Juno (2007)

it's only a movie-and a very good one at that
I saw this movie at a medical convention. In the discussion afterwards, there was a wondrous tendency on the part of all these very serious souls to treat this movie as if it were either a depiction of real behavior or a prescription for appropriate behavior.
I notice a similar tendency in some of the negative reviews. This is a movie-it 'moves' in a world of story-telling in which the most rational behavior or the most humane attitudes don't always make for the best story.
It's curious that this critique-by-morality is brought out for a movie that has to do with teen sex, but never seems to arise about a film like [[ASIN:B000XR9L50 3:10 to Yuma (Widescreen Edition)]] in which dozens of people are blown away by gunfire. Finding the lead character's emotions or speech or choices offensive is not the same as critiquing a movie.
That said, this is a witty burlesque of adolescent life. The dialog is relentlessly clever and the depiction of the longing for parenthood all too poignant and real.
An excellent piece of screen-writing that takes very little very seriously, Juno is oddly uplifting if you remember "it's only a movie".

Lynn Hoffman, author of the equally uplifting bang BANG: A Novel

Juno
Juno is a wonderful film, with a very witty and interesting plot line. The best way to describe it is as an art film that became very popular. The story of a teenage girl who becomes pregnant by accident, but has too much of a heart to use birth control, she decides to give the baby away. She finds very interesting parents who are willing, but their characters change dramatically over the course of the film, and one can never tell who the "bad guy" really is. With fire tongued dialogue and amazing acting, it is a combination of a comedy and a drama, a combo that is very dangerous, done by others it would surely have been catastrophic. This is a must see film for both the mainstream movie goer and the gallery film lover.

Honest.
This movie is honest. It is genuine. Sure, Juno's character is a bit too witty and sharp for an average 16 year old. And the movie does, in some ways, make light of a serious issue: teenage pregnancy. But focussing too much on those flaws distracts from the real heart of the movie.

The movie is about how our lives, no matter how old we are, don't always turn out the way we hope they will. Love doesn't always last. The people we love aren't perfect. Children aren't always born to married couples. Some married couples aren't always ABLE to have children. In spite of those things, we can still make redeeming choices. We can still choose to believe the best in others and move towards brighter futures.