Every now and then, a movie comes along that not only scrapes a tickle brush against our emotional senses, but hits at the nerve of some sort of social nirvana. And make no mistake – these movies come in mysterious packages, usually with unforeseen fanfare and predictability.
Enter Juno.
I had first heard about Juno about a year ago when listening to a Jason Reitman podcast about the making of Thank You For Smoking. In that podcast, Jason started talking about his next feature film, Juno. 
Juno works on many levels. Nevermind the social issues surrounding pro-life vs pro-choice, but apply it against the backdrop of a devilishly hip teenage girl who is as fierce as she is determined. Couple that with great dialogue (screenwriter Diablo Cody) and a witty, humorous beat that is not funny ha-ha but instead funny in the heart.
The actors also sell this movie. JK Simmons and Allison Janney prove the worth of great supporting actors, while Michael Cera stays out of the way enough not to make this into a Super Bad spinoff. Enter Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner, who both are perfectly cast in this movie.
But without a doubt, the refreshing highlight of this little gem was its star Ellen Page. Admittedly, I never really heard of her prior to this movie. But after sitting through 90 minutes of her craft, it’s became no surprise that she was nominated for an Oscar in the category of Best Actress.
Juno is a movie that not only would I see again, but would even do the unthinkable: I would place my advance DVD order now.
Juno is what truly is wonderful about film… It’s a reprieve – an emotional “time-out” that will make you leave the theater glowing with a smile.
Thank god for Juno.
