Ellen Page, welcome to the show. In Juno, the Canadian actress portrays high schooler Juno MacGuff, who gets knocked up after a sexual encounter with her crush and best friend, Paulie Bleeker (Arrested Development’s Michael Cera). After realizing that she is — as she puts it — “for shizz up the spout,” Juno decides to bring the child to term and give it to a seemingly perfect couple, played by Jason Bateman (also from Arrested Development) and a surprisingly great Jennifer Garner.

At first glance Juno seems like a rather conventional teen movie, but thanks to screenwriter Diablo Cody’s sharp writing, Jason Reitman’s steady direction, and great performances by all of the actors involved, it manages to transcend the teen genre’s clichés and deliver a story that is at once original, thoughtful, and completely, utterly human. (more…)