MOLI VIEW™

I started sharpening the knives when I saw the first trailer for Juno in my local theater. It seemed to combine a "perfect storm" of elements that I detest in a film: a wisecracking teenager, pregnancy/babies, and a soundtrack bursting at the seams with chirpy, precocious indie rock. Peeeee-yew.

So it was out of sheer boredom (and an invitation from a zealous friend) that I found myself in the theater last night, teeth clenched, as the opening credits rolled out accompanied by Barry Louis Polisar's sickeningly adorable "All I Want Is You." Yack. Though the impulse was to flee, I stayed. And I'm damn glad I did.

Juno is the story of a savvy 16-year-old girl (the title character, played by Ellen Page) who unexpectedly becomes pregnant by her doting, awkward, high school sweetheart — played splendidly by Michael Cera of Superbad fame. The film has been enjoying a media blitz since it opened, due in no small part to the Cinderella story of first-time screenwriter Diablo Cody — a 29-year-old former stripper whose autobiographical The Pussy Ranch blog attracted the attention of a Hollywood talent agent. Cue the swell of violins.

The good news is that Cody is a talent worthy of the hype. We find this out in the first hour or so of the film, when every character we encounter (Juno, her best friend Leah, and even the convenience-store clerk) deals out relentless, wise-to-the-world one-liners. Fortunately, once it gets the alterna-chick snarkfest out of its system, Juno starts unfolding into a film of surprising emotional depth supported by truly awesome performances.

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