Movie Time - Juno

Juno (played excellently by Ellen Page) is a 16 year old who finds herself pregnant. She decides she's going to put the child up for adoption. She finds a couple (played by Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner) through the personal ads in the Penny Saver.

I don't know that I've ever watched a movie with quite the perspective I watched this one.

Watching it as a film buff, it's a great Dramedy (in the same vain as Dan in Real Life or Little Miss Sunshine), which has pretty much become my favorite genre. It was smart, quarky, laugh out loud funny, and at moments, profound. The best dramedies, in my opinion, know how to make you laugh a lot, and then stop you dead in your tracks with just a few moments that connect with anybody where they're at... something I think this film did really well.

Watching it as a Youth Pastor, there's some very intriguing commentary on the current youth culture. Especially intriguing is Juno's continued questioning of what "sexually active" really means. She (and really the movie itself) seems to be asserting that the phrase "sexually active" is archaic and meaningless.
It's also an interesting look at a 16 year old wrestling through extremely adult issues.

Watching it as a parent who's recently adopted, I found it very hard to be entertained. The storyline was far too personal. There were moments where (the scene with Garner and Bateman debating if they should move ahead with decorating the nursery) that Janelle and/or I completely identified with and felt like we were watching our story. Some simple but powerful moments resonated so much that either or both of us were moved to tears.
There were other times in the movie that neither looked like nor resonated with our story. Because what we've recently gone through is so personal and meaningful, I felt like the movie was straying from the script.

All in all, a movie we will own some day, and due to the varying levels of connection, probably ranks #2 for my movies in 2007 (even though I saw it in 2008)