Review - Juno

Whether or not it means to, any film that portrays an unwanted pregnancy inherently takes sides in the abortion debate. Thus, I view Juno, in which a preternaturally mature, albeit snarky, 16-year-old pregnant girl opts to become a surrogate for an infertile couple, as carrying water for the pro-life side. I mean, as I watched the film, I could only think: Well having a baby isn't that big a deal. And look how she's making someone else happy. So why not make that choice?

According to the CDC, there were 854,000 legal abortions performed in the United States in 2003, so this option should register as a common enough experience. But TV shows and films never show anyone actually going through with a termination. Even hip shows like "Sex and the City" go up to the brink of the actual procedure, until a wave of maternal instinct overcomes the character in the waiting room.  That way, the show can side-step any judgments an audience might make, while also paving the way for a plethora of motherhood-driven plots.

And it's true -- one can make the argument: no baby, no story. But anyone who’s had an abortion or knows someone who’s had an abortion understands it’s not a routine event. No matter how pro-choice you are, the decision and the process itself can be wrenching. Just once I’d like to see an American production forego the last-moment in-the-clinic-conversion and actually explore the emotional strain of what it’s like to actually go through with the procedure. By allowing characters to seriously consider but never opt for this frequent (in real life) choice, the movie and TV industry has relegated those who have had an abortion to second-class status.

Of course, the producers of Juno have the right to tell whatever story they want. If they want their little teenage Joan Rivers to have a kid – mazel tov! But I hope those teenage girls I saw yukking it up in the audience at each nasty bon mot Juno hurled at the lesser wits populating the film understand that the maternal deck has been stacked in her favor. In this film, Juno is the most together character, the wisest wiseass in town. She generally knows what she wants and can  sniff out hypocrisy and fatuous posturing, rendering them inoperable with her acid tongue. She walks the halls of her high school carrying eight months worth of baby and feels nothing more than irritation at the attention of her peers. The baby’s father, the charmingly diffident Michael Cera, thoughtfully if somewhat gloomily leaves Juno to cope without any annoyingly misplaced concern, and her father and step-mother wax progressively enlightened at strategic moments. And when Juno draws the attention of the husband half of the couple she’s hauling flesh for (Justin Bateman in a very good performance), she’s the one who realizes it’s just all-in-good fun flirting and has to put the breaks on.

In other words: This is an idealized portrait of a young woman in a tough spot. Ellen Page as Juno is terrific at portraying hyper-precocity, but her character enjoys so much control it’s hard to work up a good head of sympathy.  The crisis given the most weight is not the pregnancy itself, but the husband's feckless pass at our heroine. This leads to, in a belated attempt at humanization, some trite musings on the meaning of love and the impermanence of relationships. Given Juno's ability to seamlessly assimilate everything else the script has thrown at her, these sophomoric sentiments don’t ring true, even from a sophomore.

I also took issue with the treacly little ditties that oil the musical interludes, and the animated opening sequence: both indie non-chalance overkill. Still, I can’t say I didn't enjoy the film, overall –  there are  some genuinely funny moments and some very good acting. And why shouldn’t young girls get their very own too-cool-for-school anti-role model?

But as far as a serious or heart-warming or subversive look at the situation of teen pregnancy -- nice try.

Linkateria:

• More Juno reviews
• Bloggingheads: The Politics of Juno (NY Times)
• Abortion at the movies (Salon, 2000)
• Wikipedia: Abortion

Comments

[kcb]

Just a note--I recently saw "Cider House Rules" and was impressed by its direct treatment of abortion (although the movie is average and quite predictable).

[Molly McCall]

Great review, Narrative Junkie! I liked the movie much more than I thought I would, but I think you make some excellent points. Juno is an idealized version of a totally with-it teen. But what the hell, it's refreshing to see high schoolers in a movie who are quirky and struggling and smart and humane.