[Kansasgirl]

Has anyone seen the new movie Juno?? I am planning on going to go see it this Friday... If you have seen it, should I bring tissues?

[powderpiggy]

I haven't seen it but will be watching this thread to see what others think too. For us, it will probably be a renter, but I doubt I will see it in the theater.

[atouchofheaven]

i'm going tomorrow to see it. i'll post after and let everyone know, well, my opinion anyway.

[Lilly's Mommy]

I saw it this afternoon. My take was this... It's a very funny movie, and not intended to be a movie about the "shoulds" and "should nots" of adoption. The plot takes some interesting twists that kept me wondering, and the humor was non-stop, despite the serious subject matter.

I cringed at some things, but laughed at more. As someone who cares about women who are birthmothers, I disliked how "easy" the decision of adoption was for the character and how she planned to "just move on." I kept hoping that nobody would see the movie and think that it's just that easy, but I'm sure some will.

I went in with the mindset that this was a movie. How many movies portray people/jobs/marriages/you-name-it the way they are, or should be? Not many, and the same goes here. It had some positives and some negatives as far as ethics and stereotypes.

The adoption aspects were what interested me in the movie initially, and ended up being the reason for my tears in the theatre... and I'm not a movie cryer!

I personally enjoyed it very much, but would definitely suggest home viewing for anyone who is concerned about an emotional reaction.

[tobyandcoco]

Not to ruin the plot for anyone who is anxiously awaiting seeing the movie, but does she choose adoption for her baby? All the previews I have seen on TV have not indicated one way or another about her decisions with the pregnancy, and I haven't read anything about it. I wasn't going to see it because I didn't want it to be a movie that glorified teen pregnancy, but maybe I was getting the wrong impression from the previews.

[Mokeokuk]

This was precisely why I didn't opt to see it with my children. I don't know how it turns out and I didn't want them to see some stereotypical image of how "adoption was not the way to go" or how things turned out badly. Can anyone give an opinion about how they portray the adoption triangle? I don't want to subject my children to any negative portrayal. One of my daughters is already sensitive to the issue, I fear.

[atouchofheaven]

it definitely does not glorify teen pregnancy. the girl who is pregnant is very funny and makes a lot of jokes about it, but you can also see the sadness during some deeper moments. but she is teased and ostricized by her peers so i don't think it makes being pregnant look "cool" at all but that is my interpretation.

without revealing the ending i guess i can say it doesn't turn out negatively. there is a very nice, happy ending, and probably a bit unrealistic. there is an inappropriate relationship implied between the adoptive father and pregnant teen that you may want to view before allowing your children to see it.

the adoptive mother is portrayed as a bit of a control freak, but very sincere and loving and really wants to be a mom. there also is a part about abortion. so you would have to decide if that is something you feel comfortable allowing your kids to see.

any other questions i can answer? PM me if you want more details or the ending.

[bromanchik]

I was talking yesterday to a group of 15/16 year olds who unanimously said that it makes placing your child for adoption look easy and really not that emotionally difficult at all. One said "I guess it's not a great movie if you want to teach your kids about the importance of birth control. After all, if you get pregnant you can just give up the baby, no big deal. There's really not that much pain involved." For this very reason I cannot go see this movie. I have yet to see a movie that really shows the emotional ramifications of placing a child. Juno does not either.

[HBV]

I'm not sure I agree that it makes it look easy. There are two or three scenes that are very telling when you stop and think about them. There's a fabulous scene w/ Allison Janney berating a rude ultrasound tech (which is based on a real incident that happened to someone on the production staff.) There's a very touching scene in the hospital with Juno and her boyfriend after the birth, and while the final scene looks like she "gets her life back", there's a subdued quality to it, and you're left a little unsettled.

What I've heard teenagers saying that concerns me more is said with a focus on how they think it "would be cool" to be able to give a baby to someone who couldn't have one. A subtle difference, I know, and clearly it does mean that some teenagers are not really thinking about the pain of it, but I would not say that it is the filmmaker's intent to make it look painless.

I think sometimes it is useful to use humor to open up a dialogue on deeper issues. If I had a teenage daughter I would absolutely take her to see this.