Kids in London - Juno

This is a 12A film with a difference. It’s not a romantic comedy – although there is some romance. It’s not your usual teen movie – although there are teens in it. And it manages to deal with a fairly serious subject – unplanned teenage pregnancy – without resorting to the usual clichés and rose tinted view of the world.

In a nutshell, Juno is a highly intelligent, quirky and independently minded 16 year old who has sex in a chair with her not-quite boyfriend because she is bored. She is horrified to discover she is pregnant and flirts with the idea of abortion but then decides – without too much political or moral dialogue - to find perfect parents to adopt her baby.

The potential parents she finds start out as a predictable rich couple – Vanessa is a stereotypical uptight desperate-to-have-a-baby careerist and her husband is a cool, work at home music composer who shares the same taste in weird films and obscure music as Juno. The scene is set for Juno and the husband to fall in love…yet this doesn’t happen and there is a satisfying ending that you don’t anticipate.

The movie portrayed today’s teenagers as they are – bright, responsible, unselfish, switched on and sassy – not as the media often conveys. The teen language takes a bit of getting used to at the start. I particularly liked the mature relationship that Juno has with her Dad – not sentimental but mutually respectful and based on witty repartee. The step mother was also shown in a good light – taking on the stroppy attitudes of the medical profession on behalf of her step daughter. Really refreshing characterisations.

Both me and my 10 year old daughter liked this film very much. It was funny. It had sad moments. It had an interesting story. It had real characters. The music was good. It had a real message and a realistic ending. And it dealt with a very big issue - the consequences of your behaviour - in a delightfully sophisticated way.