Easy A

Greetings again from the darkness. This is an obvious (and proud of it) homage to the great teen films of John Hughes. It is updated for this generation of teens - replete with FaceBook, texting and webcam. While this one may not have the fully realized characters of the Hughes films, it actually takes things a step further in its commentary on many topics: family life, parenting, religious zealotry, rumor-mongering and the public education system.

Writer Bert V. Royal's script delivers an intellectual and comedic look into high school life ... told through the eyes of the smart, "invisible" girl. Just a brief overview will be offered here so as not to take away from the multiple layers.

Emma Stone ("Zombieland", "The House Bunny") delivers a star-making performance as Olive. Forced into a faux-confession by her best friend, Olive experiences the efficiencies of digital gossip spreading as word leaks regarding the apparent loss of her "V card". Even though this one is based in Ojai, California, it's nice to know that high school promiscuity is still met with a certain stigma. Here that stigma is compared to Hawthorne's expert novel, The Scarlet Letter.

This sets into action a series of unforeseen events. The school's religious nuts, led by Amanda Bynes, take Olive's situation as a personal affront and spend a great deal of effort trying to punish her for her sins. At the same time, the geeks and dweebs view Olive as their savior and proceed to take advantage of the opportunity.

While she is presented as a very sharp-witted, well-grounded teenager, Olive experiences the enormous power of a reputation. All of this is balanced out by her extraordinary relationship with her free-spirited, yet wise parents played by Patricia Clarkson and Stanley Tucci.

I can't possibly do justice to the script or the numerous topics broached, but I will say that it's a welcome new approach to teen movies. The usual schlock sex is replaced by sharp quips and real pressures. Do note that the dialogue is filled with much harsh language that wouldn't be welcome in an environment other than a high school campus. Further support work is offered by Penn Badgley as the good guy, Thomas Haden Church as a new world cool teacher, Malcolm McDowell as an old school principal and Lisa Kudrow as a guidance counselor (in a role that gives me permission to feel the disgust I usually feel when she is on screen).

Don't be scared off thinking this is another lousy teen flick. It is instead an insightful comedy that plays well for adults and teens. While you may not agree with all of the social observations, I believe you will agree the film is presented in a most entertaining and insightful manner.

June 2 2010 - saw advanced preview of "Easy A" tonight. Emma Stone plays sarcasm great in this one, and supporting cast works well with her. Emma also narrates heavily throughout, and though not rolling on the floor funny, this has the feel of a John Hughes film (even makes reference to him in a longing way). Thomas Haden Church is funny as the only teacher we really meet, and Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson are well cast as the understanding and 60's hippy mentality parents. The crowd I saw it with laughed frequently, and there are a lot of "I've been there" or "I've seen that" moments that you can relate to from your own high school. The writing is a little bit above the age - that is to say, you'd be surprised to hear the advanced dialog coming from today's teenagers, but this movie worked for me and those with me. Makes for a fun night at the movies. Scheduled for release Sept 17 2010.

Lately the genre of teen comedies skew to the ribald and the are more sex romps than tell stories and introduce characters that you can not only root for but like. "Easy A" is a welcomed throwback to earlier teen comedies: risqué, but heartfelt.

In Emma Stone you have a Molly Ringwald for a new generation: relate-able, sexy, funny, sarcastic and lovely shines as Olive, a girl who leads her best friend (Aly Michalka) to believe she wasn't a virgin. The rumor spreads about her fabled loose ways and spurs different reactions from the school population: Brandon (Dan Byrd) wants to use it to his advantage, Marianne (Amanda Bynes) the school's self-appointed religious leader wants to shame Olive and Olive decides to run with it for her own gains.

There are many pluses with this film: A cast of young actors who are true actors who can convey the humor and uphold the tone of the film; a truly funny, vibrant script by Bert V. Royal in which not only the teens get to be smart and fully fleshed out characters but the adults (Patricia Clarkson and Stanley Tucci as Olive's wry and whimsical parents are a joy; and Thomas Haden Church whose character is a new spin on the "hip teacher".) as well.

With Stone as the lead and the only face in the promotional poster people may think this is a "chick flick" but this film is for anyone who just likes a good film.

Easy A stars Emma Stone as she takes on the role of a very different type of High School student who, despite the image she acquires throughout the movie, endures her tribulations with astounding indifference. If Emma Stones character wouldn't have carried with her that perpetual gleefulness, the movie might have just moved in a completely different direction. Though the movie was undeniably a comedy, I could not help but ponder over the dark undertones that loomed in the background of all the comedy.

Olive is an outsider, as we quickly pick up when she spends her weekend chanting ''A Pocket full of Sunshine'' alone in her room. For some, this may well be the most funny part of of the movie; for me, it was sort of depressing. To me, it emphasizes her lack of a social life, and it is how I felt when I first saw the part. I understand this is far from how most others perceive this part of the movie, but anyways...

Olive is also incredibly intelligent, and her snappy and witty retorts stay with her all throughout the movie. She leads a distanced life but appears to be a contended, courageous and confident girl with little social angst. Her relationship with her laid back parents (who were, by the way, one of the funniest proponents of the movie) is open and genuine. With a sudden lie to her best friend, Olive's life transforms from being an overlooked girl (which appears a little strange judging by her look, but im digressing...)into a whirlwind of exaggerated rumors,boosting her image into someone of a more than, to phrase it nicely, liberal sense of promiscuity.

The movie itself was great. Don't get me wrong, it did contain many funny moments and was distinctly comical. However, I myself saw potential in the movie to be meaningful, and for a movie to be meaningful, it requires realism. I hardly think the scenario presented in Easy A resembles real life. Characters were, at least mostly, very stereotypical and flat. OK, maybe not all of them. Anyways, I hope you get my point. As far as Olive goes, I had just one critique, which is once again digressing from the comedic theme of the movie. I couldn't quite grasp how lightly she took her mortifying daily life. (Potential Spoiler!) How did she just suddenly become a beauty goddess brushing off guys with a sort or royal indifference when it wasn't even clear if she had ever kissed a guy before. An innate confidence, maybe? Just a few things to consider from my point of view, none of which really interfered with the comedic scheme of the movie.

So, let's talk of the comedic value of the movie. Honestly, I didn't have awfully many ''laugh-out loud'' moments. Probably (and here we go again ) because of the dark undertones whose probability of being explored by the writers I failed to discard throughout the entire movie. I think that if I would re-watch the movie with a more comedy-oriented mindset it would indeed be funny, but its first impression on me was undeniably thought-provoking. Taking aside all of the stereotypical clichés, I really think this movie has something to say.

Feel free to disagree with me. Maybe I'll re-watch the movie and jump to a different conclusion.

I attended a free preview of this movie and without having done any research on the movie and just based on a short synopsis, had pretty low expectations walking into the cinema. It's always great coming out of a cinema being pleasantly surprised by an enjoyable movie and that's exactly what happened! I've always been a fan of fast witty dialogue and this movie definitely delivers! Virtually every character in the movie whether minor or major seems to have something funny to say, and while there wasn't a lot of ROFL moments, there were quite a few LOL's throughout the movie! To me, it's one of those movies perfect for a Friday night to unwind from work without having to use too many brain cells (but enough so that you don't walk out of there thinking you'd wasted your time and intellect!) - it's one of those movies that i'll definitely be purchasing on DVD when it comes out!!