Easy A

Starring: Emma Stone, Penn Badgley, Amanda Bynes, Dan Byrd, Thomas Haden Church, Patricia Clarkson, Cam Gigandet, Lisa Kudrow, Malcolm McDowell, Stanley Tucci
Directed by: Will Gluck
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy, Romance
2010

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: After a normal high school student (Emma Stone) lies about having sex with a college student, she becomes the talk of the school. She embraces her bad reputation and newfound popularity, although she starts to wonder what the consequences will be.

Review:

Tim: I really enjoyed Easy A- it is a very funny, occasionally raunchy high school comedy that works on multiple levels. It has a strong cast, is quite humorous, references classic literature, and has lessons to teach. This movie does it all.

I really think comedies are some of the hardest movies to make. There's such a fine line between a great comedy and a god awful one. So many comedies take the shotgun approach- shoot as many jokes covering a wide range of topics in the hope that at least some of them will hit. This is not a very effective means. I felt like Easy A managed to avoid falling into that trap- it focused on the story and characters first, and was just funny along the way. The jokes never forced the story to change (a common mistake in comedies- the jokes set up the story, rather than the other way around). This formula worked for the film, as it was a funny, enjoyable comedy that was quite well made.

The cast was very, very good. Emma Stone is truly going to be a major Hollywood star, and she continues giving very solid performances. I loved her in Zombieland, and I thought she did a terrific job here. With every role, she proves her talent and potential. She has this strange charisma on screen- she's not the classic leading lady, but there is something about the energy she brings to a performance that helps her to stand out. Stone, luckily, doesn't have to carry the movie herself. I don't know who Penn Badgley is, but I surprisingly enjoyed him very much in this film. I thought he worked well with Stone, and overall, was an effective actor. Amanda Bynes was fun to watch, but I didn't exactly believe her in her performance. She's a bit too over-the-top, and the movie is hurt as a result. Thomas Haden Church and Lisa Kudrow were both very good in smaller but essential roles. Kudrow was very often excellent, and had a few chances to really shine. She's a good actress, and that showed here.

I also have to mention Emma Stone's parents, played by Patricia Clarkson and Stanley Tucci. I don't like Clarkson, and I really like Tucci, but I was completely unprepared for them here. I admit that they oftentimes looked very silly and bordered on over-the-top, but honestly, it didn't matter. They were truly hilarious and had some of the funniest, most memorable lines of the entire film. They were both excellent, stealing every scene they were in. I loved Tucci especially, but I admit Clarkson was fantastic as well. The casting and especially the writing allowed these two to truly shine, and might have been my favorite part of the movie.

Easy A is an intelligent, enjoyable movie. There were a few things that bothered me, however. The main one is that the film casts the people who love Jesus as the bad guys. I understand "Jesus freaks" (that's the movie's description, not mine) are an easy choice for the villains, but it just felt weird to me to see people who were trying to be good Christians (however misguided and possibly hypocritical they were), to be painted as the antagonists. It just felt weird. The other issue is a common one in movies set in high school- the films are written by adult writers, so the characters talk with significantly higher vocabulary and intelligence than most 14-18 year olds. Let's be honest- most high school students are pretty stupid. I know I was at that age. While this is a common issue, it bothered me slightly more in this film. It was just very, very apparent that this was written by an adult. I'm not saying the film should have been dumbed down (because the intelligent dialogue is one of the big strengths), but it was obviously not very realistic.

That being said, Easy A is a very solid, entertaining comedy. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and it stuck with me long after I watched it. I know many comedies fail, but this film showed how they can succeed. I laughed, I was touched by the characters and their predicament, and dare I say, I learned a little bit. This is a very, very good movie.



Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Zombieland, Going the Distance, Superbad, The House Bunny, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past