Teenage mothers are often both shown in film as immature, careless, and stupid. These traits make for a movie in which it is easy to create drama and conflict, two necessities for any movie. While Juno has both of these necessary plot devices the title character Juno, played by Ellen Page, has none of the negative qualities expected of a pregnant sixteen year old. Juno gives a fresh take on this trope while Director Jason Reitman gives the viewer a measure of respect with the assumption that he or she can identify with complex characters that break from the norms moviegoers have come to expect. Instead, with his use of quirky film techniques, complex characters, and strong theme of choice Reitman has created a film that shows that it is sometimes
…show more content…
Juno doesn’t react the way one would expect her to in any situation in the movie. Juno finds herself pregnant; in that situation most teens would be distraught, or scared at minimum. Juno, on the other hand, seems incredibly calm. “She assesses her problem, and weighs her response to it, with disconcerting sang-froid.” (Scott). Juno’s reactions to different situations aren’t the only thing showing how different she is from a normal teenager, her dialogue is out of the ordinary as well, using terms like “cautionary whale” and “forshizz up the spout”. Mary F. Pols has this to say of Juno’s dialogue: “She talks with the assurance of a 65-year-old woman without any hang ups… Every line of dialogue crackles with an intelligence that feels innate, not practiced.” (Pols). Even the manner in which Juno got pregnant is outside the norm, not a one-night-stand with some stranger from a bar. Jeremy Clyman describes it this way, “"The doodle that cannot be undid" stems from a volitional, deliberately thought act with the benevolent Paulie Bleeker - the kind of person that grows into a …show more content…
Juno breaks her traditional role at every turn, and seems to be the better for it, encouraging the audience even further to follow her lead.
Juno isn’t the only character that steps out of her traditional role. Juno’s step-mother Bren Macguff takes a couple strides outside the lines as well. In a typical teenage movie the step-mother would be hated, she could never be the replacement for the child’s real mother. In Juno the exact opposite is true. Bren truly steps up to being a step-mother by taking on more than her fair share of the motherly responsibilities. In a short scene about Juno’s mother we see that she isn’t really heard from outside of Juno’s birthday where she sends a cactus gram that Juno says “stinks worse than her abandonment”. Bren not only steps up to being a stepmother, but steps up to being a fairly cool one. Instead of jumping down Juno’s throat when the pregnancy is announced she instead jumps straight into getting Juno healthy, talking about prenatal vitamins and doctor’s appointments. Bren even “verbally abuses” an ultrasound technician for insinuating Juno would be a “poisonous” mother. A.O. Scott has this to say of Bren: “The grown-ups, at first, seem like familiar caricatures of adolescent-centered cinema: square, sad and clueless. But Juno's father (J. K. Simmons) and step-mother (Allison Janney) turn out to be complicated, intelligent people, too, their personalities emerge slowly and change in credible
Juno doesn’t react the way one would expect her to in any situation in the movie. Juno finds herself pregnant; in that situation most teens would be distraught, or scared at minimum. Juno, on the other hand, seems incredibly calm. “She assesses her problem, and weighs her response to it, with disconcerting sang-froid.” (Scott). Juno’s reactions to different situations aren’t the only thing showing how different she is from a normal teenager, her dialogue is out of the ordinary as well, using terms like “cautionary whale” and “forshizz up the spout”. Mary F. Pols has this to say of Juno’s dialogue: “She talks with the assurance of a 65-year-old woman without any hang ups… Every line of dialogue crackles with an intelligence that feels innate, not practiced.” (Pols). Even the manner in which Juno got pregnant is outside the norm, not a one-night-stand with some stranger from a bar. Jeremy Clyman describes it this way, “"The doodle that cannot be undid" stems from a volitional, deliberately thought act with the benevolent Paulie Bleeker - the kind of person that grows into a …show more content…
Juno breaks her traditional role at every turn, and seems to be the better for it, encouraging the audience even further to follow her lead.
Juno isn’t the only character that steps out of her traditional role. Juno’s step-mother Bren Macguff takes a couple strides outside the lines as well. In a typical teenage movie the step-mother would be hated, she could never be the replacement for the child’s real mother. In Juno the exact opposite is true. Bren truly steps up to being a step-mother by taking on more than her fair share of the motherly responsibilities. In a short scene about Juno’s mother we see that she isn’t really heard from outside of Juno’s birthday where she sends a cactus gram that Juno says “stinks worse than her abandonment”. Bren not only steps up to being a stepmother, but steps up to being a fairly cool one. Instead of jumping down Juno’s throat when the pregnancy is announced she instead jumps straight into getting Juno healthy, talking about prenatal vitamins and doctor’s appointments. Bren even “verbally abuses” an ultrasound technician for insinuating Juno would be a “poisonous” mother. A.O. Scott has this to say of Bren: “The grown-ups, at first, seem like familiar caricatures of adolescent-centered cinema: square, sad and clueless. But Juno's father (J. K. Simmons) and step-mother (Allison Janney) turn out to be complicated, intelligent people, too, their personalities emerge slowly and change in credible