"Easy A" Earns an A+
This witty tale, reminds us of the consequences of the high school rumor mill.
by Emily Rasmussen
The unusual tale-rated PG-13, written by Burt V. Royal, directed by Will Gluck, and loosely based on Hawthorne’s book “The Scarlett Letter”- of an invisible teen trying to make herself known by usage of the high school gossip train is remarkably refreshing compared to other movies of its similar genre. It’s today’s teenagers with a mix of an 80’s teen movie feel. Emma Stone’s (“Superbad”) quick-witted humor is irresistible, while Penn Badgely (“Gossip Girl”, “Step Father”) melts our hearts outside of his “Gossip Girl” penthouse suites.
Cute, smart, but under the school’s social radar Olive (Stone) accidentally stumbles along a seemingly ingenious plan to up her social status: lie about doing the deed with boys from school (usually lower on the social totem pole). This then causes both the boys, and Olive, to get noticed more at school.
What Olive doesn’t take into account with her plan, is the possibility of negative consequences. Not all attention is good attention. And so sets the scene for this romantic comedy.
Between the film’s unique plotline, and clever dialogue this film is perfect for a night out with friends, or date night with a special someone. Everyone can appreciate and enjoy this movie. It’s so refreshing to finally see a comedy that’s not filled with the same redundant, and predictable, humor.
Olive’s parents, played by Stanley Tucci (“The Devil Wears Prada”) and Patricia Clarkson (“The Dead Pool”, and “Vicki Cristina Barcelona”), have a unique relationship with their children. A different take on parenting compared to others, which seems to work. Their roles are filled with snappy humor, and loving relationships both with each other and their children.
Though the movie is based on Hawthorne’s novel, I fail to see the huge comparison. Other then than the fact that Olive wears a red “A” on her clothes in the movie, and the book is mentioned frequently throughout the film, there isn’t much similarity in the plotlines.
Olive is rumored to have hooked up with multiple men, but none are married so adultery doesn’t exactly fit the description; not to mention she doesn’t sleep with a priest of any sort. She is seen as an outcast by her peers, which is similar to Hester Pryne, but, once again, other than that I can see the reference, but not a firm resemblance.
That aside, the movie was easy to watch, easy to follow, funny, and has a valuable moral of the story that I feel all of us could end up benefitting from in one way or another.
I would recommend this movie to all viewers (13 and over of course). If you’ve ever felt left out of something, been the victim of a rumor, or just felt plain old out of place or confused at some point in your life; it’s a must see you can’t miss!
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