Neal Vitale Reviews: Juno
December 30, 2007
4 stars out of 5
Juno is the first produced screenplay for ex-stripper Diablo Cody (who apparently has a cat named "Douchepacker") and the latest effort from 30-year-old director Jason Reitman (Thank You For Smoking), son of director/producer Ivan (Ghost Busters et al). The film is a sheer pleasure - smart, funny, human - the lovely product of a fine screenplay enlivened with excellent performances. The cast is led by the 20-year-old Ellen Page in the title role, with nice supporting work from "The West Wing"'s Allison Janney and veteran actor J.K. Simmons (a regular on HBO's "Oz" and J. Jonah Jameson in the Spider-Man series, among many others) as her parents. Juno is this year's Little Miss Sunshine, and I expect that it will compete for an Oscar nomination.