Easy A

With creative plot, clever humor and exquisite acting “Easy A” proves to be just that, a film that easily earns an A.

Olive (Emma Stone) is a normal, unnoticed high school student, until she lies to her friend, Rhiannon (Alyson Machalka) about a make-believe college boy named George to get out of a weekend camping trip with Rhiannon and her super-weird parents. The following Monday Rhiannon asks Olive about her weekend and Olive further lies, telling her friend about a one-night stand she had with “George”. It isn’t long until word travels around the school and Olive is known as the school slut.

She then meets Brandon (Dan Byrd) “the homo” who asks Olive to have a pretend fling with him to stop people from bullying him. She agrees, and at a party, they fake their one-night stand. Next day her reputation has further fallen apart.

Ironically, Olive is reading “The Scarlet Letter” in her English class, in which one of the characters is forced to wear a scarlet “A” on all her clothing. Someone in the class suggests that Olive should wear a scarlet “A” on her clothing, and that is exactly what she does.

The plot of “Easy A” is creative and funny. The film is not so much a modern retelling of “The Scarlet Letter” but more of a tale of high school promiscuity. The pacing is not too drawn out as the audience follows Olive’s social decay.

The script of “Easy A” by Bert V. Royal and Will Gluck (also Director) is truly hilarious. The comedy in this film is fast, smart and witty, a breath of fresh air compared to some comedies. The entertaining script also provides clever exchanges between characters and keeps the audience laughing.

“Easy A’ also includes strong acting from Stone. She plays Olive with ease and precision, giving her character a special spark. Stone also does a perfect job of executing the comedy in “Easy A”, the comic lines, tone of voice, facial expressions and does not over-act. Stone also is able to believably act the more emotional parts of the film as well.

The character of Olive is intelligent and fun; audiences enjoy living in her world and seeing life from her perspective. It is also easy for audiences to relate to her, in part because of Stone’s portrayal. By the time the film is done, audiences are glad they hung out with Olive for an hour and a half.

Other great acting in “Easy A” includes Patricia Clarkson and Stanley Tucci who play Olive’s parents. Clarkson and Tucci are brilliant in this film; they too possess excellent comic timing and add as many laughs as Olive does. They also play the part of loving parents well by trying to figure out what is going on with Olive.

The film also contains a lively score as audiences follow Olive in her endeavors. In addition, it contains many modern songs; the songs are played at fitting times and add to the story and humor. “Easy A” also eludes to many iconic teen romantic comedy films from the ‘80’s causing a few smiles of reminiscence.

“Easy A” shows the hard times of high school very accurately as well, from false rumors to ruined reputations “Easy A” looks into the dirtier side of school. It shows just how fast rumors can spread and how low a person can fall because of them. It shows the up and downs of Olive and her choices, and where those choices have gotten her.

“Easy A’ provides a unique story, fun characters, great acting, and most of all, lots of comedy. Hopefully, Hollywood will look at “Easy A’ and provide audiences with more humor like this. This film is sharp, delightful and not one to miss.