Easy A

Easy A is a problematic teen movie. It stars the super appealing Emma Stone as a not-too-popular but quick witted girl. One day at a party she encounters a kid who gets beat up on all the time because people think he's gay. He tells Stone that he'll pay her if she pretends to have sex with him. They put up a pretty big show, bouncing on the bed and banging the walls to convince everyone else that they've had sex. Stone starts to make this her thing, and gets an entire plethora of other boys with the same kind of problem to pay her. However...this causes all of her friends to think that she's a bit of a whore. So in retaliation, Stone starts to dress in lingerie and puts a big red 'A' on all of this attire. This is in reference to The Scarlett Letter which Stone's class has been reading. On a movie level, the film is pretty good. The power of Emma Stone as an actress elevates it pretty greatly. Her wit and timing is well appreciated. However, there are a lot of oddball characters. Some work (like Amanda Bynes evangelical character) but some don't (like Stone's over-involved parents). The movie is pretty funny throughout and keeps us away from the thought that Stone is essentially a whore and that everyone else is acting in a normal way because she makes them think she's a whore. There's a sanctimonious scene at the end where Stone says everything is just her own business, and then undermines the earlier part of the movie, but it was honestly entertaining and not bad at all.
Easy A: ★★★