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Description
Juno MacGuff (Ellen Page) is a cool, confident teenager who takes a nine-month detour into adulthood when she's faced with an unplanned pregnancy-and sets out to find the perfect parents for her baby. With the help of her charmingly unassuming boyfriend (Michael Cera), supportive dad (J.K Simmons) and no-nonsense stepmom (Allison Janney), Juno sets her sights on an affluent couple (Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman) longing to adopt their first child.Amazon.com
Somewhere between the sharp satire of Election and the rich human comedy of You Can Count On Me lies Juno, a sardonic but ultimately compassionate story of a pregnant teenage girl who wants to give her baby up for adoption. Social misfit Juno (Ellen Page, Hard Candy, X-Men: The Last Stand) protects herself with a caustic wit, but when she gets pregnant by her friend Paulie (Michael Cera, Superbad), Juno finds herself unwilling to terminate the pregnancy. When she chooses a couple who place a classified ad looking to adopt, Juno gets drawn further into their lives than she anticipated. But Juno is much more than its plot; the stylized dialogue (by screenwriter Diablo Cody) seems forced at first, but soon creates a richly textured world, greatly aided by superb performances by Page, Cera, Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman as the prospective parents, and J.K. Simmons (Spider-Man) and Allison Janney as Juno's father and stepmother. Director Jason Reitman (Thank You For Smoking) deftly keeps the movie from slipping into easy, shallow sarcasm or foundering in sentimentality. The result is smarter and funnier than you might expect from the subject matter, and warmer and more touching than you might expect from the cocky attitude. Page's performance is deceptively simple; she never asks the audience to love her, yet she effortlessly carries a movie in which she's in almost every scene. That's star power. --Bret Fetzer Get to Know Juno's Cast 
Ellen Page (Juno MacGuff) 
Michael Cera (Paulie Bleeker) 
Jennifer Garner (Vanessa Loring) 
Jason Bateman (Mark Loring) 
Allison Janney (Bren MacGuff) 
J.K. Simmons (Mac MacGuff)
Beyond Juno 
Juno Soundtrack 
More from Screenwriter Diablo Cody 
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Stills from Juno
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Customer reviews
Two-Disc Special Edition Chock Full o' Extras! 
by .. Cubist (United States)
Juno was Little Miss Sunshine of 2007 - the little independent film that could. Once the studio realized that it had a successful crowd-pleaser on its hands, the film was promoted from the art-house circuit to the multiplexes. Actress Ellen Page and first-time screenwriter Diablo Cody became the film's breakout stars garnering the lion's share of critical raves and awards with Page getting an Independent Spirit Award and Cody an Academy Award. Now that all of the dust has settled, Juno can be reassessed to see if it really has the staying power and substance to cut through all of the hype and stand-up to the inevitable backlash.
There is an audio commentary by director Jason Reitman and screenwriter Diablo Cody. The first thing that you notice when listening to Cody talking is how well Ellen Page mimicked her way of speaking. Reitman tends to dominate the track and, not surprisingly, talks about filmmaking aspects like the casting of minor roles, the attention to details for the sets, how he shot certain scenes, and so on. This is pretty decent track filled with lots of anecdotal stories and production details.
Also included are 11 deleted scenes with optional commentary by Reitman and Cody. We meet Juno's crazy next-door neighbour. There's also a different introduction to Juno's family. We see Mark and Vanessa's first attempt to adopt. There's also an amusing bit where Juno has a solo gig and sings a song about getting pregnant. These are all good scenes and Reitman explains why there were cut.
There is the obligatory "Gag Reel," a hilarious collection of blown lines and goofs with Bateman making Page break character time and time again.
The "Gag Take" is an odd scene where Rainn Wilson and Reitman get into it with a mock heated argument.
"Cast and Crew Jam" features the cast and crew members rockin' out to a song in this mock music video.
There are "Screen Tests" for Ellen Page and Michael Cera. In the scene they do together you already see them in character and displaying excellent chemistry. There is also a test with Page and Olivia Thirlby and one with Page and J.K. Simmons as well.
"Way Beyond `Our' Maturity Level" takes a look at the characters of Bleeker, Juno and her best friend Leah with interviews with the actors that inhabit them. Diablo Cody talks about how they are based on people in her life.
