Let's NOT and say we DID.

Easy A directed by Will Gluck

Emma Stone attends the LA premiere at Grauman's Chinese Theatre on September 13, 2010.

Another teen movie about an unpopular girl who's life is rocked by a scandalous rumour about losing her virginity. Throw in a love interest in the form of a long-time crush who just sees you as a friend, the token gay guy, a jealous ex-best friend, a cool but concerned teacher, a cheating wife, an affair with a student, quirky parents, an adopted black brother, oh and a bitchy Christian teacher's pet who wants to ruin your life, of course. You can get most of this info from the trailer and, on paper, it sounds like a recycled, sexed up and probably unfunny high school flick. That's on paper. In reality it's so much more than that, and truthfully it mostly comes down to the genius casting of Emma Stone (Superbad, The House Bunny, Zombieland). Upon seeing her in the trailer, it feels like a nice cool breeze has just hit your face; Stone is just so watchable. Thereafter, the movie changes shape and suddenly doesn't seem so vomit-inducing. LA magazine CWG featured an article with the headline "Why Easy A and Emma Stone Might Blow You Away." Here's why: Stone's character, Olive Penderghast is relatable, as most leading characters in teenage-targeted movies attempt yet often fail to be. Kind of against my will, I'm reminded of Lindsay Lohan in Mean Girls. You just couldn't help taking Lohan's side, even as she wreaked havoc on the entire school with her plots and schemes to take down the school bully. In fact, whilst walking past a poster for Mean Girls back in the day, I vividly remember saying to a friend "Mean Girls? Wow, that sounds like Oscar-winning material." But since then it's become one of my go-to movies for a good laugh, and a lot of that comes from Lohan's terrific comedic performance. Stone embodies that same quality; she has the ability to insert herself into a drab, been-there-done-that atmosphere and create magic. 

Emma Stone & Penn Badgley at the premiere at the Toronto Film Festival on September 11, 2010.

That's not to say that the other cast members don't make their respective contributions to Easy A. The first one that comes to mind is probably Dan Byrd (Cougar Town) as Olive's new found gay friend who pretty much sets this whole story in motion. Brandon is introduced as the high school punching bag thanks to his sexual orientation, and Olive suggests that to stop the torture, he should simply pretend to be straight with a girlfriend. Planting this idea in Brandon's head turns out to be a life-altering action for Olive once he begs her to be the lucky girl. At first hesitant, Olive is soon agreeing to his terms after a heartfelt plea by Brandon; Byrd is so adorable during this scene, I challenge any girl to say no to him. I mentioned in my previous post that I'm a sucker for crying dudes...Byrd definitely had some tears welling here, hence my appreciation for his part in this movie. Also, he's involved in one of the funniest scenes, the fake sex scene that he and Olive set up and play out at a rowdy house party, a large portion of which is revealed in the trailer. However, it still gets a huge laugh and Brandon's gratitude afterward is just so preciously sincere. 

(From left) Director Will Gluck, Patricia Clarkson, Emma Stone, Penn Badgley, Aly Michalka, and writer Bert V. Royal at the LA premiere on September 13, 2010.

All the while you have Olive's dream guy Todd aka Penn Badgley (Gossip Girl) aka the school mascot who mostly gets around in a too-cute woodchuck costume, popping up every now and then and making Olive question his true feelings for her. Then there's the enemy; from the get-go Olive despises Jesus-freak Marianne (Amanda Bynes - She's The Man) and her boyfriend Micah (Cam Gigandet - Twilight). She's rude, preachy and just plain annoying with her perfectly curled hair extensions and utterly pristine outfits. But hey, if anyone can do it, it's Bynes. Gigandet is actually fairly hilarious as the 22 year old dumbass who's still attending school; cue Bynes's glorious line: "He's still here because it's his choice...no silly *points up* His. His, with a capital H. If the Good Lord had wanted Micah to graduate, he would have given him the right answers." Then there's the background characters that create the perfect ensemble; Olive's parents (LOL) Dill & Rosemary (Stanley Tucci  - The Lovely Bones & Patricia Clarkson - Shutter Island), her cool, hip teacher Mr. Griffith (Thomas Haden Church - Smart People), his cheating wife (Lisa Kudrow - P.S. I Love You) and the angry best friend Rhiannon (Aly Michalka - Bandslam).

Lisa Kudrow at the LA premiere, September 13, 2010.

There's a nice tone to this film...it's fun and silly like any teen movie should be (and yes, there is a random song number in there - don't ask), but there's also a good lesson hidden beneath that flawless comedic timing of Stone's. And the great part is, there's no way you can miss it because the entire thing is narrated and explained by Olive herself using YouTube. Once things start getting a bit out of control for Olive, (in other words, once the other losers in school start offering her money to pretend to sleep with them) I found myself feeling a little uneasy...then I realised it was because I really cared about this character and wanted her to get out of this situation and have a happy ending. That, my friends, is a testament to her acting skills...and let's not forget that this girl burst onto the Hollywood scene from nowhere only 3 years ago, and this is her first lead role. Three words: natural born star.

 

Emma Stone & friend Taylor Swift at the LA premiere, September 13, 2010.

So there you have it. If you're in the mood for a light-hearted laugh-fest with a fresh take on the politics of high school scandals and a phylosophical message at the end, go no further than Easy A. Hell, even if you're not in the mood for that, go just to see Emma Stone in her element. A is for awesome.

NOW HEAR THIS: Pretty sweet soundtrack...download "Go On" by Rooney, "Good Life" by OneRepublic, "Big Jet Plane" by Angus & Julia Stone, "Transatlanticism" by Death Cab for Cutie and the always classic "Don't You (Forget About Me)" by Simple Minds. Oh, and "Don't Cha" by The Pussycat Dolls is always fun :)