Easy A is a reworking of The Scarlet Letter with the story now being set in a modern day California high school. Our heroine is Olive, a smart and straight edged girl who goes unnoticed by her classmates. One day on a whim, she lies to her best friend and tells her that she slept with a guy over the weekend. This inadvertently starts a rumor which she does nothing to quell because she likes the newfound attention, and even begins to perpetuate it. As the rumors begin to get out of control, Olive realizes that things may have gone to far and her reputation may be beyond repair. I am not the target demographic for this movie and I admit that high school yarns are not exactly my cup of tea when it comes to cinema fare. This movie, though containing the irritating modern lingo, does something to rise above similar movies and this is thanks in large part to its star Emma Stone. She has such a nice, spunky presence which helps carry the film. She is also aided by veteran actors in supporting roles such as Stanley Tucci, Patricia Clarkson, Lisa Kudrow, Malcolm McDowell, and I really liked Thomas Haden Church as Stone's teacher and mentor. Easy A is the kind of movie I try to avoid, but its material is better handled than usual and elevated due to the contributions of some good actors, especially Stone who is great in this and should be delightful in the upcoming Spider-Man reboot.
