SYNOPSIS: Faced with an unplanned pregnancy, an offbeat young woman makes an unusual decision regarding her unborn child.

BOTTOM LINE: I rarely see movies in the theater these days, but the reviews and buzz about this film was too great for me to ignore. It's not only astonishing that this film actually got made and released, but that it's as good as it is. Teen pregnancy is usually relegated to Lifetime or Oxygen Movies of the Week, but screenwriter Diablo Cody brings humor and heartbreak to this timeless topic in such a fresh and engaging way that you can't help but fall in love with Juno. Clearly, Ellen Page's pitch perfect performance as the teen whose spontaneous decision out of curiosity and boredom to lose her virginity to her best friend changes her life perspective forever. Though Juno eventually decides to have the baby and put it up for private adoption, all her choices are weighed with equal measure, the film treading a very delicate line that never feels forced.

Juno's attitude is somewhat snarky about her condition, but the film treats her situation with seriousness, showing the implications it has on all her relationships and her reputation at large. The bigger she gets the more desperate she becomes for this horrible event to have a happy conclusion. While the film has it's funny moments and her dialogue is cracking with wit and slang, it's the quiet moments with the people who care about her that make this something special. I initially thought her parents were a bit too understanding, but then realized they don't really have much of a choice. Yelling at her isn't going to make her any less pregnant. All they can do is stand by her decisions, which continue to fluctuate, just like most teens, between those that are good for her and those that just cause more trouble.