occassionally, lance will say to me “want to go see a movie tonight?” the answer is always yes. to this date, he’s never picked a bad movie. he likes indie films, so when i ask “what movie?” i usually haven’t heard of it. that was the case last night with juno. he usually doesn’t tell me anything about the movie, either. there’s something utterly delightful about going into a movie, knowing it will be good, but not knowing anything about it.
the basic story is a 16-year old girl, juno, gets pregnant by having sex with her best friend. juno makes a choice to give her baby to an affluent adoptive couple she finds in the classifieds. the story explores the relationships juno has with her parents, the boyfriend, and the perfect adoptive couple (who turn out to be not-so-perfect) while her pregnancy progresses.
there are so many things to like about this movie. the main character, juno, is portrayed very well by ellen page as a quick-witted, sharp-tongued, eccentric high school teen. the story couldn’t have been told well without her. the rest of the cast also performs well. my favorite supporting character is the stepmom (allison janney). she is refreshingly not your run-of-the-mill-slightly-evil-stepmother. she has a great scene with the ultrasound technician that leaves you with open-mouthed, wide-eyed laughter.
that’s another thing – this movie was funny. we had kind of a dud crowd – we seemed to be the only ones laughing. yes, this is a movie about teenage pregnancy, but come on, people! tons of great lines – at the first meeting with the adoptive parents, juno says “if I could just have the thing and give it to you now, i totally would. but i’m guessing it looks probably like a sea monkey right now and we should let it get a little, you know, cuter.” and then as they’re leaving, the dad says to the parents “thanks for having me and my irresponsible child over your house.” funny, subtle, sarcastic stuff – it’s great.
in the end, though, it leaves you feeling good, with a smile on your face. things didn’t work out quite the way we wanted them to, but they work out just the same.
definite thumbs up – highly recommended.
oh and lance, as boyfriends go, you are totally boss. you are the cheese to my macaroni. 