"You know . . . the hot one. With polio."

Another wonderful film:

Juno bursts forth from its fantastic opening credits, fully blossomed from the get-go. But this is no soon-to-wither flower--Nay! Juno remains in full bloom from its opening to its closing shot, and it is one of the best films of the year.

Juno realistically and hilariously portrays the pregnancy of 16-year old girl, played brilliantly by Ellen Page. Comic genius Michael Cera plays her geeky but very sweet boyfriend Bleeker, and the two of them have a wonderful chemistry. (I will not give any hints about the closing scene, except to say that it is one of sweetest and most tenderly great scenes in recent memory.)


Jason Reitman directs the film with an outstanding grasp for the script's balance between hilarity and poignancy. That script, by newcomer Diablo Cody, contains some of the most realistic, funny, insightful, and piercing dialogue of any teen movie. This is a comedy with great intelligence.

But Juno belongs to the amazing Ellen Page. I have never seen her in any other movie, but she is a stunning talent. She handles the complex emotions and freshly hilarious comedy with the ease of a great veteran.

In addition, the film features a beautiful soundtrack, with some old favorites (Belle and Sebastian) and some new finds, at least for me (Kimya Dawson, The Moldy Peaches). The music becomes its own character.

Juno is a flower or a gem or a shining star or some other cliché, but the film itself is so far from cliché. It is refreshing, powerful, soul-warming, and very, very funny.