Movie Review - Juno
Film Review: JUNO
The movie Juno, directed by Jason Reitman, is quirky, comedic and dramatic all at the same time. I have heard great reviews about this witty “dramedy” but never got the chance to see it until now. Juno (played by Ellen Page) is a 16 year old girl whose boredom and curiosity leads her to have spontaneous and unprotected sex with her best friend and boyfriend, Paulie Bleeker (played by Michael Cera). She soon discovers that she is pregnant and is forced to grow up quickly and take on a world of new responsibilities. Juno considers having an abortion but rapidly changes her mind as she is sitting at the women’s health clinic attempting to fill out the required paperwork. She chooses to keep the baby and begins searching for adoptive parents. She finds Mark and Vanessa Loring (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner) in an advertisement for parenthood in the Pennysaver classifieds and decides that they are a perfect match for her unborn child. Vanessa is a sweet, successful corporate type woman who longs to fulfill her calling by being a mother. Her husband is wistful for his old days as a music and movie junkie and taps into that youthfulness with the help of Juno.
Despite the seriousness of the situation presented in the film, the movie is surprisingly lighthearted and amusing. Juno finds humor in her pregnancy and often refers to herself as the “cautionary whale.” Viewers are easily entertained by her wise cracks and sarcastic nature. The film also explores the realities of being a teenager in high school. Dealing with school, prom, and the judgments placed on her by her peers are all issues Juno must face in addition to coping with her pregnancy.
Although the film was very entertaining and comedic, I felt that it wasn’t very realistic. As we follow Juno throughout her pregnancy, she faces tough decisions and flirts with adulthood. However, teenage pregnancies do not often end like the movie does. Not many teenage girls give their children up for adoption, and happily go back to their normal lives. If Juno chose to follow through with the abortion, the movie would have been a lot more realistic and much more serious. Even if she did not have an abortion and kept the baby, we would have witnessed the struggles teenage mothers go through with raising a child. I enjoyed the film but just felt that it lacked truth regarding teens and pregnancy.
This film made me think of The Purity Myth by Jessica Valenti. In the chapter entitled “Sex, Morals and Trusting Women,” Valenti notes that the United States has higher rates of teen pregnancy, abortion, and birth than other industrialized nations. It is a problem that is largely socioeconomic, as lower income teens are more likely to get pregnant, because of the lack of access to contraception (Valenti, 192). This is something the film failed to touch on and explore.
I am aware that the film’s goal wasn’t to state the explicit facts and statistics regarding teenage pregnancy; however, I feel that it is something that shouldn’t go unaccounted for. I did enjoy how Juno was a coming-of-age story and that each of the characters developed and matured in their own unique ways.
The movie Juno, directed by Jason Reitman, is quirky, comedic and dramatic all at the same time. I have heard great reviews about this witty “dramedy” but never got the chance to see it until now. Juno (played by Ellen Page) is a 16 year old girl whose boredom and curiosity leads her to have spontaneous and unprotected sex with her best friend and boyfriend, Paulie Bleeker (played by Michael Cera). She soon discovers that she is pregnant and is forced to grow up quickly and take on a world of new responsibilities. Juno considers having an abortion but rapidly changes her mind as she is sitting at the women’s health clinic attempting to fill out the required paperwork. She chooses to keep the baby and begins searching for adoptive parents. She finds Mark and Vanessa Loring (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner) in an advertisement for parenthood in the Pennysaver classifieds and decides that they are a perfect match for her unborn child. Vanessa is a sweet, successful corporate type woman who longs to fulfill her calling by being a mother. Her husband is wistful for his old days as a music and movie junkie and taps into that youthfulness with the help of Juno.
Despite the seriousness of the situation presented in the film, the movie is surprisingly lighthearted and amusing. Juno finds humor in her pregnancy and often refers to herself as the “cautionary whale.” Viewers are easily entertained by her wise cracks and sarcastic nature. The film also explores the realities of being a teenager in high school. Dealing with school, prom, and the judgments placed on her by her peers are all issues Juno must face in addition to coping with her pregnancy.
Although the film was very entertaining and comedic, I felt that it wasn’t very realistic. As we follow Juno throughout her pregnancy, she faces tough decisions and flirts with adulthood. However, teenage pregnancies do not often end like the movie does. Not many teenage girls give their children up for adoption, and happily go back to their normal lives. If Juno chose to follow through with the abortion, the movie would have been a lot more realistic and much more serious. Even if she did not have an abortion and kept the baby, we would have witnessed the struggles teenage mothers go through with raising a child. I enjoyed the film but just felt that it lacked truth regarding teens and pregnancy.
This film made me think of The Purity Myth by Jessica Valenti. In the chapter entitled “Sex, Morals and Trusting Women,” Valenti notes that the United States has higher rates of teen pregnancy, abortion, and birth than other industrialized nations. It is a problem that is largely socioeconomic, as lower income teens are more likely to get pregnant, because of the lack of access to contraception (Valenti, 192). This is something the film failed to touch on and explore.
I am aware that the film’s goal wasn’t to state the explicit facts and statistics regarding teenage pregnancy; however, I feel that it is something that shouldn’t go unaccounted for. I did enjoy how Juno was a coming-of-age story and that each of the characters developed and matured in their own unique ways.
Comments