Easy A, like so many excellent teen comedies, is based on a classic novel - 'the Scarlet Letter' in this case. Olive, our heroine played by Emma Stone, is a confident but invisible member of her peer group. In order to gain some respect from her best friend she tells a little white lie about what she did at the weekend, and as a result become infamous as the school slut. Rather than try to defend her honour Olive embraces her new persona and uses it to help out unpopular guys at school by allowing them to pay her and say that they did it, when they didn't. However soon the lie gets out of hand and Olive begins to get into trouble, in more ways than one.
Easy A has restored my faith in mainstream American comedy. After many years of frat-boy humour courtesy of Judd Apatow & Co., finally a comedy that will appeal to all, not just those with the sense of humour of an 18-year-old boy. It's not what you'd call high-brow but it is sharp, cleverly-observed, and very sweet, just ike Clueless, 10 Things I Hate About You, and the glorious oeuvre of John Hughes. Self-referentially Olive mentions 16 Candles, The Breakfast Club, and Ferris Bueller at the beginning of the film, citing them as influences on her teenage years. However, despite hearkening back to these earlier films, the dialogue and references are as current as those in Juno, and like that film the characters are presented as misguided but charming teenagers. However, this is slightly lighter and glossier fare than Juno, excepting for a slightly darker moment towards the end of the film.
Emma Stone as Olive is a true comic genius, and her facial expressions are worth the price alone. There's also an excellent supporting cast, highlights being Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson as Olive's adorably kooky parents. Look out too for Amanda Bynes as Jesus-freak Marianne, and Lisa Kudrow as a deceptively supportive guidance counsellor.
This film is hilarious and heart-warming and will appeal to anyone who's ever wondered at that strange high-school logic which condemns those who are virgins as well as those who dare to have sex with more than one person (or even just one person).
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