Juno delivers for Holidays

Juno, one of this winter's must-see films, leaves the viewer with a pleasant feeling as the end-credits roll across the screen, accompanied by the musical melodies of Michael Cera and Ellen Page.

The movie, which is building a strong pre-release buzz, has been relying on advanced screenings to expose itself to its target audience. It was at one of these screenings where I first encountered Juno and all of its idiosyncrasies that made the movie such a delight to watch. If there was only one movie that I could whole-heartedly recommend for this holiday break, Juno would undoubtedly be it.

Juno follows its titular character, played excellently by a quirky Ellen Page (who gained fame with her role in Hard Candy), as she deals with an unwanted pregnancy. Only 16, Juno's first thought is to get an abortion, but after coming to the realization that there are many married couples incapable of having children, she decides to keep her illegitimate child.

Looking through an ad in the PennySavers, Juno finds her unsuspecting couple, and an arrangement is made for them to pay the hospital expenses in return for the adoption of Juno's child.

Despite the fact that the married couple is first introduced to the audience as if they were members of a cult, that misrepresentation slowly fades as Juno starts to show an odd connection with the husband (Jason Bateman). Both characters share a common interest in gory cinema and have a strong passion for music. Meanwhile, the wife, played by Jennifer Garner, obsesses about her future child, worrying about everything an expecting mother can think of.

The unborn child was fathered by Paulie Bleeker, played by Michael Cera acting as a much more subdued version of his character Evan from this summer's Superbad. Although Paulie has little input into Juno's decisions regarding the pregnancy, his actions have a strong effect on her emotions, largely due to her inexplicable infatuation with him.

While the topics and themes of this movie may seem overly dramatic, similar to something that might show up in a Lifetime original movie, the resulting tone of the movie is far from what you might expect. Although the film takes itself seriously, it does so with a large reliance on comic relief, which is prevalent throughout the entire movie.

This comic relief is revealed to the audience through quick quips said by Juno to all of the movie's supporting characters.

Much of the situational humor provided in the film succeeds in transplanting the viewer into the high school setting. The trendy dialogue created by first-time writer Diablo Cody is largely responsible for this effect, as it doesn't shy away from typical high school conversations.

All of the actors do an excellent job with their roles, accurately conveying the dramatic importance of each situation while at the same time exhibiting excellent comedic timing with their respective characters.

Especially notable is J.K. Simmons, who plays Juno's father. Simmons, who is recognizable as the hard-nosed tabloid newspaper boss from the Spiderman films, displays a tender, comical side not yet shown to viewers of his movies. Every high school student would be so lucky to have his character as their dad.

Another unexpected delight at the screening that I attended was the appearance of Ellen Page and Diablo Cody, who, after the conclusion of the film, answered questions from the audience.

One could easily observe how much fun they both had in making the movie, and it was evident in their responses that everyone involved put a great deal of effort into creating a highly enjoyable film that everyone could relate to. At a short 92 minutes, Juno never felt premature, and every plot element was wrapped up nicely. This was most likely due to it being an independent production. As a result, the director's vision was ultimately left untarnished and unmarred by the oh-so-common big studio interventions found in many of today's films.

The only minor drawback was the editor's use of fade-to-black in a few scenes, which unnecessarily created some awkward situations in the film. However, despite the movie's seemingly "family-unfriendly" topic, everyone should try to see this film if given the opportunity to do so.