I like Emma Stone, she was great in “Superbad” and “Zombieland” and in the new “Easy A” her talents are on full display, who knew she could sing? In this film, an attempt at the John Hughes style teen angst flick, Olive (Stone) falls for the peer pressure of her best friend, Rhiannon (Aly Michalka, of Aly and AJ fame) and falsely admits to losing her virginity to a fictitious date. The word spreads fast and soon guys, like the gay Brandon (Dan Byrd), are requesting her to lie about their fictitious trysts and, here’s the uncomfortable part, Olive agrees to perpetuate her bad reputation for financial gain, attaining the literary character Hester Prynne’s “Scarlett Letter” notoriety. Really, pretending to give up her virtue for an Office Max gift card? What makes the movie really work is the supporting cast of adults. Olive’s parents played by Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson are hysterical in full Boomer mode. Thomas Hayden Church at English teacher Mr Griffith and Lisa Kudrow as his wife are wonderful here as well. If you can get past the goofy, forced premise of the film it’s a pleasant diversion. I’m looking forward to Miss Stone’s next films where I hope the material will be more of a match for her skills. PG13
GPA 3.0
Recent Comments