Fridae

All hail the best coming-of-age teen movie in years! Written by former female stripper-turned-hotshot screenwriter Diablo Cody, Juno is doing for the Youtube generation what Reality Bites (1994) once did for Generation X.

There are no queer characters in the movie. But the sense of romantic hope that the lead character Juno desperately hangs on to, amid our fashionable modern-day cynicism towards relationships, is something that all queers can identity with.

Sharp, funny and whimsical, the comedy centres on a smart-alecky teenage girl named Juno (Ellen Page) who gets pregnant by her off-and-on boyfriend, Bleek (Michael Cera). At first, she decides to go for a quick abortion. But something makes her change her mind, and she promptly decides to give the baby away to a young couple (a very effective Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman).

But what follows afterwards is entirely unexpected, as the story throws more curveballs than a major league pitcher. We were surprised, moved and tickled pink by Juno.

Released in the US last year, the film has been nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture, and is so popular with American audiences that it has made more money at the box-office than the other four nominees for Best Picture.

Watch it, rewatch it, and then get the DVD. It's that good.