Garnering up loads of controversy before its release, prompting an over 18 rating for its serious subject matter (before being lowered to 15 upon appeal), Jenny Juno pushes the teen romance taboo envelope one step further. And who better to do it than the man who successfully put out 2004’s lighthearted tale of teen marriage— My Little Bride? However, his latest feature is not quite the comedy you’d expect, nor serious enough in its attempts to address the never-ending problems of teen pregnancy, as it explores the subject through the eyes of a fifteen-year old couple and their parents.
The film opens up with a nervous Jenny taking a pregnancy test, soon to be flustered by the results. She bikes to school and immediately tests her boyfriend, Juno, asking what he would do if she lost a leg and then an arm, and finally if she were pregnant. After some very early melodrama, the two wholeheartedly decide against abortion. Their only option is to have the baby and try to keep Jenny’s pregnancy a secret for as long as possible.
With Kim Ho-joon directing, it’s to be expected that he add a touch of the unconventional to this romantic-comedy—which he does by removing nearly all the comedy. The trouble is that the film is soon trapped in an awkward limbo where it tries to remain light and breezy to appeal to genre fans, but still tell a straight-faced story about a young couple trying to deal with a serious issue.
So Kim tries to split the difference and makes the situation worse. Many scenes are heavily sugarcoated—most apparent in the occasionally cheesy dialogue between the couple in the first half as they discuss responsibility and parenthood. Some of the lines given to Juno could have been taken straight out of a campy PSA promoting better fathering.
The viewers interested in seeing how the characters deal with the complicated issues of unplanned parenthood will also be sorely disappointed when the film swiftly wraps up its issues with a message as simple as “be open to things.” From one angle, the film even seems to advocate teen pregnancy by demonstrating how it strengthens the couple’s relationship with little consequence.
But for other fans, uninterested in the issues, the couple’s romance definitely caters to the crowd. Besides Juno’s magnanimous declarations of loyalty and support, the script finds plenty of ways to make its audience fall in love in the characters by playing up the cute. Its strengths lie in the little moments and the subtler actions from the early parts of the film as Jenny and Juno try to keep their baby healthy, while keeping it a secret. Interspersed with their present day troubles are a number of soft focus flashbacks to the early, carefree days of their relationship—though one could argue that their pregnancy is nearly as carefree and adorable.
Kim also makes the right choice in choosing newcomer fifteen year olds for his parts. Park Min-ji’s Jenny stands out for her fun mood swings, switching scene to scene from feisty and jealous to sweet and innocent with minimal mugging all ways around. Kim Hye-sung also performs well in the Juno role-- one crafted with smitten teen girls in mind as the all-around kind, loyal and expressive male of the relationship.
Fans of My Little Bride may be disappointed with this follow-up, especially in the slower second half when the pacing and plot problems surface. But if you are in it for the romance, Jenny Juno is still a light, crowd pleaser on account of its joyous mood and charming leads.
