ViewGuide

Created Feb 15, 2008 10:41AM PST • Edited Feb 15, 2008 10:41AM PST

1. Quality

2. Summary

   Really Great 4.5

   “Juno” tells the story of Juno, a teenager who is an outsider to most, and eventually finds herself pregnant. The story is simple due to the fact that this is mainly a character-driven film, rather than plot-driven. Each character is unique, interesting, and relevant (except for maybe Rainn Wilson’s store clerk character, which just seemed to exist to be quirky for quirkiness’ sake). The main theme of “Juno” is the separation of childhood and adulthood. The main character, who is not ready to become an adult, is suddenly thrust into a position where she must become an adult, and discovers (as does the audience if they don’t already know) that being an adult sucks. Jason Bateman’s character also drives this point home.

4. Acting

   Perfect 5.0

   Each cast member did an outstanding job of believably delivering lines from a script that is full of quirk.

5. Male Stars Perfect 5.0

   There weren’t many male stars in this, as the spotlight was held by Ellen Page as the title character. “Arrested Development”’s Jason Bateman and Michael Cera pull off their characters believably, but are upstaged by Juno herself. Also, as I see more of his work, it seems like Michael Cera is the same character in every film and TV show he does, and “Juno” is no exception.

6. Female Stars Perfect 5.0

   Ellen Page IS the female star. To a lesser extent, Jennifer Garner is, and and even lesser extent Allison Janney is as well. Ellen Page does a terrific job of playing the “weird” girl in school, and to add to her isolation from the rest of the kids at school, she gets pregnant. Her work in other films, especially “Hard Candy” showcase her as a rising talent, and someone to keep on the radar for years to come.

7. Female Costars Perfect 5.0

8. Male Costars Perfect 5.0

10. Film

    Perfect 5.0

    The opening title sequence is done in a nifty semi-rotoscoped animation style. The rest of the film is of high quality.

11. Direction Perfect 5.0

    As this is Jason Reitman’s second outing directing (his first being the underrated “Thank You For Smoking”), he does a commendable job. He seems to be making himself a go-to guy in terms of original, offbeat comedies.

12. Play Perfect 5.0

    This is something that a lot of people mention when talking about this film. The dialogue is funny, sassy, and full of phrases befitting of it’s main character.

13. Music Perfect 5.0

14. Visuals Perfect 5.0
15. Content

16. Edge

    Tame 1.4

17. Sex Titillating 1.6

    There is a lot of talk about sex, but none is shown explicitly. When Juno and her boyfriend have sex for the first time, they merely show them in their underwear kissing.

18. Violence Gentle 1.0

19. Rudeness Salty 1.6

    The main character of Juno is often rude and inconsiderate of others, but is unintentional.

21. Reality

    Glib 1.2

    Because of Juno’s dialogue, a lot of what she says sounds unnatural and sometimes forced, but the audience accepts it as part and parcel of this quirky character.

22. Circumstantial Glib 1.2

23. Biological Glib 1.2

24. Physical Glib 1.2