There was a lot of hype surrounding this movie. I’d heard good things all around, so I’m always skeptical and prepared to be disappointed when I watch such a highly-reviewed movie. Juno was… good. I liked it. The dialog was smart and funny. Ellen Page did a great job of playing an teenager indifferent to pregnancy. I thought one of the most poignant and moving parts of the movie was when Juno meets the infertile couple who will be adopting her child. The two obviously want a child more than anything and Juno, dismissive and ambivalent about the pregnancy responds to Vanessa’s comment, “I think pregnancy is beautiful” with, “Well, you’re lucky it’s not you.” The look on Vanessa’s face said a million things at once. Juno misses it completely, but it was an important reinforcement of her immaturity and ignorance of the couple’s struggles with infertility. There were other parts of the movie that were similarly moving. A good film about dealing with life when it doesn’t always work out the way you’d hoped.
Rating: ***+