This single little low-budget movie might just balance out all the well-funded bad ones and give the coming-of-age and teenage-romance genres a good name. It opens as something of a screwball comedy, as 16-year-old Juno MacGuff (Ellen Page) discovers she’s pregnant; then it settles into a romantic comedy with depth. After taking three pregnancy tests to be sure of the results, Juno visits an abortion clinic. But when she sees the other women there who don’t want to be mothers, she recoils at the idea. Her best girlfriend, Leah (Olivia Thirby), suggests they look at the classified section of their local paper. Under the column heading of "Desperately Seeking Spawn," Juno finds an upscale, picture-perfect couple, Vanessa and Mark Loring (Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman), who are willing to sign a contract with her, pay her medical costs, and keep the baby as their own.

The Lorings aren’t as happy as they at first seem. Vanessa genuinely wants a baby -- it’s her top priority in life -- but Mark dreams of writing better music than the jingles he’s paid to create, and perhaps become a rock star. Juno finds out about this and now must decide anew whether or not to give up her baby to the couple.

Ellen Page seems to live the part of Juno. Glib and eccentric on the outside, she shows just enough subtle expression to let us know that there’s more inside her that will emerge when it’s needed. Sweet without being saccharine, feisty without being rude, clever without being a know-it-all, Page’s Juno is one of the most endearing teenage characters to come along in some time.

And she’s surrounded by likable people. Her mother and father, Bren and Mac MacGuff (Allison Janney and J.K. Simmons), are parents of atypical understanding who wouldn’t have wished the pregnancy on their daughter, but who take a supportive attitude of "It’s done, let’s move on and make the best of it." Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera), Juno’s best friend and the father of the child, whom she put up to having sex with her in the first place, is a likable member of the track team who plays guitar and writes music. Paulie doesn’t have to say he’ll do the right thing, if he can -- you just know he will. The Lorings are well-intentioned people, particularly Vanessa. Jennifer Garner is very sincere in this role. Other actors might have played it for laughs, but Garner goes for the heart.

Juno is ostensibly set in the present, though the students seem to wear clothing from a past era. And while they know a lot, they remain sweet and innocent. There’s no drinking or drugs -- I don’t remember seeing anyone smoke a cigarette. The conflation of eras seems intentional. Perhaps screenwriter Diablo Cody and director Jason Reitman (son of director Ivan Reitman) were trying to say that most kids these days are really good; it’s just that the others are so noisy that we hear more about them, and so the good kids need underlining.

The witty script is ideal -- no word is wasted, the pacing is perfect -- and there are no arid spots: Juno just keeps flowing naturally. I found myself mostly smiling, often laughing, and always identifying with the characters. This was the first film I’ve seen since last summer where I felt I was sharing my experience with the entire audience. A group of teenagers sat behind me, and we always laughed at the same time -- the audience’s reactions seemed unanimous. Juno is a rare gem; don’t miss it.

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