Juno

What can I say -- I liked it but I didn’t love it? Which is a heck of lot more than I could say about last year’s “little indie film that could,” Little Miss Sunshine. Oscar noms for this film and its lead, Ellen Page, were not preposterous, but only as a crowd-pleasing longshot. Diablo Cody’s script about a bright misfit of a high-school girl getting pregnant is long on smart-aleck patter, but director Jason Reitman manages to find the heart beating within the material. Ellen Page is indeed a pleasure to watch and listen to as Juno MacGuff, and nerd-hero of the moment Michael Cera is funny, sweet, and true as her boyfriend. Juno’s parents are made both credible and amusing by J. K. Simmons and the always-sharp Alison Janney. You’re never quite sure where this story is going, and you’re pleasantly surprised by the way it works out. An inspired animated credit sequence and the quirky music add to the offbeat charm of the piece. And yet, in sum, I was left more with an impression of shtick than insight, more amusement than empathy. To me the film seems genuine, but not quite genuine enough. (2007, Images, n.) *7+* (MC-81.)