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"Juno is a cool movie, it's not like your typical everyday happy ending movies, it's more like real life. It's hilarious and the actors do an outstanding job. It's so sad to see what she has to go through. Her boyfriend is a total nerd and as you can imagine, he is completely useless, but they sort their stuff out. This movie is by far the coolest movie I've seen."
- Nicole Otto, 16
"This is an in your face movie about the teenage pregnancy epidemic. It has a nonchalant approach and there's no overacting. The cast make it seem more real. I think the target audience are females as males won't appreciate the humour. This is definitely not another teen movie, but I think teen girls are still going to go crazy for it. I love the funny soundtrack. I give it 5 jelly beans."
- Charne Simpson, 17
"Juno is a realistic description of teenage pregnancy. The movie critically depicts the ignorance and adventurous nature of youngsters. It's blunt and comical. It's straight forward and I think all teenagers should watch it with their parents."
- Jesse Mellen, 16
"The movie Juno takes a surprisingly fresh look at teenage pregnancy. It makes you laugh at a generally very serious topic. It is one of the best movies I've watched in a long time, and I will most likely watch it again!
Juno, the girl in the lead role, fits the mold of a typically naive, confused teenager trying to find direction in life. We've all been there. But not all of us have had to endure the trials of falling pregnant while still a junior in high school. She doesn't seem to know much about the way the reproductive system works or how to deal with the consequences of having a baby. Well, she is 16 after all.
Ellen Page, who plays the streetwise, sarcastic and very witty Juno MacGuff, is definitely an actress on the rise. It is no wonder that Diablo Cody, the stripper turned screenwriter who won the "Best Screenplay" Oscar for this script, thanked Page in her acceptance speech. The effect this movie had on me makes me believe that this role was made for Page and that the script could not have been better delivered by anyone else. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing more of her work! I give Juno 10 /10!"
- Janine Bailey
Remember the names Ellen Page and Diablo Cody. You will be hearing quite a bit about them if the buzz around Oscar winning movie, Juno, is anything to go by.
Credit has to go to Diablo Cody, for bringing the characters to life with her script, and director Jason Reitman (Thank You for Smoking, 2005) for weaving a potentially dark story quite beautifully. For Cody, I think she has a bright future ahead after her debut here: a simple story about a girl who comes up with the perfect scheme to deal with an unexpected pregnancy and who realises that life isn't perfect. It is the quirks and the winning characters that keep this movie going to the end. There are no real villains in this movie — and no easy solutions as Juno finds out.
The whole cast is quirky. Every one of the characters has a personality, whether it be the confused best friend/boyfriend (Michael Cera, Superbad, 2007), or the wannabe adoptive mom (Jennifer Garner) or her rocker husband who simply doesn't want to grow up (Jason Bateman).
Most people will want to compare Juno with Knocked Up, which was the other movie of 2007 that dealt with the issue of a woman who became pregnant unexpectedly and who decided to keep the baby. Juno also shares with Knocked Up an underlying theme, a message that is not anti-abortion but rather pro-adulthood. It follows its heroine — and by the end she has earned that title — on a twisty path toward responsibility and greater self-understanding.
Frankly it is not a fair fight, as Juno basically blows Knocked Up away. Partly because this movie has a unique twist: Juno wants to keep the baby without keeping the baby. It's also got more subtle humor and more emphasis on dialogue. Knocked Up, on the other hand, is really a different style of movie. It's more conventional in its approach to the unexpected-pregnancy issue.
The Upside: The quirks, the Juno-isms and the realistic portrayals make this a fun movie to watch from start to finish.
The Downside: The movie ended and then we had to go home. And my boyfriend is now in love with Juno.
On the Side: I thought that Jennifer Garner's role as Vanessa was a stand out performance. She managed to make us dislike her and sympathise with her simultaneously, in her almost tangible desperation to have Juno's baby.
- Jean Dennis
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