Juno

So once again spoilers will be kept to the minimum but they still might be in there. So consider yourself warned. There is your disclaimer.

So as some of my friends and family know, I am neurotic about not watching trailers and finding out about a movie before I go into it. I basically like to go in blind. This movie wasn't a whole lot different. I had seen a single trailer for it about a month ago and tried to put it out of mind.

All I knew was that it had the dorky son from Arrested Development (aka Michael Cera) and that he had somehow drugged some girl, slept with her and got her pregnant. Although the drugging the girl wasn't actually in the movie or even implied but how else is that kid gonna get any action. Actually I really like Michael Cera, but let's be honest, he isn't much of a Don Juan.

Now I know this is also a really shallow thing to say, but from the very start of this movie, I was captivated with Ellen Page (of the Kitty Pryde from X3 fame). She was adorable and quirky in a very adorable way. Her character, Juno (of the title of this movie fame), is exactly the kind of girl that I would love to accidentally impregnate... or at least repeatedly try.

Within the first few minutes I instantly fell in love with the music in the movie. It was well chosen and added to the comedy that was already present in much of the dialogue. I don't know who was in charge of music selection but they are possibly just as brilliant as whoever decided to get the wonderful and addictive Ellen Page to be in this movie.

And I know I am singling out Ellen Page for praise but that was because she was really cute, which is a hard thing to do pregnant, but she still managed to pull it off. But in fact there wasn't really anyone in this movie that didn't do a superb job in their acting. Jason Bateman (also from Arrested Development fame) was particularly convincing in his portrayal of the "less than excited to be a Dad" husband of Jennifer Garner. I am not going to take time to single out EVERY actor and actress in the movie as there wasn't anyone who really let the ball drop on the acting front.

Now, I had expected a comedic quirky coming of age story similar to the movie Saved! where a chick has to grow up faster than she wants due to pregnancy but unlike its evangelical satirical cousin, Juno actually dealt with some serious issues in a less than funny approach. That to me made this movie much more of "slice of life" story than a coming of age comedy involving pregnancy, dorky boys in tiny track shorts and oh so adorable Ellen Page (have I mentioned how much I like Ellen Page?).

Rating Criteria
What it was meant for: A peculiar take on the good ol' story of a teenage girl who gets knocked up and has to deal with that and growing up.

Achievement of intended goal: 9/10
The movie is well written and well acted. It seems relatively realistic except that real life doesn't have as many witty conversations or no where nearly as cool of a soundtrack.

Ease of being engaged: 7/10
Side note: Up until this point (read "the first two reviews") I have used Learning Curve but that doesn't really work for movies so I am going to use this category as basically the ability to forget you are watching actors. Basically how easy is it to suspend disbelief.
Occasionally with the actors (Jason Bateman and Michael Cera in particular) it was hard to imagine them as anything but the characters I had seen them play elsewhere. Even so the movie still was emotionally engaging and easy to get involved in.

Enjoyability: 9/10
Taking everything into account, this movie has everything. It had laughs and it had moments where I was ready to cry either from joy or sorrow. It was very easily enjoyed. Even the retirees in the theater with us enjoyed it (apparently movies shown from 12 - 2 in the afternoon have a high retiree population).

Overall: Better than forgetting your wash in the machine for a week and winding up with mildewy clothing but not quite as good as getting to knock up Ellen Page (but let's be honest, what is?).