MOVIE
REVIEW: EASY A
09/16/10
SYNOPSIS: After a little white lie about losing her virginity gets out, a clean cut high school girl (Emma Stone) sees her life paralleling Hester Prynne's in "The Scarlet Letter," which she is currently studying in school – until she decides to use the rumor mill to advance her social and financial standing.
REVIEW: Rosemary: I had a similar situation when I was your age. I had a horrible reputation.
Olive Penderghast: Why?
Rosemary: Because I slept with a whole bunch of people. Mostly guys.
Olive Penderghast: Mom!
How easily do things get out of hand when you are a teenager in High School. How easily do the wheels of the rumor mill spin. Whether the rumors are accurate or inaccurate doesn’t matter because by the time it is verified, it is too late, the damage is done. In the case of poor Olive (Emma Stone), the rumors were all mostly inaccurate but she tries to make the best of the situation and use it to her advantage. What she doesn’t realize is that a snowball can quickly turn into an avalanche. Some of you might have experienced first hand what it’s like to be in that kind of situation and would rather not be reminded. If that is the case, this movie is not for you although this is a much more light hearted approach. This movie is funny, sharp, and witty as most evident by the excellent script. The story is some kind of modern twist on the timeless tale of the Scarlett Letter. It is entertaining, easy to follow, and very well laid out. By far the biggest treat of this film is Emma Stone. My status as a fan of Emma Stone has completed solidified. Of the movies that I’ve seen, she was good in Superbad, eye-opening in House Bunny, off-the-wall crazy in Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, and with this one she tops them all. What a performance.
Olive Penderghast: “A is for Awesome. “
No doubt . . . she was awesome with her narration, spunk, credibility, line delivery and all around comedic abilities. I would give her an A+. Oh yeah, and she’s very cute too. I had a small doubt if she would be able to carry the movie, being the main character, and she did just fine if not better than what I expected. We have seen countless cinematic parents and can I tell you that her parents, Rosemary and Dill, played by Patricia Clarkson and Stanley Tucci, are some of the coolest parents you have ever seen. That’s in part due to their fine performances. Other notable supporting role performances were turned in by Thomas Haden Church as one of Olive’s teachers, Lisa Kudrow as a guidance counselor, Alyson Michalka as Olive’s best friend Rhiannon, and Amanda Bynes as Marianne, the religious fanatic and nemesis to the “new” Olive. You know, I’ll admit that I’m a little bothered by the fact that religious people are usually painted as the bad guys in movies. Granted, if they are extremists then it is understandable because being an extremist in any aspect of life can be a bad thing. Just thought I’d throw that out there. And yes this movie does deal deeply with the subject of teen promiscuity so if that offends you, then this movie is not for you. But there are good lessons to be learned such as the fact that rumors spread like wild fire and people are too easily judgmental. This is very good work for Director Will Gluck being that it is only his second major motion picture direction. I really enjoyed watching it.
Review
By Cine Marcos
cinemarcos@smartcine.com
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