Easy A
Movie Review
"Easy A"
Review by Eric D. Snider
Grade: B+
Rating: PG-13
Released: Friday, September 17, 2010
Directed by:
Cast:
Ten years from now, when Emma Stone is one of the most popular and respected comic actresses of her generation, "Easy A" will be a useful artifact showing when her talent first manifested itself. Sure, she was good in "Superbad" and "Zombieland," but those were secondary roles. "Easy A" is all about her, and she shines like a sparkling, hilarious diamond made not out of carbon but out of sexiness and comic timing. How could you make a diamond out of those things? I don't know! That is part of the magic.
"Easy A" is a little too rough around the edges to be an instant classic. Its satire grows unfocused, the plot threads wander off, the characters range from broadly satiric to just plain crazy. But darned if it isn't a wickedly enjoyable and smart teen comedy anyway. Olive (Emma Stone), a California high-schooler, drolly narrates what has happened to her over the last few weeks, starting with this disclaimer: "The rumors of my promiscuity have been greatly exaggerated." Well, now we're listening.
It seems Olive, a virgin, let her chatty best friend Rhiannon (Aly Michalka) get the impression that she had a one-night stand with a college freshman. The high school grapevine being what it is, soon everyone "knows" that Olive is a saucy minx. And her reputation is improved. Where before no one thought about her at all, now she's kind of cool. Moreover, if she lets certain desperate guys SAY that they've fooled around with her -- without actually doing so -- then it will help THEIR reputations. Everybody wins!
Surprisingly, there turn out to be some flaws in this careful plan. When it comes to sex in high school, you really can't win. If you remain virginal, you're a prude. If you fool around too much, you're a tramp, and the definition of "too much" is ever-changing. Olive's supposed loose morality makes things difficult with Todd (Penn Badgley), the boy she likes, and especially raises the ire of Marianne (Amanda Bynes), the hyperactively prim and judgmental president of the school's Christian coalition. "We need to pray for her," Marianne tells her club. "But we also need to get her the hell out of here."
The script, by playwright Bert V. Royal, overtly references the John Hughes teen comedies of the '80s, which Olive wants her life to be like. This self-awareness helps the movie tremendously: You can get away with a lot more cliches if you acknowledge them. You know how in high-school movies whichever book the students are reading in English class always winds up relating to what's happening in the movie's plot? Olive's class is reading "The Scarlet Letter," and Olive acknowledges, in her narration, how corny and coincidental this is.
The film's director, Will Gluck, also made last year's smarter-than-you'd-think "Fired Up!" and created Fox's daft sitcom "The Loop." His facility with loony, broadly satiric humor, almost at "Arrested Development" levels, is a perfect fit for Royal's sharp and literate dialogue.
Also a perfect fit, as mentioned, is Emma Stone. She makes me think of Tina Fey here, with Olive sardonically responding to the insanity around her, apparently sensible despite her huge errors in judgment, and just a little pathetic underneath it all. Stone is self-effacing without having to suffer complete humiliation. She parries with Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson as her bizarrely easygoing parents, Thomas Haden Church as her English teacher, Lisa Kudrow as her guidance counselor, and Malcolm McDowell as the principal. All of these actors are funny in their own right -- I would pay $100 to watch a movie JUST about Tucci and Clarkson's characters -- and Stone handles every scene with breezy aplomb. "Easy A" is pretty good; I can't wait to see her star in something truly great.
Grade: B+
Rated PG-13, a lot of profanity, a lot of sexual dialogue and innuendo
1 hr., 34 min.
Copyright © Eric D. Snider.
This work may not be transmitted via the Internet, nor reproduced in any other way, without written consent from Eric D. Snider.
This item has 9 comments
September 17, 2010 at 9:51 am
Done. I'm in. And yes "Fired Up" was really good. It was a gooftball movie that was Wedding Crashers meets Bring It On, but willing to laugh at itself for what it was, just plain fun.
September 17, 2010 at 3:08 pm
I went into this move with incredibly low expectations, and was more than pleasantly surprised when I found myself liking it a lot! The dialouge was clever without seeming too forced. I agree about the parents... there's some great backstory we're not seeing here! Some of the dialouge between Olive and one of her *ahem* friends went a little too far and made me feel a bit awkward and perhaps even a bit uncomfortable, but isn't that what high school is about? Awkwardness and having to deal with a lot of things you'd rather just ignore. But all in all, way more good than bad here.
Its been awhile since I could say this, but I think I'd be up for seeing this one again in the theater, and eventually adding the dvd to my personal collection. Good times.
September 19, 2010 at 3:39 am
I agree.......it wasn't great but it was very good. Emma Stone is great, as you said. I'm looking forward to more of her smart comedy work.
September 19, 2010 at 4:04 am
I forgot to say that I found it interesting that Penn Badgley played Todd....a popular person in high school. 4 years ago in John Tucker Must Die........Penn Badgley played an unpopular person in high school. Obviously, we can ask the obvious qustion, why is still playing the role of high school student? I would rather focus on the change it status though. It would be like Michael Cera being prom king in his next movie. Not as a joke, but because his character is so cool and popular.
September 20, 2010 at 6:44 pm
Amanda Bynes has been playing a teenager for quite a while, too. I think she's 24.
September 20, 2010 at 6:56 pm
That's nothing new--every single one of the "kids" on "Glee" is in their 20's--Cory Monteith is 28! But this has gotten slightly off-topic...haven't seen this yet. Am interested. There--and we're back.
September 23, 2010 at 1:07 pm
Shhhh, Momma Snider, don't criticize Amanda Bynes or the crazy guy with the creepy Amanda-Bynes-worshipping website will come after you.
October 16, 2010 at 8:08 am
As a teenager, the same age as the main character, I go into these types of movies expecting to be able to relate on some level. I don't expect realism, just good entertainment. But I just found this movie utterly ridiculous - and not in a good way. The plot was too far fetched that even referencing it didn't help. There were some genuinely hilarious moments, but not enough to gloss over the ones which fell flat. Much of the dialogue and many plot elements seemed forced, especially the one involving the school councilor. The romance was underdeveloped and unsatisfying. In the end, I just felt bored. Emma Stone is shaping up to be a great actress, but that isn't enough to save this.
January 2, 2011 at 12:09 am
i usually love smart teen movies, but i also found Easy A to be ridiculous, far-fetched, and just too unrealistic. at least in movies like Juno and Mean Girls, the dialogue and scenarios seemed more realistic, and you cared more about the characters. the dialogue was also funnier in those movies. there was too much here, both in dialogue and plot, that seemed forced and more designed to shock, rather than make the viewer laugh. fast-paced and quick-witted shocking dialogue coming from a teen girl's mouth doesn't automatically equal "funny." i also got bored and uncaring by the middle of the movie, and i nearly turned it off at the lengthy and embarrassing, moaning-and-groaning scene where she was pretending to sleep with her gay friend (while, of course, everyone in the hallway has their ears pressed against the other side of the door, thinking they're actually doing it). haven't we seen that done enough in comedies before? the members of the on-campus Christian coalition weren't all that funny either, especially that annoying, over-acting Amanda Bynes.