A Review of "Juno" and Why I Love Ellen Page

Ellen Page may be about the most beautiful actress working today. Well, OK, that may be a slight overstatement, but wait until you see her career-making performance in the wonderful comedy "Juno" which is in theaters now. Sure, she may only be 20-years-old and my statement about her beauty may completely peg the Creep-O-Meter, but there are some universal truths which I feel should be acknowledged. The fact is she's gorgeous and an excellent actress to boot.

"Juno" is a movie that arrived in theaters at the end of 2007 with a huge build-up of buzz already attached to it. That's too bad because hype can completely and utterly destroy a movie-goers experience, I have found. I know many people who were over-hyped on movies and then came out of the theater completely disappointed. "THAT was what was so great?" They often state. "It was OK, but hardly great," is another statement you hear. Just ask anyone my age or younger who has seen "Citizen Kane" without the benefit of a few film classes and you will know what I mean.

"Juno" is written by a woman with the great name of Diablo Cody and she is already being hailed as one of the great writers in Hollywood. Again, more hype that can only hamper her career, I fear. She is already a regular columnist now at Entertainment Weekly, so I hope that helps to keep her sharp. This is a very smart, very funny, very well-done script and that, matched with the performances, make this movie as much of a gem as the critics have been hailing it.

Some people have criticized the movie as being "too smart." This is a completley asinine argument. How can these same critics argue that Hollywood is dumbing down too many movies and then criticize a movie for being "too smart." They argue that no one talks the way Juno, the main character, talks in this movie. Obviously these people have not hung out with any of my friends, because we all talk in these smart-ass, know-it-all tones that the characters speak in throughout.

"Juno" is a deceptively simple story. Juno is the main character, a girl of 16 who decides, one day, to have sex with her best friend because she is bored. Of course, she ends up pregnant. She considers getting an abortion, can't go through with it, finds adoptive parents in the Penny-Saver, and hilarity manages to ensue. The plot itself is simple, the performances, that manage to walk the line between drama and comedy, without drifting too far into either and thus derail the film, are what make this movie.

Ellen Page is a revelation in this movie as the title character. She manages to look sweet, and yet convey just the right amount of cynicism and humor to make this character someone you want to spend time with. If she went too snarky, she would be totally unlikeable. Instead, we see that Juno is a very smart young girl and, yet, still a young girl. She understands that she is incapable of taking care of a baby, and yet can't help but get caught up, a little bit, in the magic of creating new life.

Her parents are played by JK Simmons and Allison Janney, who are that rarest of finds in a movie about teenagers. They are not idiots, and they are funny, and they are pleasant people. They are not less-intelligent than their daughter, are not abusive, are not drunks, are not in a marriage crisis, and are not mean to their daughter. Their performances help you understand how and why Juno is the way she is.

Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner play the couple that Juno decides upon based almost solely on the picture she finds next to their ad in the Penny Saver. Bateman plays his character as a man who has never grown up, has sold out, and yet refuses to believe he is not still going to be a huge and successful rock musician. Garner plays Vanessa as a woman single-mindedly determined to be a mother. There is a scene between Vanessa and Juno in a shopping mall that is one of the most touching I have ever seen. Watch Page's face during the scene and understand what I mean about how Juno is a smart character, who understands full the decision she is making and why.

The dialogue is, as you have yeard, remarkably smart and wickedly funny. This is a movie that I feel I will be thinking about a long time from now, and will watch again and again once it comes to cable. It is a movie that gets better and funnier the longer you think about it. It is quirky, touching, and amazing just like "Little Miss Sunshine" was last year.

For me, this movie never stepped wrong. It never went too goofy. The side-characters, such as the father of the baby Paulie Bleeker, are all as wonderful, entertaining and real as the main character. The laughs are not too in-your-face or look-at-me-I-am-trying-to-be-funny as a lot of movies in the teenage comedy genre are. This is a movie that I feel the entire family could actually watch and thoroughly enjoy. Well, maye not little kids, but you get the idea.

"Juno" has made a lot of "Best-Of" lists by a lot of critics. Don't let that scare you off. You too will get caught up in this movie. You too will delight in the characters and, I believe, you too will remember this movie long after you leave the theater.

It's a movie that, wonderfully, delightfully, lives up to the hype.