Juno

What happens when Hollywood blends a talented young writer, an emerging director, a multitude of idiosyncratic characters, and a cast of rising stars stirred perfectly into a coming-of-age story that refuses to form opinions and apologize for its controversial subject matter?

The result is the priceless and charming Juno, a movie that proves the film industry can still make movies frighteningly fresh and endearing.

In Juno, the 20-year-old Canadian actress Ellen Page plays the witty, smart and pregnant teenager Juno MacGuff, named after the Roman goddess of marriage. The movie first introduces Juno with a sarcastic and seemingly disconcerting attitude towards motherhood that is seat-shifting uncomfortable. But her sarcasm is quickly coupled with surprising maturity and an enchanting child-likeness. Juno quickly becomes a memorable character that is respected not only for her quick banter but also her emotional depth. Page's capture and delivery of a difficult and multifaceted character is dead-on and proves she is one of Hollywood's newest arrivals here to stay.

The film opens with Juno swigging a giant bottle of Sunny D and retaking a pregnancy test in a local convenience store. After the third test, her smart-mouth lands her in a mockable dialogue with the store's clerk, played by Rainn Wilson (Dwight from the television sitcom The Office), who delivers a short, but always enjoyable performance. He assures Juno that her "eggo is preggo" and Juno strides out of the store, both demanding and delighting moviegoers' attention on her ten month excursion of teenage pregnancy in which she refuses to be another pregnant teen who is the blunt joke of misfortune and disapproval.

The audience soon meets the father, Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera from the summer blockbuster Superbad), whose dorkish presence is exemplified through his long, lanky legs descending from tiny yellow running shorts, and a tank top that further reveals his lankiness. Though Bleeker is Juno's best friend, he is strangely absent during much of the movie's important parts, but his situation (being dumped by Juno and a less-than-understanding mother who resembles an old hobbit) allows him to remain in the audience's approval.

After Juno is emotionally unable to "procure a hasty abortion," she decides to brave the future months as a "cautionary whale" and give her child to the Loring Family (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner), a Kodak-ready suburban couple who are surprisingly complex. Throughout the film the Lorings evolve from a Gap and Lexus poster couple to dynamic characters emitting powerful dialogue full of hidden love and sludge.

J. K. Simmons and Allison Janney both give extraordinary performances as Juno's parents. The flawed but loving characters created by first-time screen writer Diablo Cody, echo the depth of Cody's other primary caricatures.

With its variety of one-line wisecracks, jarring banter, and emotional depth, Juno has become a triumph for its first-time screenwriter (Cody) and director, Jason Reitman, who emerged from the shadow of his famous director father, Ivan Reitman, with Thank You For Smoking. The triumph of Juno, however, lies heavily in Cody's ability to create convincingly real dialogues and characters.

Juno is a warm and whole-hearted movie willing to embrace the American dilemma of teen pregnancy without judgment, and with vibrant realism and empathy. The movie refuses to shake fists from the soapbox and instead provides a sanctuary for humor and a handful of tear-jerking moments--all of them reminding us the human condition can be startling, but also charming, engaging, and finally, irresistible.