Overview

The first time I watched the film Juno by Jason Reitman, I was hesitant and sure that it would be another forgetful teen romcom. Now, as I sit to write this post, I am listening to the Juno soundtrack as a poster for the movie hangs above my desk. To say that I fell in love with the movie would be an understatement: I am enamored with it.

As a short summary, the movie follows the life of Juno (played by Elliot Page) who is suddenly pregnant and decides to give her baby up for adoption. She is helped along the way by her stepmother (Allison Janney), father (J.K. Simmons),     and the child’s father Bleaker (Micheal Cera); of whom Juno has a confusing and constant on-again-off-again relationship with. It is a quirky movie with a feel-good message about growing up and finding the people who care about you.

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Cast

As seen from above, the cast is bursting full of experienced and well-rounded actors. Elliot Page took the character of Juno and made her into someone we haven’t seen before in a coming of age movie like this. She is an odd girl with out of pocket comments and no regard for reading the room. Pop Entertainment’s Brad Balfour describes the character as having a “pixie-punk personality,” with “pereverse quips,” which I believe perfectly describes the character.

In the same article, Brad Balfour interviews Elliot Page about his experience shooting the movie. Elliot Page says that he “fell in love with it [the script] because although it was unique and witty and all of those things, it was unbelievably genuine and honest.” Having a female lead being someone who some would describe as a ‘loser’ was a new spotlight for these types of character when this movie came out in 2007.

Score

A very special and underrated aspect of this movie is the score. Diablo Cody, the creator of the soundtrack, curates a feeling of quaint contentness and follows Juno’s complicated life completely. A review of the soundtrack by Collider, an entertainment website with a focus on film, raises the idea that to fully understand the movie, one must understand each song as well. Throughout the plot, many characters are troubling to read, not just for the other characters but for the watcher as well. One way the viewers are able to get a better understanding is through the assistance of the songs playing in each scene.

The film begins with the song All I Want is You by Barry Louis Polisar- a silly and lovable song that represents “pure youthful simplicity” which sets the tone for meeting our main character Juno. This song comes full circle and by the end of the movie, after Juno gives her baby to an adoptive mother and her relationship with Bleaker is fixed, Juno and Bleaker sing a duet of the same song as the credits roll. The song has morphed from the beginning from a song representing youth, into the maturity both characters have developed.

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The soundtrack also features six songs by Kimya Dawson, a substantial amount for one artist. In an interview done by FanBolt, Dawson  said that she would be a fan of Juno even if her music was not in the movie. I think that Dawson’s shaky and twee lyrics encapsulate the essence of being a teenage girl perfectly.

Conclusion

Overall Juno is a movie I will always carry with me. It has become a comfort film and I often find myself listening the the soundtrack as I get ready for the day or walking to class. Reitman was somehow able to compose an extremely mature story about teen pregnancy into an everlasting feeling of youth and playfulness. I recommend this movie to everyone I meet and hope they get the same feel-good feelings as I do.