A droite Allison Janney

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FilmCreature Reviews 'Juno'

I can spend hours gushing about how terrific a movie 'Juno' is, but I'm not really the greatest writer on the planet, so I'll just express the fact that 'Juno' has a strange effect on you. After seeing it, I almost felt as if I would walk out of the theater and see Juno MacGuff just standing there, as if she were a regular living, breathing teenager. That's how good Page is. In fact, every single performance in the film is absolutely tremendous. I liked how Allison Janney's stepmom character isn't turned into a whiny she-demon like most formula stepmoms, instead, she's far more friendlier (if a little unsure of Juno's odd ways) than we would ever expect.

And J.K. Simmons finally gets a role where he isn't a total jerk; instead, he's a sensitive father who truly cares for his wacky daughter.The soundtrack is awesome, I'll be buying it as soon as possible. The wait for the DVD will be truly agonizing, but worth it in the end. We can see the chain reactions here when a group of truly ambitious individuals (such as Jason Reitman, Diablo Cody, and Ellen Page) get together and make a movie such as this. I don't think I've ever seen anything like it.I give 'Juno' my highest recommendation possible.

Sweeeeet, man. 4/4

Au premier plan J.K Simmons

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La presse française en bref 

« Après Little Miss Sunshine, voici la nouvelle perle du cinéma indépendant américain », annonce Studio. Et force est de constater que Juno, comédie contant le périple d'une adolescente enceinte qui opte pour l'adoption, charme l'ensemble de la presse.

Première gratifie l'invité surprise des Oscars 2008 avec ses quatre nominations, de 5 étoiles, et évoque « une des meilleures comédies de ce début d'année 2008, qui vous laisse avec le sourire béat du premier baiser. »

Tout aussi enthousiaste, Ciné Live insiste sur le rôle de la scénariste Diablo Cody, qui apporte une « authenticité totale à cette chronique intelligente, touchante, souvent drôle et pleine de surprises jusqu'à sa poignante conclusion. »

Positif évoque aussi un « scénario intelligent, qui déjoue les situations les plus prévisibles. » . La revue se félicite que le film d'ado réinvestisse le cinéma indépendant, car « c'est l'occasion de soulever intelligemment quelques grandes questions (de la grossesse chez les adolescentes à l'avortement et à l'usure du couple). »

Les Inrocks lit pareillement Juno comme « un éloge de l'anticonformisme, un hymne à l'adolescence qui se construit dans les marges. » Ellen Page, déjà aperçue dans X-Men, fait des étincelles dans le rôle titre et est « époustouflante » dans ce rôle de « petit bout de femme capable de déplacer des montagnes » (Positif). Elle compose selon Le Monde « le plus joli personnage féminin que l'on ait vu depuis longtemps. » Et comme le film est « tout entier construit autour de sa fantaisie, de son assurance et de sa fragilité », on se retrouve logiquement aussi avec un joli petit film.

Télérama est aussi dithyrambique sur « cette comédie euphorisante emportée par sa miraculeuse héroïne : Juno, film sur une fille qui devient mère avant d'être femme, n'embellit pas la réalité, les rapports de couple, la famille, la sexualité... Mais il l'oxygène considérablement. »

La critique de James Berardinelli
                                                                                           
Juno may well be 2007's "Little Film That Could." You know the category - there's one every year. Last year's entry was Little Miss Sunshine. Word-of-mouth for Juno has been building since its World Premiere at the Telluride Film Festival in early September. The film almost came out of nowhere - almost, but not quite. It then rode a wave of positive buzz to Toronto. The marketers were out in full force, giving away boxes of orange Tic-Tacs (if you see the movie, you’ll understand).

The result (of the buzz more than the breath mints) was packed screenings. Now, with visions of little golden statues dancing in their heads, the men and women behind the movie are cautiously hoping more for a visit from Oscar than some fat guy in a red suit.If one was to categorize Juno, it would fall into the hybrid coming-of-age/teen romantic comedy category. But, as movies like Superbad have shown, such labels aren't necessarily negatives. Juno, directed by Jason Reitman (Thank You for Smoking) is smart, witty, and engaging - three ingredients that, when applied to any film, comprise a recipe for success.

