Reviews by Matt

I love my job at The Record.

Even though it amounts to modern-day indentured servitude.

I do get perks that amounts to free crappy CDs, movie press kits and tons of information on things I will never have to cover or even mention in the paper.
When I was offered a free, screener copy of a DVD I jumped at chance to make all I am put through worth it.

That DVD was “Juno” and it will be available on April 15.

Juno MacGuff (Ellen Page) is a 16-year-old high school student who finds herself pregnant after having sex with her friend Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cerea). She knows she is not ready to have that much responsibility so she and her best friend Leah (Olivia Thirlby) decide it would be best to give the unborn child up for adoption.

Juno finds an upper class couple, Mark and Vanessa (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner) who are looking to adopt. With the support of her parents (J.K. Simmons and Allison Janney), Juno makes tough choices and learns what it means to be an adult.

This was my favorite movie of last year and I was waiting with bated breath for the DVD. It is funny, sweet, dramatic and touching. It was similar to other movies I have seen recently, namely “Knocked Up,” but stood out at the same time. It was not cliché and went against the Hollywood norm. It takes a very serious subject and looks at it in a different light. Juno’s parents are never angry to hear that she is pregnant. They are clam and offer to help her with meeting the parents and other pregnancy related issues.

Page plays Juno with a witty sarcasm and attitude. She is strong and sure of herself, but, when she becomes pregnant, she finds herself dealing with issues way beyond her level. She shows a softer and more vulnerable side in a few of her emotionally weakened moments. Juno becomes overwhelmed with this situation and it takes a toll on her.

Juno has an attitude about her that is endearing. She knows what she wants and is not afraid to put things bluntly. She is content to give up the child only if she approves of the parents. As things become more complicated, she finds her assurances begin to vanish, she questions more and she is emotionally vulnerable.

There are a lot of good special features on the versions of the DVD. There is a commentary with director Jason Reitman and writer Diablo Cody. The two of them talk a lot about the filming and writing, the highs and the lows, the easy and the hard scenes to film. They keep it funny and informative, which is what makes a commentary worth watching. There are also 11 deleted scenes, some of which would have been great in the movie, but had to be cut out for time and pace.

The gag reel is pretty funny, but there is a gag take that is hilarious. It involved Rainn Wilson, who played the store clerk, and the director having what appears to be a huge fight before filming a take. You can tell it is not real, but that does not make it any less funny.

One of the most interesting special features is 22 minutes of screen tests. Director Reitman had Page, Cera, Simmons and Thirlby come out early and run through a few scenes from the movie. It was mentioned in the feature commentary that some of what they did here went into the final cut.


There are four other features, available on the 2-disc, that focus on the young stars, the writer, director (the picture for this froze up on me and all I could hear was the audio) and both writer and director talking about making the movie.

“Juno” is “Knocked Up” with a bigger heart. It is one of the best movies I have ever seen. In a world where the theater is full of complete crap, it is hard to find a movie that is truly great. There are days where I wonder why I waste my time with film criticism. Then there are movies like “Juno” that, as cheesy as it sounds, renews my faith in movies. If you have not seen it, rent it or buy it on DVD because it is worth every penny