"Juno" is "Little Miss Sunshine" for 2007: a cute comedy with "indie" sensibilities that has won the hearts of both critics and audiences alike. The main difference between the two, however, is that "Juno" is actually good.
Ellen Page stars as Juno, a spunky teen who finds herself pregnant thanks to her friend Paulie (Michael Cera of "Superbad" and, more importantly, TV's "Arrested Development").
Realizing her inability to raise another human being, she decides to put it up for adoption and finds a pair of young suburbanites (Jennifer Garner and Cera's "Arrested" co-star Jason Bateman) who seem genuine and caring enough.
From there, Juno attempts to reconcile her relationship with Paulie as the marriage between her unborn child's adoptive parents falls apart.
Films like this depend on their scripts, and "Juno" sports a strong one by newcomer Diablo Cody.
Despite the subject matter, "Juno" never really gives in to the schmaltz that threatened to undermine even a comedic avalanche like "Knocked Up." What appears onscreen is sarcastically funny, yet warm.
At times, the film tries to pander to the indie crowd, but unlike the typical quirky comedy, Cody imbues the characters with humanity rather than just stylized weirdness.
Director Jason Reitman keeps the script's indulgences in check. In the wrong hands, "Juno" could have been sub-"Napoleon Dynamite" fare, but Reitman's direction gives the film a sense of verisimilitude despite all the more stylized elements working against it.
The soundtrack, however, depicts the essential problem in the film of indie sensibilities being forced upon it.
It features not only the appropriately awkward, folky music of The Moldy Peaches, but also indie mainstays like Belle & Sebastian and Sonic Youth. These are all acceptable as Juno could conceivably listen to them (and does listen to some of them), but the use of music by iconic acts like The Kinks and The Velvet Underground give the impression that Wes Anderson should sue somebody.
