Fletch's (Mini) Film Review: Juno

At first, you might think you're watching Napoleona Dynamite. There's our heroine Juno, standing in a random yard, staring at some furniture. "It all started with a chair," she says, though that's really neither here nor there. Then the opening credits roll. Cue funky-indie song played over a now-animated Juno, making her way across town with a gallon of Sunny D and some Dynamite-like font showing you the players' names. Follow that with some hipster dialogue, home skillet, then skedaddle on over to Juno's house, where she can use her hamburger phone (is this 1982 or 2007?) to chat up her BFF.

Let's just say the first 15 minutes had me worried.

Luckily, not long after that quarter-hour mark, the film stops trying to impress you and focuses on its characters and story. Thank god, for there are indeed some great characters (and character actors) here, and the writing and story are bound to pull you in as well. Ellen Page builds on her Hard Candy success as the titular wisecracking (and somewhat wise in general teen), Michael Cera cracks me up by doing things that are probably well-rehearsed but appear innate, and J.K. Simmons does awesome work (as always) as Juno's dad. However, the performance that might shock everyone the most is the one belonging to Jennifer Garner, appearing initially to be some sort of Bride/Mommy-zilla, only to wow not only Juno but the audience as well in a more complex and heartbreaking role.

Fletch's Film Rating:

"It's in the hole!"