"Diablo Cody is Totally Boss" is a profile of this novice screenwriter who got her start writing a blog and got noticed by a film producer. Reitman recalls his initial impressions of the script and the cast gush about its "unique voice."
"Jason Reitman for Shizz" takes a look at the director. The producers gush about how he was the right fit for the material. He talks about establishing the right tone and how he shared the same vision for the film as Cody.
"Honest to Blog!: Creating Juno" features Cody and Reitman talking about how the film came together. She credits her stylized dialogue to spending lots of time on the Internet. Cody also talks about how she came up with the idea for the story. They talk about specific scenes and her knack for depicting an unconventional family.
Wondering what "...with digital copy" means? by .. Julie Neal (Sanibel Island, Fla.)
It means the bonus disc includes a digital copy of the film that can be automatically downloaded to a laptop or iPod. Seems obvious after you know it, huh? The second disc also includes some extra bonus features not on the single-disc DVD -- four featurettes titled "Way Beyond 'Our' Maturity Level: Juno - Leah - Bleeker," "Diablo Cody Is Totally Boss," "Jason Reitman For Shizz" and "Honest To Blog! Creating Juno."
Juno - Surprising, Well Executed, Worth the Hype, Get it!!!! by .. Mark (East Coast)
Juno is a great movie that has gotten a lot of hype, and deserves it ALL!!! Yes, it's about a high school girl who gets pregnant. But don't get confused, this movie is not so easily classified. It's not an after school special. It's not "pro" or "anti" anything. It's just a really well written and well executed film about a unique girl dealing with an all too common situation.
There's a lot of plot elements to explore. How will her friends and family react? What will she do? How will the experience change her? No spoilers here: watch the movie and see it unfold. :)
First things first. Everybody can't love every movie. Some will under-rate this movie just because it has been SOOOOO hyped. Believe me, I understand. All I can say is this: see the movie twice, THEN make up your own mind.
The way that mainstream movies get made, it's hard to have a script survive the teams of experts who want to appeal to this and that audience. I could only detect a handful of planted lines. The writing is SUPERB and very well presented with front to back execution - directing, acting, editing. The dialogue is funny and original, like a much more literate Pulp Fiction. That's what makes this movie special. It has SOOO much going for it. Diablo Cody has opened my eyes, and I'm anxiously awaiting her new project currently in pre-production, "The United States of Tara."
The acting of Ellen Page really is TOP NOTCH. Is it Oscar worthy? YES! Without a doubt. If Julia Roberts can win for Erin Brokovich, they should give Ellen Page her Oscar RIGHT NOW. Once again, some will say it's overhyped. Some only think that top notch acting occurs when characters are dying or demented. I say real acting is good acting. I walked into a screening before I saw a single review. I watched the movie twice to confirm it - this performance needs to be seen and studied.
The cast is chock full of big names who do very well in some good roles. Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, and Michael Cera all have good performances. But Ellen Page IS this movie. She steals every scene, hits every mark and nails every line.
And of course, the music ROCKS! Those who are into indie rock, alternative and punk rock will recognize most of the music here. Those who aren't will want to buy the soundtrack, because this is a great introduction. There is a great mix of new and old, from Velvet Underground and the Kinks to Cat Power and Kimya Dawson. The songs are used well and you will find at least one new favorite if you don't know this music already.
Juno
The camera work is also very good. High quality camera and film equipment has either dropped in price by a lot, or films like this are finally starting to get decent budgets. Either way, this is not epic filming, but it is flawless and effective. Good directing by Jason Reitman is no surprise to me.
Now here's the hard question with 2 honest answers: Is this a movie best seen in theatres, or can it "wait" for DVD?
Answer #1: There's no special effects that make the movie visually different when seen in a theatre. So some might say wait. Still, it was worth it for me just to see how the crowd reacted to Juno's phrases, the music, everything. So that's an honest, qualified YES.
Answer #2: This is really the best overall movie I've seen in a LONG time. I saw it twice in the theatre. If you like really good movies, and good acting, SEE IT NOW. YES, it's definitely worth seeing sooner than later. You will still want to buy the DVD if you're like me.
I really hope you'll check this one out. This is something special.
