Juno

It is so rare for me to have this much love for a comedy. Juno was probably closer to a dark comedy than your run of the mill funny film but even placing it in that category doesn't ease the shock of my final rating. I have absolutely zero complaints. This entire movie worked from beginning to end. In a year full of great movies I now I have to figure out how high I am going to place Juno and it is throwing all my perceptions and expectations out of wack.

So I think Ellen Page may have become my current favorite actress. That may be jumping the gun a little but I have seen her in 3 films so far and in 2 of them, Juno and Hard Candy, her work and the movie itself has been flawless. The other movie is X3 and she did what she could but the thing was a mess and I wouldn’t place any of the blame on Kitty Pryde. I can guarantee you that I will rank this as my favorite performance by in actress for 2007. She connects on every joke, she hits every emotion, and she meshes with each and every actor or actresses she shares screen-time with. I couldn’t even tell you my favorite scene, division sign on the pregnancy test, moving a living room set into Paulie’s front yard so she can sit in the chair fake smoking a pipe to break the news to him, all her scenes with Jason Bateman, fingernails, the ultrasound, you know just about everything she did should be mentioned. And then after connecting on every single joke, the scene will turn and she will deliver an emotional line like I switched theaters and am now watching Atonement. I cannot find enough pretty words to write here.

I would have been happy if all a got from Juno was Ellen Page’s performance, but everyone came to play. Michael Cera plays another version of the same character he has been playing since Arrested Development but he is so good at it that I can’t complain. He just has this perfect way of delivering lines that turns okay jokes into hilarious moments. Continuing the Arrested Development connection, Jason Bateman is phenomenal as the would-be adoptive father. The chemistry between Bateman and Page is fantastic. Jennifer Garner may not have got as many jokes but she was great as the Bateman’s wife and desperate-to-be-a-mom. Olivia Thirlby plays Juno’s best friend and she is constantly amusing as the person who never takes the pregnancy seriously. I love that while Juno was in labor, Leah was running her wheelchair into the walls of the hospital hallway. And lastly, JK Simmons and Allison Janney play Juno’s father and stepmother and they are both amazing. It is helpful that they actually get to be good parents instead of the usual movie hardasses or absentee parents. All of JK’s scenes bounce around from funny to heartwarming. And Janney gets one of the best moments in the film where she absolutely tears the ultrasound technician to shreds for disparaging Juno. The entire cast deserves praise.

Usually I take the time to talk about the director and I don’t want to slight Jason Reitman so let me say that he finds just the right music and just the right cuts to make all the humor work. But the key to Juno is the screenplay by Diablo Cody. This is her first movie and it is incredible. This story is funny without forcing jokes into each and every single moment. Although it is cute and quirky, Juno never loses the emotion that is underneath every single action of Ellen Page. Hopefully she sweeps all the writing awards over the next few months.

Man, I was excited when I first read about Juno. And then I got amped when I saw the trailer for the first time. But I obviously was not putting my expectations high enough. Juno destroyed whatever perceptions I had about what I was walking into the theater to see. I thought I was seeing a quirky comedy that I would laugh a little and general enjoy my couple of hours. Instead I saw the best performance of the year and one of the best comedies I have ever seen. I really like when these things take me by surprise.

10 out of 10