By now you’ve likely heard the buzz about this sensational teenage comedy-with-a-heart-of-gold. That acknowledged, let’s cut to the chase: If you haven’t had the opportunity to use Juno as the centerpiece for a purposeful evening out with your students, then by all means head to your local cinema. Nominated for three Academy Awards (including Best Picture), Juno should continue to play in theaters through Oscar night, which lands on February 24 this year, so there’s still time to harness the movie’s merits while it finishes up its excellent run on the silver screen.

Central character Juno MacGuff (Ellen Page) is a witty and sometimes wise 16-year-old wannabe punk rock guitarist who learns she’s pregnant by her low-key best friend and bandmate, Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera, Superbad). Juno initially chooses abortion but is dissuaded by a picketing classmate at the clinic who tells Juno that her baby has a heartbeat and fingernails. The rest of the movie chronicles Juno’s complicated journey through telling her family she’s carrying the baby to term, interacting with the adoptive parents she chose, figuring out her relationship with Bleeker, and navigating the hallways at school with beach ball for a belly.
Like Knocked Up and Waitress, Juno offers an edgy, non-preachy pro-life message—but the difference here is that the main characters are teenage friends who are mutually supportive and resolutely take on very daunting challenges when others much older would likely cut and run.

If you do take your kids to the theater, know that the language and subject matter is sometimes rough and adult, though almost always linked with good humor. And get ready for enough material from Juno to jump-start a ton of valuable discussions.