'Easy A' showcases Emma Stone

Easy A is bound to make at least one entertainment headline; the movie likely will establish Emma Stone as the next big thing, a quick-witted young actress who can carry a movie. Stone plays Olive, a high schooler who lies about having lost her virginity. As a result, Olive becomes a teen version of Hester Prynne, complete with a scarlet letter that she wears with satirical pride. Written in the self-consciously smart style of a Juno, Easy A tries to illustrate the perils created by rumor and deception. Easy A can be fun, but don’t let me catch you comparing to smarter teen movies, namely Election or Clueless. Of course, a bit of cautionary moralizing creeps into the comedy: As Olive’s story spreads and magnifies, her best friend (Alyson Michalka) deserts her. She also becomes a target for her school’s Jesus freaks, a group led by the sanctimonious Marianne (Amanda Bynes). Of course, Olive’s parents (Patricia Clarkson and Stanley Tucci) are impossibly hip and ultra-relaxed about their daughter’s behavior. The twist here: Olive tries to capitalize on her newfound status as the school slut by asking a variety of hapless guys to pay for the right to say they’ve had sexual experiences with her. Are there laughs here? Some. But Easy A provides us with another example of kids who couldn’t possibly exist without a clever writer. I admired Stone's spunk, but found Olive to be alternately annoying and amusing, which is pretty much how I felt about the rest of the movie.