Easy A

There are very few chick-flicks that people will openly admit to liking; often people probe others into making the admission first for films like ‘Mean Girls’ and ‘Clueless’. Well here is a film that I, and I am sure many others, will admit to liking. It has everything you want from a good, enjoyable film; wit, charm, sex appeal, emotion and most importantly a real insight into what is happening in modern day culture.

Emma Stone is the lead, playing Olive Penderhast who matches her flaming red hair with equally tense wit and intelligence. This is not another Cady Heron or Cher Horowitz (the classic Chick Flick heroines) , but a unique character who is both clever and attractive, but also very funny and quirky. Even though Olive has all this going for her she, rather surprisingly, is a nobody in high school until a false rumor of her losing her virginity to a college student puts her on the social map. The lie grows bigger and takes on a life of its own when Olive decides to embrace this new reputation, but also to use it to give street cred/man points to the geeks at her school. Here is the story of a girl who can’t say no, but not in the way we might be more familiar with. This story is made more interesting because although it might follow the usual ups and downs of the genre the high the Olive rides is not the high of popularity, but of notoriety; there is a huge difference between the two.

It is here that the film dissects and analyses modern culture and goes into how sex sells. Olive is shot into the spot light due to her sexual escapades and this mimics many modern day celebrities; stars like Lady Gaga, Megan Fox and Collin Farrell have become as famous for their obvious sexuality as they have for their talents and none of us wonder what having this sort of reputation might be like for them. Here we see the downside of a sexual reputation that quite a few people strive for or just brush aside as if it is something normal. However, Olive feels isolated and unwanted because no one wants her for anything, but her reputation and this begins to really affect her.

But the film doesn’t just concentrate on sex; it also looks at many different topics that appear in across a range of different sub groups. We look at the bullying of LGBT teenagers in high school, which feels particularly relevant after the recent series of gay teen related suicides in the States. There are also scenes demonstrating the ridiculously militant attitudes of the far right religious groups as well as the poor attitudes of the American public (state) school system. By looking at all these various issues, the film feels both interesting and relevant to its primary audience, but also interesting and informative to those who might be a little out of the loop.

The entire cast is also great, I don’t think there is a single weak performance, but none stand out more than Emma Stone. Before this she was best known for her supporting role in ‘Super Bad’, but she really manages to show off her skills as a lead with her great comic timing so every line is delivered expertly. The supporting cast is also fantastic; Amanda Bynes, who has come back from her short break from acting, was delightfully horrible as the plastic lead ‘Jesus-freak’ Marianne; similarly, Dan Bryd (from Cougar Town) is hilarious as the victimized gay guy. The adult cast also have fantastic moments with Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson making the entire audience laugh out aloud as Olive’s crazily liberal parents.

In fact the reason for all these great performances was because the script was very clever and witty, so everyone had a great line or two. The conversation flows like an extended episode of ‘The Gilmore Girls’. Some might find the literary references and pop culture puns a bit pretentious, but for me it was the perfect balance of highbrow humour and obvious physical comedy.

Overall the film is a great thing to see with just about anyone. It still has some of the same flaws of all other chick-flick, but it misses out most of them and makes up for the rest. This is a movie that will lighten up a dull and dark evening and will be watched at least once a year when released on DVD.

Degree- 2:1. This film feels like it taps into the zeitgeist,

at least as much as a chick-flick can. Funny, smart and warm; it has everything.

(If you are confused about the rating system please click on the ‘About This Blog Page’ which will explain it all)

 

Easy A

From the looks of this trailer, this film could easily rival ‘Mean Girls’ as greatest chick flick of all time. Emma Stone, who we have seen before in ‘Super Bad’, looks like she can easily pull off the sassy lead. This I can tell already will be a not so secret indulgence.