Juno = Awesome

I could simply go with the comment left in my I'm Not There post: "Juno = Awesome." That says it pretty damn well, in my estimation. But I figure those of you who actually read (and enjoy? shock!) my movie reviews might expect a little more. Well, in short: I can't think of a level on which Juno doesn't work flawlessly.

The writing is superb. It's concise, with no unneeded scenes and a total running length of roughly 90 minutes. It's character oriented, allowing a number of major and secondary characters to feel fully developed with their own quirks and motivations. It's clever, loaded with enough pithy remarks and wit to make you feel like you might be watching a lost episode of Veronica Mars or a Joss Whedon show. A lot of entertainment news has covered that this newcomer writer, Diablo Cody, is already in demand in Hollywood. I hope she goes on to have the long and stellar career she deserves. If she continues to produce scripts even half as good as this one, it's guaranteed.

The casting and acting are wonderful. Ellen Page plays the title character believably, evoking laughs and sympathy all in turn. Michael Cera, funny for years on Arrested Development and finally gaining more attention with Superbad, is hilariously awkward yet likeable. Jennifer Garner hasn't been this good in years -- that's including the last several seasons of Alias -- in creating a character you think you want to hate early on, but then turning it effortlessly as the movie progresses. Jason Bateman is a wonderfully relatable Peter Pan-type trying to hold on to his youth. Allison Janney displays the same gift for comedy as she did in the more broad episodes of The West Wing. And J.K. Simmons makes a realistic character grab your attention just as skillfully as he did his broad caricature in the Spider-man movies.

Juno is a funny, touching, effective movie that delivers the whole package, and does it all with a very simple and personal story. It has slid its way into the bottom of my personal top 100. That's the oft-mentioned-as-messed-up-and-needing-some-revision section of the list, but I have no doubt that when that revision finally does come, Juno will still be on there somewhere. This is a grade A movie, and I can't recommend it highly enough.