Emma Stone's time has finally arrived. After playing superb supporting parts in films like Superbad, The Rocker, and Zombieland, she finally gets her first starring vehicle -- the warm and fuzzy Easy A -- and delivers us from yet another pointless teen comedy. Indeed, thanks in part to this talented young lady, and the two men behind her meta-foray into John Hughes territory, what could have been a crass and tactless bit of adolescent exploitation comes across as smart, savvy, and ever so slightly satirical. While it takes some time to catch on to the brash, over the top lingo being slung by all involved, once you sync up, the laughs come fast and furious.
Olive Penderghast (Stone) is not your typical high school girl. Clever, cocky, and constantly complaining about her lack of status, she shares her angst-filled insights with chesty best buddy Rhiannon Abernathy (Alyson Michalka) and her ersatz uber-hip parents (Stanley Tucci, Patricia Clarkson). One day, in order to beg off a camping trip, our heroine makes up a tryst with a boy from "community college". One set of texts later and she's the talk of the campus. A couple of fake dates with gay buddy Brandon (Dan Byrd) and resident fat kid Evan (Jameson Moss) and suddenly she's a scandal. You see, Olive doesn't "do" anything with these guys. She merely uses her growing (bad) reputation as a way of making these outsiders seem acceptable and cool. But when a prissy Christian busybody named Marianne (Amanda Bynes) makes our scarlet lady her new crusade, things rapidly go from controversy to chaos.
With her crooked smile, throaty voice, and wise guy eyes, Emma Stone is a superstar in waiting. Luckily, Easy A is the kind of movie that will help her gain this recognition. Penned with precision by someone who has clearly studied every high school laugher from the Greed Decade forward and then peppered the whole thing with a solid helping of post-millennial irony, this is a warm and winning effort which provides one pointed one liner after another.
Like a Woody Allen for the Pinkberry crowd, Stone zings everything in her sight, from her buxom best friend to the slick teacher (a terrific Thomas Haden Church) who is more clueless than cool. With the help of her earnest attitude and inner core of parental support, Olive mirrors the turmoil of Hester Prynne (as luck would have it, the kids are reading The Scarlet Letter in English class) without falling into the dated traps of Hawthorne's prose. Instead, Easy A circles around other provocative issues like gossip, underage promiscuity, and how far someone will go in taking money for their imaginary favors. In fact, the most intriguing element here involves Olive's quick descent into pay for (sham) love status. While high minded about most things, her gift card negotiations smack of something a tad unsavory.
Luckily, Easy A is too busy paying homage to hurt itself with such suspect subtexts. The callbacks to memorable moments from teen comedies past, the many spot-on music cues, the constant stream of sarcasm and insight coming from Olive and her pals propel us up and over such otherwise unexplored red flags as religious intolerance, student/teacher sex, and protracted peer pressure. In fact, Easy A throws these hot button issues around like confetti at a children's party, hoping to be more than just shout-outs and snappy repartee.
Still, it's Stone who keeps things in check, her moxie and her manic drive derailing almost every attempt at formula or cliche. While Easy A may not always treat its subject realistically, it does offer up a pile of smiles -- and even more laughs.
Olive Penderghast (Stone) is not your typical high school girl. Clever, cocky, and constantly complaining about her lack of status, she shares her angst-filled insights with chesty best buddy Rhiannon Abernathy (Alyson Michalka) and her ersatz uber-hip parents (Stanley Tucci, Patricia Clarkson). One day, in order to beg off a camping trip, our heroine makes up a tryst with a boy from "community college". One set of texts later and she's the talk of the campus. A couple of fake dates with gay buddy Brandon (Dan Byrd) and resident fat kid Evan (Jameson Moss) and suddenly she's a scandal. You see, Olive doesn't "do" anything with these guys. She merely uses her growing (bad) reputation as a way of making these outsiders seem acceptable and cool. But when a prissy Christian busybody named Marianne (Amanda Bynes) makes our scarlet lady her new crusade, things rapidly go from controversy to chaos.
With her crooked smile, throaty voice, and wise guy eyes, Emma Stone is a superstar in waiting. Luckily, Easy A is the kind of movie that will help her gain this recognition. Penned with precision by someone who has clearly studied every high school laugher from the Greed Decade forward and then peppered the whole thing with a solid helping of post-millennial irony, this is a warm and winning effort which provides one pointed one liner after another.
Like a Woody Allen for the Pinkberry crowd, Stone zings everything in her sight, from her buxom best friend to the slick teacher (a terrific Thomas Haden Church) who is more clueless than cool. With the help of her earnest attitude and inner core of parental support, Olive mirrors the turmoil of Hester Prynne (as luck would have it, the kids are reading The Scarlet Letter in English class) without falling into the dated traps of Hawthorne's prose. Instead, Easy A circles around other provocative issues like gossip, underage promiscuity, and how far someone will go in taking money for their imaginary favors. In fact, the most intriguing element here involves Olive's quick descent into pay for (sham) love status. While high minded about most things, her gift card negotiations smack of something a tad unsavory.
Luckily, Easy A is too busy paying homage to hurt itself with such suspect subtexts. The callbacks to memorable moments from teen comedies past, the many spot-on music cues, the constant stream of sarcasm and insight coming from Olive and her pals propel us up and over such otherwise unexplored red flags as religious intolerance, student/teacher sex, and protracted peer pressure. In fact, Easy A throws these hot button issues around like confetti at a children's party, hoping to be more than just shout-outs and snappy repartee.
Still, it's Stone who keeps things in check, her moxie and her manic drive derailing almost every attempt at formula or cliche. While Easy A may not always treat its subject realistically, it does offer up a pile of smiles -- and even more laughs.
