PLOT: A high-school senior (Emma Stone) with a flawless reputation, unwittingly becomes knows as the school slut once a rumor spins out of control. She uses this new reputation to her advantage after a whole slew of guys, eager to be thought of as studs, pay her to tell people she had sex with them.
REVIEW: I realize I’m more than a little late to the party on this one folks. EASY A has been building a reputation of it’s own since debuting at TIFF a few weeks ago as a pretty damn good example of a smart modern teen comedy in the John Hughes tradition. I only caught up with EASY A at the fest last Friday, which was the same day this hit general release.
The premise of EASY A is pretty clever, with this being a sort of hip high-school retelling of THE SCARLET LETTER the same way CLUELESS did EMMA, and 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU did THE TAMING OF THE SHREW. It seems Nathaniel Hawthorne works just as well as Shakespeare and EASY A is a lot of fun. It also draws much inspiration from the films of John Hughes, a point that’s driven home by a monologue by Stone about how she wishes her life was more like a Hughes movie. Umm, actually sweetheart, it’s EXACTLY like a John Hughes movie, but I digress.
My only problems with EASY A come during the last thirty minutes, where the formerly smart and edgy film gets a little too Hollywood, with a big musical number (a la FERRIS BULLER, but not as cleverly done) being a particular nuisance. Maybe I’m just too damn picky, but I’d rather they left this scene on the cutting room floor as it’s a bit too cartoonish for such a hip flick. I also though Penn Badgely was a little too perfect as the dreamy and good natured love interest, but he’s clearly based on the similarly perfect Jake Ryan character from SIXTEEN CANDLES, so I get it.
So, even though some readers might be hesitant to check out a high-school comedy, of the dozens that come out every year, EASY A is the one good one. It’s totally worth seeing if you just want a pleasant comedy that will make you feel all warm and gooey inside. It’s a happy-type film, and there’s nothing wrong with that once in a while.