Juno: Cautionary Whale or Enticing tale?

There has been a buzz for some time now about "Juno." The film has been getting rave reviews and explores the plight of one 16-year-old faced with an unplanned pregnancy that "all began with a couch." But the film is not without criticism, as many are saying the storyline glamorizes teen pregnancy, without realism dedicated towards the consequences that fall on unwed teen mothers. As a recent article on msnbc.com reports:

Dr. Vanessa Cullins, vice president for medical affairs at the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said these story lines — generally with upbeat endings — oversimplify the tough choices facing real-life girls and women. Each year, more than 1 million of them in the United States opt to have an abortion.

“Hollywood is in this for money and entertainment,” Cullins said. “They are shying away from having the characters fully explore all their options when faced with an unplanned pregnancy.

“In the real world, it’s important to weigh all the possible options and then come up with the best one for the teen, the family and the child,” Cullins added. “That will be different for different circumstances.”

I guess it was only a matter of time before the post-coital glow of the fuzzy-feeling film wore off, and it would fall under attack by those, like Cullins, with claims that it is simply a glittery version of a horrific circumstance.

Ethically, what is the problem? Is the film really just a blatant attempt to show 17-year-olds in Minnesota that they, too, can see the positive side of a pee strip and have it come out as bright as the Sunny D they used to test it out? Personally, I think this is an unrealistic way to approach the movie.

The film, I believe, is attempting to make a statement about the way life begins, who starts it, and who ultimately takes the responsibility for it. The character of the 30-something woman desperate to have a child but unable to do so is demonstrative of an entire collective of society and shows how yuppie bliss isn't all its cracked up to be. Juno herself, in her most intriguing moments, is simply a teenager exploring "teenager" things-- crushing on a boy and feeling moments of utter isolation. The movie is almost pointedly unrealistic, as the paltry humor and the equally dry responses of seemingly everyone around Juno as she begins to swell with child are somewhat hard to believe.

Can abstinence-only advocates complain the film is erring on the side of delivering a potentially misleading message? Certainly. Still, the script wasn't written for high school girls eager to reproduce before prom. In my opinion, the film was meant to give character profiles of different lives that intersect when an unexpected happening--such as a pregnancy--occurs. The beauty of being able to see these characters is simply the cheese to some pretty decent cinematic macaroni.