Juno

JUNO
FOX
RELEASED 8 February 2008
Juno (Ellen Page) is a smart-talking American teenager who likes to hang out on the sidelines of school culture. Punk music and horror films are her thing, and she thinks nothing of arranging an armchair and rug outside her friend’s house to get his attention. Bleeker (Michael Cera), her school running-fanatic boyfriend (well, ‘kinda’ boyfriend), is mollycoddled by his mother, who doesn’t think much of her son’s choice in female company. She thinks even less when Juno takes three pregnancy tests that confirm a romantic dalliance with her son in the basement has resulted in Juno becoming pregnant. Breaking the news to her parents, Juno decides to give the baby up for adoption, and quickly finds a loving young couple (played by Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman) who are desperate to adopt.
A fantastic script is played to perfection by this talented cast, it’s the funniest movie of 2008. Pick of the performances are Garner as the needy adoptive mother, J.K. Simmons and Allison Janney as Juno MacGuff’s parents, and of course Ellen Page, backing up her breakthrough performance in the thriller ‘Hard Candy’. With four nominations at the 2008 Oscars, it’s one of those breakout lo-budget movies that is simply too good not to be noticed by a wider audience.
FOUR OUT OF FIVE