get together, they look at each other, regarding each other with interest, yet unsure how to express this. There is hunger in their eyes, but they haven't had enough experience to know this is a natural thing. Yet.
Michael Cera makes Paulie interesting because he is clearly going through the same problems all teenage males go through, yet he doesn't quite seem to have the angst we are used to seeing in film characters.
Mac accompanies his daughter to their first meeting with Vanessa and Mark, to make sure they don't take advantage of his daughter. Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman play the perfect couple. Vanessa feels she was born to be a mother and is kind of desperate to have a baby. Mark seems less gung-ho, but is willing to go along because it is what his wife wants.
Vanessa is also a bit weary because they have tried to adopt before only to have the birth mother back out at the last minute. The desperation is very clear, something she is unable to hide with her wide smile. Mark tries to help her deal, but he also seems a bit ambivalent about the whole thing. Or maybe he is just tired.
As the pregnancy progresses, Juno decides to drop by and keep the adoptive couple up to date. As she sees more of them, she learns more about them and realizes there are some cracks in the perfect façade. On one of these visits, Juno finds Mark at home alone and learns about some of his hobbies; they have an argument about horror films and Mark shows her one of his favorites. But he is quick to try to rush her out of the house when Vanessa returns home from work.
What makes Mark and Vanessa so interesting is a level of unease hinted at throughout their relationship. Mark is concerned about Vanessa finding Juno in their house. Vanessa is desperate to have a child, because they can't seem to conceive. There are other moments which subtly reveal things about Mark and Vanessa, showing that perhaps they aren't as perfect as they seem.
Director Jason Reitman, son of Ivan, director of "Ghostbusters", "Dave" and many other memorable comedy blockbusters, seems to have a career in his own right. His debut feature "Thank You for Smoking" was a dark comedy based on the book by Christopher Buckley. A very funny look at the lobbying industry, starring Aaron Eckhart and Catherine Keener, among others, "Smoking" was easily one of the best of that year. Now, Reitman follows with "Juno". Both films share an oddball sense of humor, a skewed way of looking at the universe which helps to make the films and stories more interesting. Reitman isn't afraid to let his characters say what they should, nee what they need to, whether it is PC or not. Because of this, his characters seem more real, even though they are incredibly well-spoken and well-versed.
In "Juno", Reitman seems to have found his muse in Ellen Page. As Juno, Page narrates the film providing many insights, acting as the voice for the director and writer. Because she is a teenage girl, her voice is deadpan and frequently conveys she could care less about what she is experiencing. This fits perfectly for her character; a teenager would share these same feelings. Frequently, as she makes an observation, trying to act disdainful of the feeling, she secretly betrays herself and reveals she is excited or afraid or unsure, even if just a little.
Reitman and his cast deserve a lot of the credit for making this film work. But the first time screenwriter, Diablo Cody, has also done a remarkable job. From what I understand, Cody, a former exotic dancer of some sort, decided she wanted to become a screenwriter and came up with "Juno", her first screenplay, which was produced virtually unchanged. She provides these characters with unusual, interesting voices, making the film very funny.
Her observations of characters, especially Bree and the Lorings, help to make the film come alive. With these casual asides, we actually learn a lot about the people and what makes them tick. None of them are completely bad; none of them are completely good either.
Also, just when it seems like Cody could take the obvious route, making fun of Vanessa and Mark, or Juno's parents, the screenwriter leads us to suspect this is about to happen only to change course and make us laugh at something unexpected. That takes talent.
"Juno" is a very good film, one of the year's best comedies. Filled with interesting, off-center characters dealing with difficult situations in the way they know best; with humor.
Summary of Juno (Single-Disc Edition)
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