But after watching it as a Netflix rental, I have to admit that Juno is quite a bit better than I expected it to be. Perhaps it was the whole local oversell of screenwriter Diablo Cody as some sort of underground genuis, rather than just a solid storyteller, that put me off the film when it was in theatres. The way she was portrayed as some ultra-liberal, underground press, anti-establishment rebel was just unappealing and made me expect the movie to be far more political and offensive than it really way.

Instead, the film does very little in the way of politicizing teen pregnancy, and instead tells a very human story of believable, if unorthodox, characters, motivated by all the same emotions we all go through. The sense of humor was unique, offbeat, and perhaps just once in a while, a bit too self-conscious.

However, overall, it’s probably one of the better “dysfunctional family” comedies to come from a Minnesota writer since Al Franken wrote “Stuart Saves His Family.” That’s not saying I want to see Diablo Cody run for Minnesota Senate or anything, however.