★★★★★

Juno is a movie to own and watch whenever you want to feel good by laughing. I have seen this movie many times and it survives. The acting is stellar and the writing is simply phenom.

Ellen (now Elliot) Page (Juno) ends up getting pregnant after she decides to have sex with her stunned/stupified/just sitting there boyfriend (Michael Cera). J.K. Simmons is incredible as her dad. He doesn’t get an ocean of lines, but he delivers an ocean of looks and actions which stay with you for years. That scene between he and Allison Janney discussing the pregnancy with him getting up to go kick the boys ass in “dad fashion” with her asking:

Do you really think that boy thought of this all on his own?

Half way up he pauses, looks blankly at the camera, then sits down shaking his head and grumbling. It is just too funny and it ages well. Even though I’ve seen this movie quite a bit, I still find that hilarious.

This brings up a point I wish to make. Without great writing and incredible acting, comedies don’t age well, especially those relying on well timed pranks or special effects. When I think back to that era of 1980s truly stupid comedies, most of the mega hits aren’t really funny today. They may have had one or two scenes which aged well, but the movie as a whole did not.

Jason Bateman plays a rock & roll wanna-be who is married to Jennifer Garner. While he “agreed” to adopting a child to make peace with his wife, he was banking on the process taking years, hopefully not happening at all. He may be married and own a house, but he still wants to lead the Rock and Roll life he fantasizes about for himself. Shock and horror ensue when Juno offers to let them adopt her child.

The Plot

Juno delivers her wisecracks in normal conversation without looking for any humor in them, kind of like Leonard Nimoy did with Spock.

All the moms love me know and want me to spend time with their daughters. I’m the Great White Whale of Wait.

May not be an exact quote. I remember the “all the moms” and “Great White Whale of Wait” part distinctly but am a bit fuzzy about the middle. The show is full of zingers like these and they are just as funny the Nth time I’ve seen the movie as the first. Keep in mind I’m not watching it back to back to back. No movie is good enough to survive that.

I highly recommend you add Juno to your purchase list. Rent it first if you want, but this is one you should own.

For more movie rental ideas please see list one and list two.