Juno

Last night a group of grad students went to see Juno at the local theater. We were the last people in line to get tickets! It's been a long time since I've been to a sold out show. We weren't expecting as many people there to watch it since it's been showing for weeks, but I suppose if only the independent theater is showing it then there haven't been that many showings since it came out (they only have 1 larger theater, and 2 really small theaters).

The movie was fabulous, and you should all see it (the trailer is here). It is a comedy/drama about a 16 year old girl that has sex one time with her "best friend" and then gets pregnant. She then struggles with what that means and what to do, finding a family to adopt the child. Both Juno and her baby's father are also struggling to understand how they feel about each other. Juno's parents were refreshingly understanding about her pregnancy, even though they were still upset with her.

The music and style of the movie was perfect, as it continued to reiterate the fact that she is still a child "trying to cope with things way beyond [her] maturity level" (as said by Juno). I think a lot of teenagers need reminding of that fact, even though Juno is well aware of it. She was quite juvenile, but no more so than many people that age. There were stereotypes galore, all of which were hilarious. Juno gave many great lines, as did many of the other characters as well.

Although the movie was very funny, there were also touching parts. I think I lost a few tears on a few different occasions (although some were due to uncontrollable laughter). It was a glorious combination of the two genres though, and easily lived up to my (already high) expectations. The acting overall was great as well, and I was especially pleased to see Allison Janney (from West Wing!) playing the role of Juno's stepmother.

Now that I've rambled on, I encourage you to watch this movie! It's entertaining, thought provoking, and filled with witty lines as well as plain old humor. Very much worth the time! One of my favorite movies from the past year.