"Juno" is one of my new favorite movies and it could quite possibly crack my sacred top 10 list if it keeps stealing my heart each time I see it (that's three times so far).
The last recent movie to accomplish such a feat was love of my life Judd Apatow's "The 40-Year-Old Virgin." I knew I would enjoy "Juno"; I just wasn't expecting to fall in love with the film and all its characters. So while "Juno" fights for a spot on my top 10 list of favorite movies, I'll offer another list of the top 10 reasons why I love "Juno."
10. Rollo, the convenience store clerk, portrayed by Rainn Wilson. Wilson is a scene stealer even in the tiniest of roles.
9. Juno's hamburger phone. It has to be the coolest on-screen phone since Nickelodeon's "Clarissa Explains it All."
8. Mark and Vanessa's photos hanging in the stairwell. They are the epitome of yuppy love, and I can't quite get the image of Jason Bateman's goofy, gleeful smile out of my head.
7. Michael Cera's legs. Talk about sex appeal.
6. Jennifer Garner's performance. Garner's portrayal of a yuppy woman wanting a baby isn't to be overlooked. She makes us love and understand her initially icy character, and she has a special knack for making me cry.
5. When Juno is asked how far along she is, she responds, "I'm a junior," missing the reference to her pregnancy. Despite Juno's maturity, the film does well in subtly reminding us that she is still very much a teenager.
4. Bren telling off the ultra-sound technician for insulting Juno. The next time someone insults me, I want Allison Janney in my corner. Maybe she could whip out some of that snappy Aaron Sorkin "West Wing" dialogue and hurl it their way.
3. The soundtrack. With tracks from Kimya Dawson, the Moldy Peaches and Buddy Holly, the music seamlessly floats in and out of the film, setting the tone and adding a bit of whimsy.
2. The characters' little quirks that make them all so unique: Bren's obsession with dogs, Bleeker's addiction to orange Tic Tacs and Leah's love for old men expressed by the collage in her bedroom.
1. Juno's profession of love to Bleeker. She lets herself feel and speaks from the heart without putting up guards or relying on her wit. Honest to blog, it's one of the sweetest "I love you's" in film.
