Starring: Emma Stone, Penn Bagley, Amanda Bynes, Dan Byrd, Cam Gigandet, Patricia Clarkson, Stanley Tucci and Thomas Haden Church
Directed By: Will Gluck
Written By: Bert V. Royal
Produced By: Will Gluck, Zane Devine and Mark Benton Johnson
Distributor: Screen Gems
Rating: PG-13, for mature thematic elements involving teen sexuality, language and some drug material.
Running Time: Approximately 92 minutes
Website: letsnotandsaywedid.com
Budget: $8 Million
Genre: Comedy
Release Date: September 17, 2010
I hereby pinky swear to keep whatever puns can be made about the film’s title in connection with its quality to a bare minimum. Besides that is “Sixty Second Preview’s” critic Jeff Craig’s job.
First there was Molly Ringwald’s Samantha Baker, second Winona Ryder’s Veronica, third Alicia Silverstone’s Cher Horowitz, fourth Reese Witherspoon’s Tracy Flick, fifth Lindsay Lohan’s Cady Heron, and now there’s Emma Stone’s Olive Penderghast – the quick with a quip heroine of the new and surprisingly inventive high school-set comedy Easy A.
Loosely inspired by the Nathaniel Hawthorne classic The Scarlet Letter, which has long been required reading in most high school English classes, Stone plays a straight-laced student who helps out an ostracized gay classmate and fellow outsider (“Cougar Town’s” Dan Byrd) stay in the closet by tricking the school’s gossip mill into thinking they’ve had sex at a classmates’ house party. Word quickly spreads that she’s an easy lay for any guy, especially if the price is right.
As her longstanding good girl rep takes a beating, her popularity increases exponentially with all her male classmates – many of whom line up to partake of her “her services” – while it decreases with her female counterparts. Thanks to her newfound notoriety, Olive has to contend with daily doses of contempt by Marianne (Amanda Bynes), the God-fearing daughter of a local Christian pastor and her loyal minions; even Olive’s vulgar BFF, Rhiannon (a hilarious Alyson Michalka) eventually spurs her. Not to be outdone, her no nonsense principal (Malcolm McDowell) tells her, “If I keep the girls off the pole and the boys off the pipe, I get a bonus.”
Soon her only allies are her favorite teacher, Mr. Griffith (Thomas Haden Church), her loving, ex-hippie parents (the totally game Patricia Clarkson and Stanley Tucci), her little brother (Bryce Clyde Jenkins), and Todd (Penn Badgley of “Gossip Girl”), the one guy in school who doesn’t automatically believe everything the grapevine spits out. In a defiant act that would leave Hester Prynne all aflutter, Olive embraces her status as the school tramp and parades around the campus with a big red “A” sewn on a series of provocative outfits much to everyone’s amazement and to the guidance counselor’s (Lisa Kudrow) growing concern.
In an era that’s been sadly devoid of sharp, funny, memorable female characters, Stone’s Olive takes her place alongside all of the aforementioned iconic teenage screen heroines. The film, sharply written by Bert V. Royal, and smartly directed by Will Gluck, pays homage to a number of celebrated ‘80s teen flicks, and even manages to lampoon product placement in movies in a fresh, funny way. Above all, it’s a splendid showcase for the infinitely engaging Stone.
Stone made her big screen debut in the 2007 summer comedy hit Superbad, opposite Jonah Hill and Michael Cera. She then followed that film up with turns in 2008‘s The House Bunny with Anna Faris, and in two films from 2009: Ghosts of Girlfriends Past with Matthew McConaughey, and the hilarious Zombieland opposite Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, and Abigail Breslin. She’s one of those dependably engaging and talented actors who always seemed more than capable of breaking out given the right role and film. Well she certainly got both in Olive and Easy A.
Grade: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
