Juno

Movie, 2007, PG-13

Premise - A 16-year-old girl named Juno discovers she is pregnant and has to decide what she must do about the baby. After briefly considering an abortion, Juno pursues adoption, forming a bond with a married couple who wishes to raise her child. As her pregnancy develops, she learns a lot about what it means to develop mature relationships with herself, family, friends, and lover.

Review - I have only seen this film a small handful of times. In my opinion, it's not entertaining enough to watch on a regular basis, despite its healthy dose of comedy and artful music and visuals. The whole purpose of this blog is to explore what it is that makes a film tick or not, though I am not sure what it is that prevents me from be able to watch this over and over again. Perhaps it is the lack of much plotline. A teenager gets pregnant, and then surrenders her baby for adoption, and while there are poignant character interactions jokes, not all that much "happens" in between the two points. However, the rare times I do watch it, I am always moved. I get teary-eyed towards the end where we see the female solidarity. Of course, Juno starts out loving the husband and antagonizing the wife. By the end, the husband has proved himself to be a no-good waste who divorces her, and Juno decides to give her baby to the wife who will now raise the baby on her own. It is such a powerful ending because Juno believed the entire point of adoption was to give her baby up to a loving family. In the end, all the baby really needs is someone who has the capacity to love and take care of him. Vanessa, the wife, makes such an inspirational decision to raise the baby on her own. She has the money and the willpower. She's wanted to be a mother all her life. All she needed was the baby, screw the husband. (86/100)

Quote - "A woman becomes a mother when she gets pregnant. A man becomes a father when he sees his baby."

What to watch for - This film has an iconic soundtrack. But let's be real, I watched this for Michael Cera who is one of cinema's greatest treasures.

If you liked this movie, I'd recommend Little Miss Sunshine!

Directed by Jason Reitman

Distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures