We’ve all seen them – high school, chick flick, romantic comedies. Not another one, you might be groaning. But even though in “Easy A” Emma Stone freakishly resembles Lindsay Lohan, her character, Olive, is more reminiscent of Ellen Page’s Juno than of any other stereotypical high school-based character. Stone’s quick-wit, sarcasm and sharpness are what make “Easy A” edgier than your typical chick flick.
Set in a high school in California, (though it’s hard to believe any of these actors are of high school age) “Easy A” tells the story of Olive Penderghast (Emma Stone) and how she went from being invisible to being the high school slut, all through some untrue rumors. However, instead of being embarrassed or trying to set the record straight, good-girl Olive decides it would be more fun to embrace the role and become a modern-day Hester Prynne of “The Scarlett Letter”, which her class just happens to be reading.
She evens sews red A’s onto provocative dresses and lingerie. It all starts innocently enough, just trying to help her friend Brandon (Dan Byrd) get out of being bullied for being gay by making everyone believe she slept with him. However, every teenage guy starts offering money and gift cards in exchange for bettering their reputation and, as these things do in a world where students live through text messaging, word gets out that Olive is exchanging sex for money.
As an audience member, your heart goes out to Olive for many reasons. We’ve probably all been victims of rumors in high school, and Stone does a great job of showing that the clearly-not-stupid Olive is doing a somewhat-stupid thing, but for all the right reasons.
The movie, although rated PG-13 and set in a high school, is probably more suited for an older teenage audience due to the content and the surprisingly large amount of swearing. However, the clever writing and pop culture references (who doesn’t love a good John Hughes tribute?) make “Easy A” one of the funniest and most heart-warming movies of the year.
While Stone gets most of the credit for holding the movie together, she is backed by a wonderful supporting cast. Most notably, Olive’s parents (Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson), who are the kind of California-cool parents we all wish we had but at the same time are thankful that we don’t. Their laid-back style and funny banter make it easy to see why Olive is the way she is.
Other supporting roles include type-cast high schoolers. There’s Marianne the “Jesus freak” (Amanda Bynes) who publicly scorns Olive, Rhiannon (Alyson Michalka) who is slightly annoying as Olive’s quirky best friend, and Todd (Penn Badgley) as Olive’s love interest and the one who proves that not all guys are jerks. Rounding out the students are the English teacher we all wish we had, Mr. Griffith (Thomas Haden Church), and his wife the guidance counselor (Lisa Kudrow) who plays a more important role than you’d think.
“Easy A’s” writing and direction are terrific but it is really the cast who make the movie what it is. Many critics are calling this Stone’s break-out performance in what’s sure to lead to many leading roles. When Olive’s English teacher asks why she’s wearing the red letter A on her bustier, Olive smirks and says, “Oh, it’s for awesome.” Yes Olive, yes you are.
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