Juno has a great heroine and is blessed by a screenplay that doesn't try to do too much and finds the perfect ending. It's a little odd that this is the third comedy this year to focus on pregnancy. I enjoyed both Knocked Up and Waitress, but Juno gets my vote for the best of the three.

Juno MacGuff (Ellen Page) is sixteen years old and pregnant. She takes three home pregnancy tests to be sure, but the results can't be denied. Her boyfriend, Paulie (Michael Cera), is as befuddled by the news as she is. After all, they only did it once, although that's obviously enough. (And, to his credit, he doesn't do the most insensitive thing imaginable and ask if she's sure he's the father.) At first, Juno considers an abortion, but she doesn't like the vibe she gets at the clinic. So, after revealing the truth to her supportive father (J.K. Simmons) and stepmother (Allison Janney), she goes to the "Desperately Seeking Spawn" section of the penny saver to try to find a good Mommy and Daddy for her unborn child.

"Someone is going to get a blessing out of this garbage dump of a situation." Enter Vanessa (Jennifer Garner) and Mark (Jason Bateman), Mr. and Mrs. Wonderful. They're ready to adopt - or at least Vanessa is. Mark, on the other hand, seems more interested in watching old horror movies and discussing music with the prospective mother of his future child.Juno isn't one of those "laugh riots" that will have audience members rolling in the aisles, getting fake popcorn butter and spilled soda all over their clothing. Instead, it's funny in a sassy way - the kind of humor that causes a lot of smiles and chuckles to go along with the occasional stomach-jiggling laugh.

The script is polished to near perfection. Almost everything that Juno says is worth listening to, whether it's dialogue that comes out of her mouth or her thoughts expressed in a voiceover narrative.While plenty of credit can be heaped upon director Reitman and his collaborator Diablo Cody (the stripper-turned-screenwriter), the lead actress deserves as much praise as either of them, if not more. I'm not of the opinion that this is a star-making turn for Ellen Page - that distinction went to last year's searing Hard Candy - but Juno confirms that she is much more than a flash in the pan. She's someone to watch.

She may not get a Best Actress nomination for her role here (that depends too much on politics for a prediction at this time), but if one comes in her direction, it's no fluke. She gets able support from a strong cast. Superbad's Michael Cera creates the kind of genuine, timid guy who's too rarely seen in teen films. Allison Janney and J.K. Simmons are the parents every pregnant girl would love to have (although they wish for a school suspension instead of the "bun in the oven" news).

Jennifer Garner is perfectly sincere and not at all like we have seen her before, and Jason Bateman portrays the most human character he has played in a while. However, all of these actors, as good an experienced as they may be, are simply orbiting Page's star. This is her film from start to finish.Juno is the kind of the film where a viewer almost needs to look for a reason to dislike it for it not to work. It's charming without being saccharine. It's funny without being rude or dishonest. It's smart without being smart-assed. And it's got enough heart to keep the comedic elements in check. When I was done smiling, the movie gave me something to think about, as well: Where were girls like this when I was in high school? Someone like Juno would have had me from the first bell.

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juno_(film)

Résumé 
Charles, 32 ans, est un séducteur volage, contrairement à nombre de ses amis qui se marient. Il est leur garçon d'honneur et ces mariages sont pour lui l'occasion de nouvelles conquêtes ou, au contraire, de subir les reproches amers de ses ex. Il y retrouve aussi ses amis : Fiona - faussement cynique mais secrètement amoureuse de Charles -, Scarlett - celle qu'on laisse toujours tomber -, Tom - le riche célibataire aristo -, Mathew et Gareth - dont l'amour ne se révèlera qu'à la mort du second -, David, enfin, son frère, sourd-muet plein d'entrain.Lors d'un mariage, Charles rencontre Carrie, une belle Américaine avec qui il passe la nuit ...

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