Monday, November 21, 2011

Easy A

First off, I really like this movie, so lets talk about all the aspects I like since that will probably take up the bulk of this post. 1) Let's start with the most obvious, the cast. Awesome. Love Emma Stone. And Lisa Kudrow, and Thomas Hayden Church, and most of all, Stanley Tucci (he never gets enough credit as an actor in my opinion... but that's another blog for another day). I even liked Amanda Bynes for her role, even though most of the time she annoys the shit out of me. So great job on the casting. 2)Now we will move on to the storyline (writing). There are so many great things going on here I don't even know where to start. Being promoted as a "teen comedy", it completely blows it's predecessors (movies such as "American Pie") out of the water. I actually might like it even more than "Mean Girls", which is really saying something... anyway, sorry for the digression. I have always been a huge fan of movies that draw from or are inspired by literature; not necessarily adaptations because few are accurate, but movies that intertwine other works into an original story. In this case, "Easy A" incorporates "The Scarlet Letter" into it's story line as inspiration for the main character's (Olive) shananigans. Also, throughout the movie there are not-so-subtle tributes to some great John Hughes movies from the 80's, which is awesome. I love this because it not only adds depth to an otherwise mediocre and simple plot, but it lets movie nerds like me enjoy it just a little bit more!

So here's the breakdown of the plot. NOTE: the whole movie is narrated which I usually find annoying, but there's actually a reason for it which you find out in the end. Olive, a high school goodie-goodie lies to her best friend in the bathroom about losing her virginity to some college guy, figuring it would go no further. However, the school Bible-beater, MaryAnn (and I hate using that term, but in this case it's completely fitting. I will visit again later in the blog)was listening from one of the stalls and proceeds to spread the gossip throughout the entire school, even after Olive tried to explain that it wasn't true (great Christian example, huh?). Consequently, the entire student body started labeling her "slut", "trollop", etc. Since she figured her reputation was shot anyway, she decides to embrace her new popularity (because being talked about in high school, even if it's bad, is better than not being noticed at all, right?).
She does not actually DO anything with anyone, she just accepts payment from a few socially shunned guys to make people think she slept with them. Meanwhile, MaryAnn goes to great lengths to make her life miserable by getting her band of "Christians" to try and minister to Olive, all the while calling her names to her face and behind her back.

So that is the premise of the movie, and obviously it continues from there, and there are a lot more relationships which I didn't discuss, but that's the important stuff.

Now, I'm not sure if the writers intentionally did this or not, but the portrayal of the "Christians" in this movie is actually a great parody. Unlike the movie "saved", I feel like this was done not to bash Christians, but to show how any type of extremism is not good. It also goes to show the great hypocrisy that occurs so much in the church today. For instance, MaryAnn is the ring leader of the movement to destroy Olive and her reputation, calls her a "slut" or some variation of the word on NUMEROUS occasions, however we see her leading a prayer circle/ worship group on campus every morning! She also makes ridiculous claims that if God had wanted her 21 year old, 4th year high school senior boyfriend to graduate, He would have given him the right answers for the tests, therefore allowing him to pass. REALLY? This is a very far-fetched (yet I am sure some believe to be accurate) notion of the subject of "God's will vs Free will". I'll let you pick up the rest of these fun little treats on your own, I just think it's funny.

In conclusion, I do have to pose this question. Is it wrong to let people think one thing, even if it's not true, to benefit another? In this case, Olive was lying about sleeping with tons of people to better their social standing (and her pocketbook). And even though she didn't actually DO anything, she still lied about doing IT. AND, for that matter, is what MaryAnn did by spreading the rumor (gossiping) under the banner of "God's work" any better? I guess what it comes down to is, is any sin worse than the next? That is the "Truth" being addressed in this movie, whether or not it was intentional.