A realistic look at teen pregnancy

By Adam Tobias of the Daily Times staff
Friday, January 4, 2008 1:01 PM CST

In this photo provided by Fox Searchlight Pictures, Ellen Page, left, and Olivia Thirlby are shown in a scene from “Juno.”

Don't tell this to Jamie Lynn Spears, but there can be some humor behind a 16-year-old getting pregnant.

That's not to say that Britney Spears' little sister getting knocked up is something we should all laugh about, but with the coming of age comedy “Juno,” director Jason Reitman (“Thank You for Smoking”) has once again proven that you can put a hilarious spin on a controversial subject.

Working from a screenplay written by former stripper Diablo Cody, Reitman holds nothing back as he gives us an authentic glimpse into what it would be like to be a single 16-year-old high school student with a bun in the oven. In most cases it's hard to find laughs in the middle of such a serious situation, but the cleverness and realism behind “Juno” will make you forget that you are chuckling about teen pregnancy.

The subject matter of “Juno” also benefits from the presence of Ellen Page (“Hard Candy” and “X-Men: The Last Stand”), who plays the title character with such sassiness and maturity. As the sharp-tongued, tomboyish teenager Juno MacGuff, Page gives one of those career-making performances that will definitely win your heart.

Juno has always been an outsider at her high school, but things get even more complicated when she has a brief fling with her friend Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera), a member of the track team who's addicted to orange flavored Tic Tacs. That fateful day leads to Juno getting pregnant (she goes through three take-home tests just to make sure) and the teen is faced with making a decision that will affect her for the rest of her life.

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Knowing she is not ready to become a mother, Juno flirts with the idea of getting an abortion, but in the end she decides to have the baby and give it to a family looking to adopt. After browsing the PennySaver ads with her best friend Leah (Olivia Thirlby), Juno finds the perfect couple - yuppies Mark and Vanessa Loring (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner).

With the inevitability of not being able to keep her pregnancy a secret, Juno is forced to inform her father (J.K. Simmons) and stepmother (Allison Janney) of her predicament. Juno's parents are surprisingly calm given the situation and they decide to back her in what ever decision she makes. As Juno's stepmom says, “Someone else is going to find a blessing from Jesus in this garbage dump of a situation.”

Vanessa is absolutely thrilled to be selected by Juno because, after all, she is unable to have a baby of her own and wants nothing more in life than to be a mother. But complications start to arise with the adoption when Mark, who's still just a big kid at heart, starts hanging out with Juno and learns that he might not be ready to be a father.

Page's performance is getting most of the accolades for “Juno,” and rightfully so, but the 20-year-old Canadian actress is not the only memorable aspect of the film. Simmons and Janney play some of the most forgiving parents on the face of the Earth, but there are also times when they make you remember that they are not too pleased with Juno's pregnancy. The scenes with Simmons and Page are both sweet and comical and it won't be easy to forget Janney's hilarious tirade against a self-righteous ultrasound technician.

It's been over a decade since I hung out with 16-year-old high school students, but the hip dialogue in “Juno” really brings back some memories. The film has some classic one-liners that will be repeated for years and years to come and it also includes some arcane slang and pop culture references that you won't believe you just heard. (Who would have thought a teenage girl could cite lines from the '80s television cartoon “Thundercats?”)

But at the same time the dialogue can also come off as pretentious, and those who haven't been in high school for a while might roll their eyes when they hear such lines as “shut your gob” or “honest to blog.” It just seems like there are times when Cody tries to be too witty with the dialogue, and it ends up coming off as annoying instead.

I was actually pretty worried after watching one of the opening scenes where Juno exchanges banter with a convenience store clerk played by Rainn Wilson, but after that everything seems to slow down a bit and the focus shifts from the weird words the characters are spouting to the hardships that Juno will face over the next nine months.

“Juno” may get dragged down at times because of its attempts to be innovative, but you can't fault the film for its message about making the best of a horrible situation. When life gives you lemons you are supposed to make lemonade, and that's exactly what “Juno” does.

3 1/2 stars (out of 5)

Comments can be directed to Adam at adamt@wdtimes.com.

Next week: “There Will Be Blood.”