Why Juno is an excellent movie

There’s something really comforting about a story that is just a story. It’s not a metaphor, or a bait-and-switch, or something overly complicated. Simply put: it’s not trying to be something else. Before I continue, I’ll say that this movie does look the part of a quirky indie film with lots of white people, and in a lot of ways it is but it does this in a very non-contrived and honest fashion.

Juno is about a 16-year-old girl who gets pregnant and decides she doesn’t want to keep the baby but wants to find a good home for her child.

The story doesn’t spend a lot of time in school detailing the drama that comes from being pregnant in high school. And unlike the typical parent part, her dad and step-mom are both upset with the circumstances and supportive of her decision. In short, the movie doesn’t contain a bunch of tired troupes.

By not going down any of these worn-out paths, the story naturally zooms in on Juno’s relationship with the couple she chooses to adopt her baby. She has this connection to the husband, Mark that is borderline creepy. Her step-mom, Bren (who has this incredible diatribe in the middle of the film where she calls out an ultrasound technician for being judgmental about a teenage pregnancy) points out that this relationship with Mark isn’t really something Juno should be pursuing. It’s more obvious to me now as an adult why that is true because boundaries are a thing and also Mark is so much older than her. But Juno is resistant at first because she is young and doesn’t think…