Juno

Last night was a wonderful reminder of how I have been blessed!

I spent the evening with two of my former co-workers, Carleen and Julie, who also happen to be two of my dear friends. Our friendship developed when we all worked for the same company.

I don’t know if it was because we were all at the same point in our professional careers, roughly the same age, or just that we clicked on so many levels – but we became fast friends and still keep in touch today.

We celebrated Carleen’s birthday at Alavarez Mexican Restaurant, the BEST place to get Mexican in the Rockford area. We had such a good time noshing and getting caught up on each others’ lives.

Afterwards, we decided (actually, Carleen and I decided – we hijacked Julie, since she rode with Carleen) to see the new indie movie – Juno – about a teenage girl who gives her baby up for adoption.

It was a charming little flick. Very offbeat, but the sarcastic person in me enjoyed the script, and Ellen Page (Juno) rocks the part of a smart-mouth, yet intricately complex, teenager.

Afterwards, the three of us talked about the movie. We all liked it, but Carleen pointed out that (as a mom) she wouldn’t want her teenage daughter (her daughter is currently 2) to see the movie, since it glossed over some of the most difficult parts of teenage pregnancy.

Juno is quite possibly the kind of kid I would have been, if I hadn’t weighed 300 pounds in high school. I’m not saying I would have necessarily been sexually active or gotten pregnant– but I would have been a smart mouth about it.

In the movie, Juno gets pregnant by her (guy) best friend when they both get bored one night and decide to have sex. There is a short scene where sex is implied, but nothing overt.

After she discovers she’s pregnant, she visits a women’s clinic to get an abortion. She runs into one of her classmates protesting in front of the clinic. As Juno brushes past her to enter the clinic, her friend blurts out that Juno’s baby already has fingernails.

“Fingernails?” Juno asks.

As she sits in the waiting room, she notices all the people…and their fingernails. She can’t go though with it and rushes out of the clinic.

After that, she and her (girl) friend (who has a pet bunny – bonus points!) scour the Penny Saver Newspaper looking for adoptive parents. They find a nice, wealthy couple – Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner.

Juno breaks the pregnancy news to her parents, who take it pretty well, and support her decision to have the baby and give it up for adoption.

The rest of the movie deals with Juno getting to know the adoptive parents, going through the various stages of pregnancy – including how her classmates and teachers deal with her pregnancy, and her relationship with her (guy) best friend – who is in love with her.

There are several plot twists, several we didn’t see coming, and the movie is better for them. And, if you don’t cry when the baby is born, you’re not human.

The whole theater (including lots of teenage guys) sniffled.

I’d give it a high rating – the script is exceptional, the actors are well-cast and give outstanding performances. I would definitely recommend this as an adult film only – even though the rating is lower – due to the slight glamorization of teenage pregnancy that might not be the best information for young girls (or boys) to receive.

I just had the best time with Julie and Carleen! I’m so grateful for their friendship, and the fact that they accept me (and all my crazy flaws) for who I am!