An honest to blog Juno review

It was generally agreed amongst critics that 2007 was a pretty woeful year for movies. Well, if the quality of new release Juno is any benchmark, 2008 is going to be a whole lot better:Following in the indie slipstream of Little Miss Sunshine, Juno is an intelligent comedy telling the story of 16-year-old Juno MacGuff (Ellen Page) who gets up the spud following a one-off encounter with her endearingly geeky best friend Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera), and her subsequent decision to have the baby adopted.

Obviously the schoolgirl’s plan to give up her sprog to a desperate, childless woman (Jennifer Garner) and her hen-pecked husband (Jason Bateman) is not without its pitfalls and, as the nicely-paced narrative unfolds, the collection of genial, convincing characters unveil their own troubles and insecurities, from the stifled love that Bleeker feels towards Juno, to the Peter Pan complex of Bateman’s character. These complexities are personified perfectly by the protagonist, whose impish wit hides an unravelling aching and yearning. This is essentially a story about courage and dignity in the face of adversity, and it is handled wonderfully by director Jason Reitman and performed immaculately by the oustanding and believable Page and Cera.

Okay, so the dialogue may seem a bit too razor sharp at times, but the fact that every character is consistently super witty to the point of being a stand-up comic is easily forgivable due to the sheer number of laugh-out-loud moments. This film is quotable in a Napoleon Dynamite kind of way, and you will by attempting to pass off the standout quotes as your own for weeks to come.Juno also offers a soundtrack which will have indie kids everywhere wetting themselves, not least the Moldy Peaches moment that will melt even the coldest of hearts. Elsewhere, Belle and Sebastian, Cat Power, Sonic Youth and Mott The Hoople (can you guess which song?) add to the charm.

In a nutshell, it would take someone with the soul of a pocket calculator not to be touched by this lovely, lovely film.

See the trailer here

UPDATE: Looks like I know what I'm talking about beacuse Juno has just been nominated for four Oscars. They are: best film, best director, best original screenplay and best actress for Ellen Page. For a full list of nominees, go here. Now, let's just see if the ceremony goes ahead.