HBO On Demand: Juno

(I want this T-Shirt)

I missed this one last year and watched it, yesterday, on HBO on Demand, as I "enjoyed" the bug Henry passed on to me. (Thanks, pre-school.) I liked it, it was fun, great dialogue, but as someone else (Hi Andrew!) pointed out, the dialogue and delivery was a little too snappy and clever to be believable. It bugged him. I'll say I NOTICED it, but still appreciated the humor.

The plot in a nano-second, for those of you who didn't see it: 16-year-old hip, but sweet, girl has sex (once) with a geeky guy she has an inexplicable crush on, gets pregnant, and decides to go through with the pregnancy.

There aren't a lot of deep ah-ha moments in this one. But it's nice to have a non-movie-of-the-week version of this age-old story, isn't it? The performances, especially Ellen Page, as Juno, are first-rate.

Other things I liked, aside from Juno--who is, I must say, an incredibly appealing character:

All the cultural references--slasher movies, classic rock, Les Pauls, etc etc.

Jason Bateman's understated and cool performance as the potential adoptive dad...I didn't know he had it in him

Jennifer Garner...Her character was uptight, but in a believable way, not in the OCD, unsympathetic way people of this ilk are usually portrayed. Again, a nice understated and real version of a stereotypical type of character. I didn't want to be her, thought she was annoying, but liked her and felt sympathetic toward her...that's a lot to pull off.

Allison Janney...Again, too witty, but her delivery is so great I totally forgave her.

Blue Slushies. I need a blue Slushy, like, now. Though I'd prefer not to throw it up upon consumption. (Bit of a spoiler, sorry)

I also need that Slinky t-shirt Juno is wearing toward the end.

All in all, great rental. I was happy I got to check it out.