Easy A

I saw Easy A on opening night, and was pretty impressed with the turnout. I'd say there were about 6 groups of at least ten young teen girls (what message did THEY get from this film, I wonder?), and a few girls in their twenties who dragged along their boyfriends, myself included.

I will be the first to admit that I didn't walk into the film with the highest expectations. I have little reason to expect anything from a female centered high school comedy because A. these films are not meant for my demographic and B. there hasn't been a good one made since Mean Girls. Well, imagine my surprise when Easy A turned out to be one of the more mature and intelligent films I have seen in a long while.

Granted, it isn't spectacularly funny or introspective, but it sure wasn't boring either. Emma Stone is charismatic as the main character Olive, a girl who sullies her squeaky clean reputation in order to increase her social standing. An interesting study in Shavian class structures and existentialism, or just a simple minded teenage comedy? It could be viewed either way, which can't be said about many other films of this ilk.

(Am I looking too deep into this?... Probably. Moving on.)

Olive accidentally starts a rumor concerning her own sexual prowess. Rather than squelch the rumor, she instead provokes its spreading amongst her peers. In no time she is a well known harlot, who secretly allows the nerds and losers to say they had sex with her in exchange for gift cards and coupons.

Things get complicated when Amanda Bynes' Marianne, an overtly religious promoter of abstinence, takes it upon herself to rid the school of Olive's influence.

Strong casting aids in pulling this film past the line of respectability. Thomas Hayden Church and Lisa Kudrow are the married teacher/counselor team who have problems of their own. Patricia Clarkson and Stanley Tucci are perfect as Olive's trusting and over-sharing parents. And Penn Badgely, who supposedly is from some stupid TV show, turns up as the school mascot/Olive's long time crush, and the only boy in the school who seems to be impervious to the gossip web.

I have to say that I had a tough time understanding Olive's motivation. Social standing is nice, yes, but at what cost? Hopefully someone can explain to me what exactly it is about being popular that outranks being respected.

Even so, I still enjoyed Easy A overall. the most humor came in the scenes between Olive and her parents, but the rest of the film was not lacking in laughs. And the film's depiction of the teenaged gossip mill as it is today was spot on. This is the Ferris Bueller of this generation. Ok, maybe thats going a bit far, but you get the idea.


Attendance: 4/5
Crazy Fan Boy Factor: 0/5
Crowd Response: 4/5

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Production Value: 4/5
Humor: 4/5
Plot: 3/5
Amanda Bynes: Should stay retired; ick



Overall: 7/10