'Juno' Offers Much More Than an Average Quirky Comedy

Merydeth Cummings
2.25.08

Most of us can barely take care of ourselves, let alone someone else.  This was one of the many themes of the movie “Juno.”  When I first saw the previews for the movie I was immediately hooked by the sarcastic one-liners and quirky indie music by such artists as The Kinks, Buddy Holly and Sonic Youth.

However, this was just a plus to the foundation of the movie about a young girl who gets pregnant.  Yes, it sounds like every other coming-of age story…

Ellen Page plays an out-of the norm, mismatched girl named Juno, growing up in a boring, mundane small town.  She finds out she is pregnant, and goes through the difficult decision of her and the baby’s future.  She finally decides to search for an adoptive family to take care of her baby. 

She finds this family in the form of an odd couple.  They seem normal enough at first; however later in the movie the audience sees the distance between the couple through differing hobbies and interests.  The husband, Mark is a guitar-playing underground records junkie, who loves reading comics.  The wife, Vanessa, a Martha Stewart-loving infertile housewife with OCD who wants nothing more in the world than a child. 

The two are a very strange pair, and it’s almost as if the wife tries to stamp out her husbands interests.  He has his own room with all of his “things” in it.  For the most part, she manages to keep them strung together, until the added pressure of a child along the way forces the husband to decide what he truly wants in life.  He ends up leaving his wife.

All the while, Juno attempts to cut off all emotional ties to the growing baby in her stomach and to prepare for the adoption.  Knowing the baby’s father is not behind her 100%, she still pushes onward until the baby is born.  Juno’s child is the greatest gift she could give to Vanessa, selfless and unrequited love carried all the way through.

Heart wrenching and tear jerking, this emotional film is a treat for those looking for a good cry, but not wanting the conventional romantic comedy.