AND THE WINNER IS...

Everyone knew that Roger Ebert saw and adored Juno in Toronto based on his blog write-up, but his full review has just posted, and it is an all-out endorsement of the film—and we all know that an Ebert endorsement can have a massive impact. Make no mistake about it: when Ebert says he has seen the film three times before its release (ahem... as have I!) and writes this gushingly about it, it is a huge boost for the film's awards prospects. Here are some excerpts from the dean of film critics:

• "Juno is just about the best movie of the year."
• "Has there been a better performance this year than Ellen Page's creation of Juno? I don't think so."
• "Page's presence and timing are extraordinary. I have seen her in only two films, she is only 20, and I think she will be one of the great actors of her time."
• "The screenplay by first-timer Diablo Cody is a subtle masterpiece of construction."
• "Juno informs her parents in a scene that decisively establishes how original this film is going to be. It does that by giving us almost the only lovable parents in the history of teen comedies."
• "It is uncanny how Page shows us, without seeming to show us, the deeper feelings beneath Juno's wisecracking exterior."
• "There are moments of instinctive, lightning comedy... moments that blindside us with the truth... moments that reveal... and the breathtaking scene when Juno and Vanessa run into each other in the mall and the future of everyone is essentially decided. Jennifer Garner glows in that scene."
  
• "It is so very rare to sit with an audience that leans forward with delight and is in step with every turn and surprise of an uncommonly intelligent screenplay. It is so rare to hear laughter that is surprised, unexpected, and delighted. So rare to hear it coming during moments of recognition, when characters reflect exactly what we'd be thinking, just a moment before we get around to thinking it. So rare to feel the audience joined into one warm, shared enjoyment. So rare to hear a movie applauded."
• "No wrong scenes, no extra scenes, and characters you want to hug."

Ebert has also posted a profile of director Jason Reitman, in which he adds:

• Jason Reitman "emerged in full flight in his first feature, the pitch-perfect Thank You for Smoking, and with only two films has moved onto the A list."
  
• Page "will be nominated for Best Actress and has a good shot at winning."
• Page "is, in fact, a phenomenon, one of those young performers who emerge seemingly from nowhere to create a character we respond to in a way that reminds us of other great breakthrough performances... Page was amazing earlier a movie titled Hard Candy, but Juno puts her in another dimension altogether."
• Cody "is about to pull off the biggest career leap of the movie season, from stripper to Oscar nominee. Her story has become part of the film's growing legend."
• "Audiences love Juno's parents in the movie [J.K. Simmons and Allison Janney], who are a little older and a lot wiser than parents of movie teenagers are usually allowed to be. Don't be surprised by supporting nominations."