Juno: A Review

And so we cap 2007, Hollywood’s “Celebration of Life.” So that might be a little extreme, but it is interesting that at least four mainstream films (Waitress, Knocked Up, Bella, and Juno) deal quite explicitly with the question of new life from a somewhat consistent perspective. While it is clear at least in the cases of Waitress, Knocked Up and Juno (I haven’t seen Bella yet) that the creative force behind them are probably not NRLC members, they allow the key character to “choose life” and explore the consequences along that journey, even as they take decidedly different turns.

Of those three films, Juno certainly should have the broadest audience. For folks that can appreciate a certain juvenile, frat-house male humor (and if you read my review of Knocked Up, you’ll figure out that I do), then Apatow’s Knocked Up is for you. But for the rest, Juno offers a much more accessible comedy that manages to achieve much with well-drawn and well-delivered characters.

Juno is a clever and charming 16-year old girl who has her life changed after a single sexual encounter with her boyfriend. As she slowly awakens to the reality that she might be pregnant, she heads to her local convenience store to be sure. The tests aren’t lying, and as her friend working checkout reminds her as she shakes one of the tests, “That ain't no Etch-A-Sketch. This is one doodle that can't be un-did, Homeskillet.”

Dealing with the shock, she rises to the occasion and starts working through her options. She reaches the place where she is going to get an abortion, but an encounter with a pro-life advocating friend and her experience at the fairly creepy abortion clinic convinces her otherwise. As she tells her father later, “I mean, it has fingernails, allegedly.” She’s going to have the child.

While she wrestles with the option of raising the child herself, she settles pretty quickly on the idea of finding an adopted family. Even in the midst of the comedy, we sense the creeping reality of just how much Juno is stepping into an adult world. What began as a single sexual experience that was as much born out of boredom as deep desire has now given her the responsibility for a life inside her. While she has a glib and casual manner, beneath the quips we see her slowly realizing what she’s walked into.

She takes it on herself to find an adopted family, and finds what seems to be an ideal match. The Lorings, played ably by Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner, are the ideal suburban couple. Wealthy, beautiful, they seem a perfect home for her child, and so Juno agrees to give the baby up. In the course of the pregnancy, she gets to know them better, especially Mark. Mark is a former member of a rock band who now writes music for commercials, and their shared love of music, guitars, and film helps them strike up a quirky friendship. The film wisely avoids any kind of sexual dimension to the relationship, which allows us to relax and watch Juno as she slowly understands the challenges in the Lorings’ relationship.

All is not right in the pretty Loring household. Vanessa is very serious about adopting a child, as she is very serious about everything else in her life, including presenting a clean and beautiful existence. Meanwhile, Mark has within him something of the old rocker, and we see him wrestling, if quietly, with the banal trappings of his suburban existence.

Each step along the way, Juno rises to the occasion, even while she is facing more responsibility than she ought. The plot twists along the way are yours to experience, but throughout the gentle comedy and the naturalist approach of the actors reinforce how this film has moved from the art-house to the mainstream. The strength of the film is that it doesn’t allow it’s quirky beat and intelligent writing to detract from the journey.

As polarizing as contemporary political discussions are about abortion, I wonder if a film like Juno offers something of a pathway to healthier conversation. As Juno navigates decisions that she shouldn’t have to make and deals with an adult world that has come to her to soon, she is aided by the support of those who stand behind her, even when they do so quietly or from a distance. I was intrigued in watching it at how much she needed this help to make her way.

For those of us who bemoan our culture’s sacrifice of the unborn, I was challenged by Juno to be thinking more deliberately about how I can be a part of a “culture of life,” and help cultivate environments where people can ably choose to work for life.