Easy A (2010)

The Worst Film Ever

An Exercise In Nonsense

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

What kind of universe is this? Why is everyone acting so stupid? I watched this rubbish till the end just because to write some of my thoughts. I was a teen once, too; in fact, i was watching a series called 'Teen Wolf' once. But this movie is on another level of... badness i guess. This is just pure trash. The parents don't act like a parent. The people don't act like intelligent beings. They're all artificial, one-dimensional creatures. This writing is just garbage. The script doesn't lead anywhere and it's pointless. The acting is cringy and contrived. And the jokes are like this: Man: Screw all these people. Girl: Haven't you heard, i already did.Yeah, everyday we stray further from god.

This was the first leading performance from the actress, whose name became part of the infamous "envelopegate" Best Picture mistake at the Oscars, she deserved her awards for La La Land, and I looked forward to seeing her earliest big break, directed by Will Gluck (Friends with Benefits, Annie). Basically in Ojai, California, 17-year-old Olive Penderghast (Golden Globe nominated Emma Stone) lies to her best friend Rhiannon Abernathy (Aly Michalka) to get out of going on a camping trip with Rhiannon's parents, Olive tells her that she went on a date. In fact, Olive stays home to listen to Natasha Bedingfield's "Pocketful of Sunshine", a song played in a greeting card from her grandmother. The following Monday, Olive is pressed by Rhiannon about what happened on this unreal date, Olive lies that she lost her virginity to a guy from college. Prissy and strictly religious Christian student Marianne (Amanda Bynes) overhears their conversation, she gossips and Olive's lie spreads like wild fire, she it at first uncomfortable with the attention. Olive tells the truth to her friend Brandon (Dan Byrd), he explains that he is being bullied for being homosexual, he asks Olive to pretend to sleep with him, to be accepted by everyone as a "straight stud". Brandon convinces Olive to help her, behind a closed bedroom door they pretend to have sex at a party. Following a fight with Rhiannon, who calls her a "dirty skank", Olive finds the attention towards her increasing as flattering, so she embraces and counteracts her "school tramp" image. Olive wears more provocative clothes, stitching a red "A" to everything she wears, this is a reference to the novel The Scarlet Letter, it stands for "adulteress". Boys who usually have no luck with girls start to beg Olive to help them, to say that she had sex with them, to increase their popularity, she agrees, in exchange for gift cards for various stores, in turn increasing her reputation. But then things get worse, Marianne's boyfriend Micah (Cam Gigandet) contracts chlamydia from sleeping with school guidance counsellor Mrs. Griffith (Lisa Kudrow), Micah blames Olive, Mrs. Griffith asks Olive to cover up the affair, so she can keep her job and her reputation, Olive agrees. Rhiannon becomes part of Marianne's religious clique, they begin harassing Olive in order to get her to leave school. Olive has an ill-fated date with Anson (Jake Sandvig), who wants to pay her for sex, and not just pretend, then she starts to reconnect with school mascot and her old love interest "Woodchuck" Todd (Penn Badgley). Todd tells Olive that he does not believe any of the rumours about her, because he remembers the time when she lied for him when he was not ready for his first kiss years ago. Olive then begins to ask everyone she lied for to help her out by telling the truth, but Brandon and Micah have left town, and everyone else refuses, they enjoy their newfound popularity and don't want the truth to get out. Mrs. Griffith also refuses to tell the truth, Olive threatens to expose her affair, but Mrs. Griffith rebuffs her, saying no one will believe her. Out of spite, Olive tells the truth to Mr. Griffith (Thomas Haden Church), he believes her and separates from his wife. After Olive talks openly about her situation to her parents, open-minded mother Rosemary (Patricia Clarkson) and equally supportive father Dill (Stanley Tucci), she comes up with a plan to get everything out in the open. Olive does a suggestive song and dance number at the school pep rally to get everyone's attention, and tells them to watch her via web cam, in fact she confesses what she has done, many are seen watching, including the various boys Olive helped. Olive texts Rhiannon, apologising for lying to her, she finishes her web broadcast, Todd is outside on a lawnmower telling her to come outside. Olive signs off the broadcast, saying she may lose her virginity to Todd, and proudly declares "it's nobody's goddamn business", Olive goes outside, she and Todd share a kiss and are seen riding off on the lawnmower. Also starring Malcolm McDowell as Principal Gibbons, Fred Armisen as Pastor, Morgan Rusler as Mr. Abernathy and Nikki Tyler-Flynn as Mrs. Abernathy. Stone has great charisma as the girl who is flattered by the attention she gains as the floozy of the school, it is a very simple story of how one lie about a non-existent fling can get blown out of proportion and add to up to amusingly increasing consequences, and it has a very witty script, a smart and fun teen comedy. Very good!

Olive, a normal college girl, accidentally spreads a rumor about her losing her virginity, being afterwards seen as an easy girl by everyone. With her new status, she starts acting like one, even helping out losers by lying about having slept with them, in exchange for money, coupons or any other financial benefit. As this new attitude advances, she becomes more and more hated and although she thought that covering something up wouldn't hurt anybody, she becomes an outcast. As a result, in order to reveal the truth, she invites the whole college to see a video podcast which might clear her name.It's an interesting idea, the one with which the movie starts, but after that, everything gets as boring as it is predictable. She gets a bad name and eventually she tries to set thing right and who knows, even getting a real date or boyfriend. I really enjoyed Emma's performance, but from my point of view, the whole movie was an extended typical college gossip, which left without contradiction or being played along, isn't going to get you anything good. A bit letdown in my opinion, from any perspective.

Apart from of course 'La La Land' and those dire Woody Allen films she appeared in I haven't seen much of the always lovely Emma Stone's work. 'Easy A' however is a good example of how talented she is.Playing out like an old fashioned farce this film is a lot of fun. It won't be to everyone's taste due to the subject matter, but even then I don't think you can complain too much about the performance Stone gives in the lead. She's funny, she's sexy, she plays the role so well that you almost forgive the slightly questionable nature of what she's up to.Lots of films try to imitate the great John Hughes's 80's comedies like 'Pretty in Pink' ('The Edge of Seventeen' I'm looking at you) but this film does a very good job of gently doffing the cap to them while being its own beast.I enjoyed this film far more than I thought I would, and Emma Stone's portrayal was a big part of that.