Enjoy!!!
Uniquely Eccentric Tale of Teen Pregnancy Elevated by a Sharp Script and a Strong Ensemble by .. Ed Uyeshima (San Francisco, CA USA)
I have to admit that when I see a preview for a movie about a pregnant teenager, my first thought always goes back to conventional Lifetime TV soapers like Fifteen and Pregnant and Mom at Sixteen. However, director Jason Reitman (who proved to have a wry, ironic eye with Thank You for Smoking) and first-time screenwriter Diablo Cody, who previously worked as a stripper and phone sex operator, have concocted a genuinely quirky, surprisingly tender dramedy that takes the cliché-ridden story idea and fleshes it out with so many recognizable idiosyncrasies and so much insightful wit that the subgenre feels reborn.
The plot centers on a suburban Minneapolis sixteen-year old named Juno MacGuff, who finds herself pregnant after an experiment in chair-bound seduction with her shy classmate, a geeky, Tic-Tac-popping runner named Paulie Bleeker. Instead of focusing on dramatic confrontations with the parents or morphing into a diatribe on the right-to-life-or-choose debate, Reitman and Cody follow Juno's natural emotional impulses as she awkwardly attempts to figure out the best course of action to take. Things start to look promising when Juno finds a young upscale couple to adopt her baby - Vanessa is a controlling professional with perfectionist tendencies, while her husband Mark is an easy-going composer of commercial jingles, an aging Peter Pan-type whom Juno sees as a kindred spirit with a mutual fondness for rock music, slasher movies and comic books.
What I particularly like about the movie is how it portrays Juno as someone who holds no illusion of becoming a mother and yet discovers the emotional intelligence to match her maddeningly clever smart-mouthing. In fact, I had concerns about the persistence of the slang-heavy dialogue at the outset but was relieved to find the movie settle into sharp bantering exchanges that make way for more human dimensions. As proven with Little Miss Sunshine and Lars and the Real Girl, a perfectly compatible ensemble can make all the difference with a movie as character-rich as this one. Fortunately, the cast is terrific starting with Ellen Page's prodigious turn in the title role. As a follow-up to her knockout work in Hard Candy, she is impressive in revealing a fearless vulnerability under her character's disconcerting self-possession. As Bleeker, Michael Cera nicely provides a quiet gravity in response to Juno's volatility.
There is great work by J.K. Simmons as Juno's no-nonsense dad and especially Allison Janney as her acid-tongued, dog-loving stepmother (her verbal teardown of the patronizing ultrasound technician is classic). The surprise comes from the sturdy work by Jason Bateman, bringing palpable, almost wistful regret to Mark, and the gorgeous Jennifer Garner truly affecting in conveying Vanessa's unfulfilled state. More predictable are Olivia Thirlby as Juno's teacher-obsessed best friend Leah and Rainn Wilson in a cameo as a smart-alecky convenience store clerk. Indie folk singer Kimya Dawson composed and performs the amusing songs that bridge the seasonal changes in the story. This film is a genuine winner strongly recommended.
What a lovely little story this is! by .. Reviewer ()
I tend to comment on films, and other products, that are surprising - in a good or in a bad way. And Juno happens to be surprisingly good.
Juno is a simple and lovely film about a 16-year-old mother-to-be who has a limited number of people she can rely on in her new condition and limited number of options to resolve her situation: practically, abortion or adoption. Juno shows that with determination love and life are possible to maintain even in a hostile environment.
I read through the 35 reviews (so far) and wish to address two of the critical reviews that do seem to carry valid points: 1. All males in the movie are completely immature and the only supportive people are females. But... this is with notable exception of the boyfriend's mom, a female school librarian, a female ultrasound technician and female schoolmates, and so it's not an anti-male/pro-female setup. 2. Adoption is presented as the noblest of options and simply "keeping the baby" in the family is never taken into consideration. However, the future surrogate mother is presented as someone truly able and deserving to adopt a baby. Thankfully, none of these points get politicized in the story; that's why I predict that Juno will not be getting an Oscar, although it certainly deserves a few. I guess these days Oscars (and Nobles) are reserved for individuals like Al Gore.
There are instances of offensive language in Juno, but these are valid part of the plot. Highly recommended.