Somewhere between the sharp satire of Election and the rich human comedy of You Can Count On Me lies Juno, a sardonic but ultimately compassionate story of a pregnant teenage girl who wants to give her baby up for adoption. Social misfit Juno (Ellen Page, Hard Candy, X-Men: The Last Stand) protects herself with a caustic wit, but when she gets pregnant by her friend Paulie (Michael Cera, Superbad), Juno finds herself unwilling to terminate the pregnancy. When she chooses a couple who place a classified ad looking to adopt, Juno gets drawn further into their lives than she anticipated. But Juno is much more than its plot; the stylized dialogue (by screenwriter Diablo Cody) seems forced at first, but soon creates a richly textured world, greatly aided by superb performances by Page, Cera, Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman as the prospective parents, and J.K. Simmons (Spider-Man) and Allison Janney as Juno's father and stepmother. Director Jason Reitman (Thank You For Smoking) deftly keeps the movie from slipping into easy, shallow sarcasm or foundering in sentimentality. The result is smarter and funnier than you might expect from the subject matter, and warmer and more touching than you might expect from the cocky attitude. Page's performance is deceptively simple; she never asks the audience to love her, yet she effortlessly carries a movie in which she's in almost every scene. That's star power. -Bret Fetzer

She finds Mark (Jason Bateman) and Vanessa (Jennifer Garner), who seem to be the ideal couple. Vanessa has always wanted to be a Mom--and Juno and Mark have so much in common.

"Juno" takes us through a year of young Juno's life, including her relations with the father of her baby and her best friend, Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera), school, and the pregnancy and aftermath.

The film takes you on the gamut of emotions, but leaves you feeling good. I saw this film with my husband, who loved "Juno" as much as I did. We'll probably end up buying this DVD, because it's well worth another watch. -R. Kyle