Easy A (Sony)
The Angst of High School One More Time
Easy A is another look at the angst of high school life, and once again the students are the smart ones and the adults are all jokes. Emma Stone has the lead role and she is good as the bad girl who fakes losing her innocence. A variety of solid supporting actors adds to the fun and makes this intermittently funny film fairly entertaining.
Olive (Stone) is a senior at Ojai High School in California. Her best friend is Rhia (Aly Michalka). Rhia keeps pestering Olive about her dating life until one day Olive makes up a full sex scenario. It is a joke but Rhia believes it as does Marianne (Amanda Bynes) who is the head of a Christian group on campus. Marianne spreads the word that Olive is a tramp.
At the same time this is going on Olives English Class is studying THE SCARLET LETTER. Her teacher Mr. Griffith (Thomas Haden Church) praises Olive for actually reading the book and watching the original movie not the Demi Moore version. He even takes it in stride when Olive shows up wearing a scarlet A on her clothing.
Olives parents are completely fine with everything she does. In one really funny scene her mother (Patricia Clarkson) goes on and on about her wild days in high school. The audience doesnt know if this is supposed to be a true scene or a joke but it is funny just the same.
The guy Olive really likes is Todd (Penn Badgely). He and Olive have been friends for many years but have never actually dated. When Olives reputation gets tarnished he is the one who inherently knows the rumors are not true.
The movie seems to want to be a John Hughes film. There is a lot of talking to the camera as was done in Ferris Buellers Day Off. You also have the similarity of the film focusing on the non-popular kids rather than the high school stars. Still there was a sweetness and a cohesiveness to Hughes films that just isnt present here.
Easy A fluctuates between being taken seriously and being a total fantasy. This is most evident when Olive vamps a song at the high school pep rally. The cheerleaders are doing a dance routine that goes right along with the song like it had all been choreographed.
Teens and young adults will probably enjoy this film more than an older crowd. There just isnt enough content to make it palatable for them. Even the participation of Clarkson, Church, Stanley Tucci, Malcolm McDowell and Lisa Kudrow cant change the fact this is basically a movie for high school and college age kids.
The film is rated PG-13 for profanity and sexual situations.
Easy A is a film with some fun moments and some bright performances. It isnt up to the caliber of a John Hughes film but it might be enough to satisfy todays young audiences.
I scored Easy A a difficult 6 out of 10.
