3.5 stars (out of five). Rated PG-13 for profanity and sexual candor, all involving teens
By Derrick Bang • Originally published in the The Davis Enterprise, 09.16.10
Buy DVD: Easy A
• Buy Blu-Ray: Easy A [Blu-ray]
Bert V. Royal based his screenplay on one of my favorite mordant sayings:
If you get saddled with a reputation, you may as well live up to it.
Royal's snarky script and the effervescent Emma Stone are the chief delights in Easy A, an engaging, teen-oriented riff on Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter
. The light comedy speaks volumes about the elusive nature of popularity, high school cliques and unintended consequences.Mostly, though, it's a choice starring showcase for Stone, who deftly fulfills the promise of her stand-out supporting performance in last year's Zombieland
. She's a natural on camera, with a radiant smile and perky disposition that serve her well as this saga's underdog heroine. |
| Having embraced the dark and slutty side that everybody seems to expect, Olive (Emma Stone, right) takes great pleasure in making the insufferably judgmental Marianne (Amanda Bynes) as uncomfortable as possible. Alas, peer pressure eventually will have its consequences. |
She also has deft comedy chops and a finely honed sense of line readings, holding her own during witty repartee with a supporting cast of scene-stealers that includes Stanley Tucci, Patricia Clarkson, Thomas Haden Church and Lisa Kudrow. That's an impressive roster for a lightweight late-summer entry: all the more reason this film is a delightful surprise.
Stone stars as Olive Penderghast, a whip-smart student at Ojai High School who pales somewhat in the shadow of best friend Rhiannon (Aly Michalka, of the pop duo Aly and A.J.). Olive enjoys lively banter with her favorite teacher, Mr. Griffith (Church), although her academic prowess seems to have left her something of an outcast in the popularity and boyfriend departments.
We'll have to limit ourselves to raised eyebrows over the notion that a knockout like Stone wouldn't have boys lined up at her high school locker, but hey: That's Hollywood.
