Little Miss Juno

Thank goodness for Bethel Cinema and Upstate Films. I wouldn't be able to watch films like Juno at the local multiplexes. It's Napoleon Dynamite, Waitress, Knocked Up and Little Miss Sunshine all in one. Written by an ex-stripper named Diablo Cody and directed by Thank you for not smoking director Jason Reitman, it's funny, clever, irreverent and yes, quirky. Juno's sarcastic quips come flying at you. She talks like the Dawson's Creek or Gilmore girls teens, but edgier and hipper. She called herself the "cautionary whale" as the pregnancy progressed. It's heartwarming and charming, but not sickeningly so.

Ellen Page (now Golden Globe nominee) plays Juno, the self-assured and sassy 16 year old who got pregnant by her geeky bestfriend Paulie, Arrested Development and Superbad's Michael Cera. Only knowing her from X-Men, Ms. Page is terrific here. Her supportive parents, as played by J.K. Simmons and Allison Janney, have some of the best lines in the film. Jennifer Garner (Vanessa) and Jason Bateman (Mark) are the seemingly perfect, would-be adoptive parents. When they first meet, Vanessa tells Juno that pregnancy is beautiful, to which Juno unthinkingly replies that she should be glad it's not happening to her. Your heart just goes out to Vanessa who looks successful in everything except motherhood.

I only wondered how an intelligent girl like Juno would allow herself to get pregnant in the first place, and how her parents didn't have a fit when they found out and were so understanding. This is 2007's little movie that could. Like the goddess, Juno, is strong and beautiful.