Growing up in the 80s, I was exposed to some of the best teen comedies ever made. Easy A felt like one of them. It was realistic, fun and interesting. Emma Stone stars as Olive, a high school student who becomes a victim of her school’s rumor mill. Instead of letting it get to her, she uses it to her advantage.
Olive welcomes the attention she got from the rumors. She pretends to sleep with a gay friend Brandon (Dan Byrd) to make him appear straight. Her lies start to balloon out of control and she wants to have her old life back.
Easy A has Emma Stone to thank for its success. Her character doesn’t feel unnatural and she earned my sympathy off the bat. And it looks like she is having fun while making the movie. She makes it believable that Olive is a nobody one day and turns into a somebody the next day.
Amanda Bynes plays Marianne, the school’s religious fanatic and Olive’s archrival. Her portrayal of the character is by-the-book when it comes to comedic stereotypes but it is nice to see Amanda acting again.
Lisa Kudrow is also another actress who is worthy of mention for her performance as Mrs. Griffith, the guidance counselor who slept with Marianne’s boyfriend Micah (Cam Gigandet). While it might just be a minor role, her contribution to the story is important. She kind of reminded me of her Phoebe character in Friends.
Olive Penderghast (Emma Stone): Whatever happened to chivalry? Does it only exist in 80′s movies? I want John Cusack holding a boombox outside my window. I wanna ride off on a lawnmower with Patrick Dempsey. I want Jake from Sixteen Candles waiting outside the church for me. I want Judd Nelson thrusting his fist into the air because he knows he got me. Just once I want my life to be like an 80′s movie, preferably one with a really awesome musical number for no apparent reason. But no, no, John Hughes did not direct my life.
Easy A has creative plot twists to keep the audience guessing and it turns out better than what I expected it to be. It is an intelligent teen comedy that featured great performance from Emma Stone. You should check it out.
