Juno

1/8/08

Juno
Directed by Jason Reitman
Screenplay by Diablo Cody

A fair amount of ink has been spilled about the fact that two of the most popular (and funny) comedies of the year deal with unwanted pregnancies, and what it all means, especially the fact that in this age of choice (however long that lasts), abortion is not seriously considered as an option in these films, much less chosen. It's an interesting question, but TVOR won't go there. These are comedies, after all. If serious films start getting made about unwanted pregnancies, and still no one is talking about the "a" word, then that'll be different. TVOR would just be happy if there were no more movie characters with above-average IQs (and real people, for that matter) who express surprise when they have unprotected sex and conception occurs. HELLO! That's how it works!

OK, down to business. Juno is about a 16-year old girl who gets pregnant, decides to have the baby, picks out prospective adoptive parents from the Nickel Want Ads, and keeps the audience very well entertained while she does it. It's a very funny, well-written, well-acted, well-put together film. Maybe not so realistic, but it's a movie, right? And the characters seem human, if not very similar to folks you actually know. If only people were that witty in real life. The cast is wonderful, especially Ellen Page as Juno and Michael Cera as the baby daddy. Definitely one to see.

Video notes:

Jason Reitman's first film was Thank You for Smoking, an entertaining satire about a tobacco lobbyist (Aaron Eckhart). The film is based on Christopher Buckley's novel of the same name. It's sort of satire lite, not too cutting, but it does have some nice bits.

The other unwanted pregnancy comedy of the year is, of course, Knocked Up, written and directed by Judd Apatow. This one makes the case that men are drifting underachievers, waiting to be civilized by women, a superior sex. Whatever. It's funny, and Paul Rudd is in it, which is always a plus.