As Juno MacGuff (Ellen Page, X-Men: The Last Stand) looks down and shakes the test in disbelief, she faces the harsh reality of her situation: She’s pregnant.

“That ain’t no etch-a-sketch,” says the onlooking convenience store clerk (Rainn Wilson, The Office). “That’s one doodle that can’t be undid, homeskillet.”

With that early line of dialogue, writer Diablo Cody sets the tone for Juno, a unique film in which quirky characters speak with a language of their own. Serving as the former stripper’s screenwriting debut after she was discovered on her blog by producer Mason Novick, Juno is a sharp, quick-witted comedy about the challenges faced by its teenage title character. In an interview with The Diamondback, Cody described how the idea came to be.

“The original image that came to me was this pregnant teenager in front of a couple who are basically auditioning to adopt her baby,” Cody said. “There seemed to be so many possibilities from just that image.”

The couple mentioned by Cody is Mark and Vanessa Loring (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner, both from The Kingdom), a husband and wife “desperately seeking spawn” as Juno’s best friend, Leah (Olivia Thirlby, United 93) so fittingly puts it. The opportunity to finally have a child falls into their laps when Juno, a laid-back high school student who can always be counted on to speak her mind, sleeps with her friend, Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera, Superbad).

With the support of her father (J.K. Simmons, Spider-Man 3) and stepmother (Allison Janney, The West Wing), Juno arranges for the couple to adopt her child. However, when both the Lorings’ marriage and her own friendship with Paulie hit rough patches, more complications arise in Juno’s life and the 16-year-old finds herself dealing with issues way beyond her maturity level.

Though a great film all around, what makes Juno stand out is Cody’s screenplay. The relationships are engaging, the dialogue is edgy and shows off Cody’s creative nature, and the script keeps the audience on their toes, as many lines are hilariously unexpected.

“I was able to be experimental and weird with the dialogue, because I had nothing to lose,” Cody said. “I decided I was going to do something unconventional.”

Page noted that after reading Cody’s script, she almost immediately flew to Los Angeles for a reading with Cera.

“I was just floored, I was blown away – it was the best thing I had ever read,” Page said. “I became obsessed with Juno.”

Director Jason Reitman (Thank You for Smoking) collaborated closely with Cody to bring the imaginative writer’s vision to life, a partnership Cody thought enhanced the film because of her and Reitman’s “similar sense of humor and sensibilities.” Reitman successfully utilizes the sets, wardrobes and music to help set the vibrant atmosphere and give depth to the film’s characters.

Page’s performance, however, is the highlight of the film. The 20-year-old actress masters her character’s eccentric personality perfectly. She not only has great comedic timing but is also heart-wrenching when handling Juno’s emotional moments.

The rest of the cast is also spot-on, with Simmons in particular turning in a scene-stealing performance. Page, who said she watched every episode of Cera and Bateman’s former show, Arrested Development, shares great chemistry with both of the actors, connecting especially well with Bateman.

“Working with Jason Bateman was awesome,” Page said. “When it comes to Jason, he is just a wonderful actor with great intentions, who is just so subtle and so understated.”

Cody was especially pleased with the casting of Juno, saying that once she saw who was in the film, she thought to herself, “We are not capable of making a bad movie.”

Many are touting Juno as this year’s Little Miss Sunshine, the indie film that garnered an Oscar nomination last year for Best Picture. Those expectations are certainly warranted, and while buzz is mounting for Page to possibly become the youngest leading actress to win an Oscar (a prospect Page said she was “freaked out” by), she is simply thankful for being given the opportunity.

“It was one of my greatest film experiences ever,” Page said. “I couldn’t be more grateful to be in this movie.”

tfloyd1@umd.edu

RATING: 5 STARS OUT OF 5