I went in to Easy A not knowing what to expect, teen rom com? Teen sex comedy? Mean Girls 3? My knowledge was basically that it was an updated version of The Scarlet Letter starring Superbad and Zombieland alum Emma Stone. The film ended up being a lot closer to the 80's films it constantly references like The Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles. Its got all the typical high school movie cliches: ridiculously beautiful "high school students" who look a lot closer to people in their mid twenties, extremely progressive teachers, and a school straight out of Beverly Hills 90210. However it emerges from the ashes of those cliches and becomes a really funny, really different film that is a lot more mature than its high school setting. Emma Stone is just as funny here as Olive Pendergast as she was in Zombieland, and the film is filled with other actors you'll know in smaller parts. The two who stand out the most are Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson as Olive's modern and hilarious parents. They are always there for advice, even if its advice that she doesn't want to hear. The film is about a rumor that starts about Olive that she doesn't refute, but instead perpetuates, and how that little rumor affects her life. Amanda Bynes, Lisa Kudrow, and Thomas Haden Church all pop up as well in small but effective parts. Its not a perfect film, and sometimes strives too hard to be a typical teen comedy. It can't stay away from the standards like a true friendship doesn't let anything get in the way and the idea that the perfect guy is always the one right in front of you, but hey, its a movie. This won't be a movie you watch in awe, but it will be a movie that will be hard to turn off five years from now when it pops up on TV, and for that, I give it 7 Ninja Stars out of 10 and say that even if it doesn't look like your type of movie, you should still give it a view as it may surprise you.
-Maximus
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