As quickly as it arrived, our January thaw as vanished, as the Electric Light Orchestra would say "faded like the Beatles on Hey Jude." It was nice while it lasted, wasn't it?

The cold reality of January is here, with the weekend weather forecast calling for highs in the single digits and lows below zero. Time to resist the urge to hibernate, which becomes stronger each passing year for me at this time of year.

It's also time to be doing things indoors. Organizing, preparing for income taxes, getting things ready for the coming spring.

Time for a good book, or a good movie. The writer's strike that continues to linger on has reduced television to reality shows and some mid-season replacements that weren't fully completed before the strike. Thankfully, one of the benefits of the strike is that the seemingly endless awards shows are now reduced to a press conference where the winners are announced.

We did venture out to see an independent film, "Juno," that has been getting some well deserved attention. Set in neighboring Minnesota, the film deals with high schooler Juno, played by Ellen Page. She is named for the Roman godess Juno, wife of Jupiter. Juno decides one day, out of boredom or curiosity, to have sex with her friend Paulie Bleeker, played by Michael Cera. The one time encounter results in pregnancy.

After deciding not to have an abortion, Juno and her best friend begin searching the local shoppers for an adoptive parent for her child. After finding a seemingly perfect couple, Mark and Vanessa Loring, played by Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner, she tells her father and stepmother, played by J.K. Simmons and Allison Janney. Her parents support her decision, and help her find her way through the pregnancy and adoption.

I honestly didn't know what to expect when I went to this movie, but came away extremely satisfied. It handled some very hot button topics: teen sex, teen pregnancy, abortion, adoption and what each and how one of these difficult things is seen and dealt with by the people involved as well as by people who are not involved.

The film was clever, funny, touching and sad, much like real life. The actors, writers and director did an excellent job of letting us see how these actions and consequences played out. Whether we choose to acknowledge it or ignore it, these issues have been around forever. How our society deals with them, as well as our definition of family, continues to evolve.

As a parent, the film touched me on several levels. There's a scene when Juno is getting an ultrasound, accompanied by her stepmother and best friend. The technician comes off as being more than a little judgmental until she is told that the baby will be given up for adoption. The exchange between the stepmother and the tech is fierce and primal and leaves you cheering for the stepmom.

In the end, "Juno" is just a film. But movies have great power in forming and changing perceptions on issues large and small. What I had feared to be a movie glamourizing teen pregnancy ended up being a coming of age film that in no way would encourage either premartial sex or teen pregnancy. Much like last year's "Knocked Up," this film actual carries a subtle, but profound message about relationships, actions and consequences and taking responsibility. The use of a mix of humor and drama is the "spoon full of sugar" that helps the "medicine" of the movie's message go down.

If you get the chance, I'd encourage you to see it. If you have teens, go together. It will make for some lively conversations afterwards. It's rated PG-13, for language and the theme, and well worth your time.

If Ellen Page, who plays Juno, doesn't get an Oscar nomination for her performance, she was robbed.

As always, I welcome your comments. You can reach me by email at tstangl@lemarscomm.net, telephone 712-546-7031, x40 or toll free 1-800-728-0066 x40.

Thanks for reading, I'll keep in touch. Feel free to do the same.