Easy A

"Easy A" is a sweet, goofy, and romantic high school comedy that is much smarter than you would expect a teen comedy to be.  Emma Stone stars as Olive, a good girl who gets good grades and comes from a loving home.  One day, she inadvertently starts a rumor that she lost her virginity to a college guy.  That one rumor spreads like wildfire, and Olive goes from flying low under the public radar to everyone in her school talking about her overnight.  But one rumor leads to another, and soon Olive is the most popular girl in school - for being known as the town tramp.  Can Olive successfully maneuver her newfound popularity without losing her sense of self-worth?  Based loosely on Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic novel The Scarlet Letter, the story examines the power of rumors and how the way people perceive you can affect self-esteem.  Even though Olive doesn't do any of the things her peers are saying about her, the talk starts wearing her down until she starts to believe that she really is the slut people are calling her.  Stone plays Olive with an unselfconscious air that is completely charming; she is every high school boy's dream by being sexy, yet self-deprecating and accessible.  Just watch the scene where Olive sings and dances along to one of those obnoxious musical greeting cards for proof of her easy likability.  The film is clever and touching in the way it depicts a young woman's relationship with her family and friends, and how she intelligently navigates the shark-infested waters of high school... and Stone makes the comedy seem effortless.  "Easy A" gets a high grade in my book.


4 out of 5 stars