I’d heard that Easy A was good but, as with so many things that are highly recommended, I get skeptical. It’s the reverse of the lady doth protest too much. I let it creep up my queue but didn’t leap on it. When it arrived, though, I admit I was excited.
Now, in my book 10 Things I Hate About You and Clueless are just about perfect modernizations of classic literature. Sure I watched O, but it was klunky and flimsy. Easy A is neither of those things. It’s smart and pro woman and pro teenager, even, while steering pretty close to Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Scarlet Lettered shores. Then, because adapting an iconic piece of literature isn’t enough, the writer skillfully weaves the high points of a handful of beloved teen movies into the narrative. It’s a fucking treat, I tell you!
Emma Stone deserves every syllable of praise she won for this role. She carries a heavy load and does it with creativity and joy. Stone is backed by all manner of fantastically crazy folk. Patricia Clarkson, Stanley Tucci, Lisa Kudrow, and Thomas Haden Church are but to name a few.
There’s nothing heavy or labored or chewy about this movie. If you don’t love it I’ll be a monkey’s uncle.