Ryan McNeil
There’s something oddly empowering about not caring what rumours are spread about you (I’m speaking from experience here). It’s akin to owning a nickname that people start using as a dig. But while it might seem like an ego boost, or even amusing, what happens when you want to change the subject and talk about something else? Sometimes it’s right around then that the ego boost, amusement, and empowerment come to a screeching halt.
EASY A is the story of Olive Penderghast (Emma Stone) and the rumours of her promiscuity. When we first meet Olive she’s something of a smart loner. She’s the girl that reads the books assigned in English class instead of renting the badly made films based on them. But like many smart and pretty teenage girls, she doesn’t have much of a social life. She has one close friend, and no gentlemen callers to speak of.
One day she tells what seems to be an innocent lie to her best friend Rhi – a lie that unfortunately gets overheard by the too-wholesome-for-her-own-good Marianne Bryant (Amanda Bynes). In record time word of her (actually non-existant) sex life is all over school. Olive, not one to be torn down by smarm, shrugs it off. Before long though, her friend Brandon comes to ask a favour: He wants Olive to help his reputation by making it seem like he too has had sex with her.
At first Olive seems to understand that this will be greasing the wheels of the rumour mill, but eventually agrees. Understandably, public opinion begins to turn on Olive – which she defiantly stands up to by sewing red letter “A”s on her wardrobe. However, as is expected, it doesn’t take too long for things to get out of hand…and for real, non-shruggable consequences to start getting handed out to Olive and those around her.
Around halfway through EASY A, the film gets gutsy. In the middle of her tell-all iChat, Olive openly wishes that her life was more like an 80’s film…and clips from SAY ANYTHING, FERRIS BEULLER, and SIXTEEN CANDLES all get dropped into the movie. Actually, referencing some of the very best teen comedies of the last thirty years isn’t gutsy – it’s suicidal. Essentially, the film has just stopped singing it’s “pretty good” karaoke version of “At Last” to play us the original Etta James track. But here’s the funny thing…EASY A survives the comparison. Admirably.
For starters, this story is a well crafted one. The gossip about Olive’s antics actually come from a good place. The scene where Brandon holds back tears as he explains what it’s like to be a gay teenager in a small town is heartbreaking. How could someone not want to help him? It’s such a poetic moment when something that is almost especially malicious like gossip can actually be used to better someone’s life.
EASY A takes concepts from The Scarlet Letter and expands upon them by leaning on the 21st century disrespect for privacy. The saying used to be that a rumour could run three whole laps while the truth was still lacing up its sneakers. These days I’d wager a rumour could get thirty laps in. At one point, Mr. Griffith the english teacher (Thomas Haden Church) even mocks our complete disregard for boundaries. He points out that we think people are so fascinated with our banal life details, that we likewise think nothing of holding back the more intimate details. Sure Olive & The Unenthused Virgins are using it to their advantage…but where’s the line?
All of these ideas are wonderful, but if those 80’s films taught us one thing, it’s that the ideas aren’t worth peanuts if you don’t have someone as charming and likeable as John Cusack, Molly Ringwald, or Matthew Broderick to deliver the message. With that in mind, Emma Stone proves herself a worthy heir to the legacy. She has a wholesome class that allows her to play the family scenes with warmth, but likewise has enough sass to take on all comers when Olive decides to tart up and play the part of smouldering homeroom temptress. Unfortunately, this is also the one detail that plays against the film. Olive claims to be invisible to guys in her school…and with Emma Stone in the part, I don’t believe that for a moment.
While I’m discussing acting, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the splendid work put in by Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson as Olive’s parents Dill and Rosemary (yes – really). They have a rhythm to their dialogue that suggests real love…the sort that still has parents of teenagers holding hands while watching TV. Tucci and Clarkson have a rare chemistry, so much so that I’d pay good money to see those two characters get a film all their own. It’s noted by olive’s principal and guidance counsellor that she’s not the sort of girl who they see – not the sort of girl who gets in trouble. With parents like Dill and Rosemary (still funny), it’s little wonder.
Still, while Olive seems clever enough to harness the power of slander and use it for good, EASY A makes it clear that such an idea is noble but ultimately bad. It’s like fighting for peace: valiant, but unpredictable. But in trying to take control of her own reputation, Olive taps into her hidden inner Lloyd Dobler…her inner Ferris Beuller.
Perhaps in ten or fifteen years, some young lady out there will reach deep down and get in touch with her inner Olive Penderghast.