Reviewed by Kate Rodger
Rising star Emma Stone takes on her first big lead role, after small but perfectly formed outings in Zombieland and Superbad. There’s a bit of hype around this actress, and rightly so. She has a quirky blend of hot girl cool, and she’s very well cast here.
Easy A knowingly riffs on the romantic novel The Scarlet Letter, as our heroine Olive let’s slip a little white lie about losing her virginity, and becomes one of the most gossiped-about girls in school.
Modern-day gossip spreads so much faster than it once did; texting and social networking turning rumour into fact at the click of a button. Olive soon learns the truth is a much harder beast to tame.
The target demograph for Easy A is an easy spot, this film's a sure-fire hit for the high hchool crowd. Don’t be too surprised however, at any spill-over into the land of the grown ups, thanks to the entertaining subject matter.
One of the refreshing things about this film is how well-rounded and well-delivered both the script and its characters are. It helps of course to have the class of actors like Thomas Hayden-Church (Sideways) delivering great dialogue, not to mention Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson as Stone’s hilariously naughty parents.
The scenes with Olive and her parents were in fact the film’s highlight for me, a succulent and engaging display of talent and timing bound together with great writing and performances.
And let’s not forget the target market here though, and to keep the girls happy, TV’s Gossip Girl hottie Penn Badgley is cast as Olive’s schoolgirl crush, who sees through all her ruses.
I’ve got to say this wee gem barrelled along at such a cracking pace I found it hard to hate. With the stellar supporting outings from the likes of Tucci (The Lovely Bones) and Clarkson (Pieces of April), plus the sassy Stone herself, this was nothing but fun-times for me.
Four stars.
Easy A
:: Director: Will Gluck
:: Starring: Emma Stone, Amanda Bynes, Stanley Tucci, Lisa Kudrow, Patricia Clarkson, Thomas Haden Church, Cam Gigandet, Penn Badgley, Dan Byrd, Aly Michalka, Malcolm McDowell
:: Running Time: 93 mins
:: Rating: M - Contains Sexual References
:: Release Date: December 2, 2010
:: Trailer: Watch here
source: newshub archive
