In which I write my first movie review....

This past Saturday night, I did something I have never done before. It was a strange and somewhat eye-opening experience.

I went to a movie by myself.

I was all set to feel all self conscious about it - I mean the only women who go to movies by themselves are middle age chicks with bad home dye jobs and six cats, right?

So completely WRONG.

It was great. No sharing my popcorn. No sitting there wondering if the person next to me can hear me crunching on my M&Ms. No armrest issues. Just me, tucked away into a theater chair, passing some "me-time."

Anyway, I decided to see Juno. It was absolutely excellent. Very funny, very different, and very real. I thought that Ellen Page did a fantastic job. It looks like she has done mostly TV stuff to this point, but watch out! She was funny and deadpan and emotional and vulnerable and adorable. Jennifer Garner was also great - I think that people are used to seeing her in strong kickass female roles like Alias, but in this she spent a good portion of the movie teetering on an emotional ledge - you were torn between feeling pity and wanting to give her a good hard "get with it girlfriend" slap. She made me cry at the end. I was surprised to see Allison Janney as well (of The West Wing) but only because I haven't seen her in anything in quite some time. She was excellent. And Jason Bateman was also well cast, giving us just the right mix of attractive and sexy and emotionally cripled butthead. Despite a little too much "teen speak" (which made me realize that I am OLD), I laughed my butt off and at the end I even cried.

It was a lot of fun. I absolutely hate buying DVDs for anyone but the kids because we buy them and we're all excited because "It was such a GREAT movie!" and then we rarely watch them. But I think I would buy this one. AND watch it.

Not a bad night out for thirteen bucks - with popcorn.