Easy A - Review

When the iconic writer/director John Hughes died, he left behind a legacy of phenomenal teen comedies from the 80s. Most of them have since become classics, and are loved by both teens and adults to this day. Throughout the 90s and 2000s, a slew of teen comedies came and went, and while some were quite good (Clueless, 10 Things I Hate About You, plus a few more), most lacked the charm that made movies like Ferris Bueller's Day Off or The Breakfast Club so endearing. Now, up-and-coming actress Emma Stone brings her comedic chops to Easy A, a teen comedy written by Bert V. Royal and directed by Will Gluck. Is it a new classic or just another forgettable teen flick?

Easy A takes inspiration from The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It centers around Olive Penderghast, a clean cut high school student invisible to most of the student body. After Olive's particularly nosy classmate, Marianne, overhears (and misinterprets) a conversation between Olive and her friend Rhiannon, Marianne starts a rumor that Olive lost her virginity to a college student. Soon, the rumor spreads like wildfire, with numerous variations on the story. Soon Olive receives the reputation as the school's most promiscuous student and Olive suddenly becomes the most talked about girl in her school.

Right up front, Emma Stone is a very talented actress. With supporting roles in movies such as the enjoyable Superbad and the awesome Zombieland, Stone has already established herself as one of the industries most talented up-and-coming stars. With Easy A being her first lead role in a feature film, she is well on her way to becoming a highly successful actress. I really do hope Stone becomes a success but I'm crossing my fingers that she doesn't pull a Lindsay Lohan and become a teen star-trainwreck. She's a legitimately skilled actress who carries this movie basically on her own. Don't get me wrong, there's others to enjoy, but Stone is easily the best thing to come out of it.

The supporting cast is a lot of fun, even if most of them don't get used to their full extent. Seriously, with a quirky cast consisting of Thomas Haden Church, Lisa Kudrow, Stanley Tucci, Patricia Clarkson, and Malcolm McDowell, its not unreasonable to expect some seriously hilarious scenes. On one hand, whenever one of the aforementioned cast members is on screen, they're pretty damn funny, but their scenes are typically too short. Thomas Haden Church gets some good laughs in as Olive's eccentric English teacher. Patricia Clarkson and Stanley Tucci portray Olive's bizarre and usually supportive parents. The two have decent chemistry together and have some pretty scenes. Malcolm McDowell as Principal Gibbons is probably the funniest out of the supporting cast, and wouldn't you know it, he has less screen time than anyone. Seriously, this is Alex from A Clockwork Orange, one of the most enjoyable actors in the industry, and Easy A totally blows the opportunity. There should be a rule, whenever you have Malcolm McDowell acting in a movie, make sure you give him a memorable part.

The the teenage cast is kind of a mixed bag. The only one featured prominently is Amanda Bynes as Mariann, a judgmental religious-freak who leads a campaign of other devout Christians against Olive. I'll get to my thoughts regarding Easy A's portrayal of religion in a bit, but strictly based on Bynes' performance... she's just okay. The girl is trying, I don't doubt that for a second, and she does have some enjoyable scenes. Still, I can't help but get this notion out of my head that she's still stuck doing the same shtick from her days on Nickelodeon, and hasn't really grown as an actress. Its kind of unfortunate, since she is definitely talented.

The storyline is clever and usually enjoyable, but all too often it feels like a by-the-numbers teen movie. Its like the screenwriter, Bert V. Royal, had a generic checklist for "How to write a teen comedy." Step 1, base it off a piece of classic literature. Step 2, include references to John Hughes movies. Step 3, include quirky and fun supporting characters but don't let them overshadow the main character. Step 4... ah you get the point. I only mention this because I felt like Easy A had potential to be a truly memorable teen comedy had Royal added a little more flair to his script. Instead it comes off as a formulaic teen comedy albeit with a clever concept overshadowed by previous (and better) teen comedies.

There's one more thing I have to address. The closest thing Easy A has to a true antagonist is Amanda Bynes' hyper-religious character, Mariann. I know in The Scarlett Letter, the main character was chastised by religious fundamentalists, hence where Easy A's inspiration derives. Still, Hollywood's portrayal of Christianity has typically been flawed, and Easy A is no exception. Listen, I'm not dumb, nor do I deny that hypocrisy is prevalent among religious institutions. Its just when I see Christian characters reduced to a stereotypical persona of predictable, judgmental, and shallow figures, it makes me wonder why. I wasn't offended by anything I saw in Easy A, nor does it lower my opinion of the movie, its just one more thing to comes off to me as another missed opportunity for this flick.

Overall, despite its flaws, Easy A is an enjoyable flick. I meant to post this review earlier, as its probably not in theatres anymore. If it is still playing in your area, check it out. Otherwise, it'll make a good rental when it comes out on DVD.

My Score: 3 out of 5!