In Theaters: Easy A

I first heard about Easy A from Entertainment Weekly, which didn't give it that great of a grade. But when Saturday night rolled around and I didn't have anything to do, I thought why not spend a night at the movie theater. Easy A was the only thing at the theater that didn't involve talking owls, animated dogs, a murderer, or Betty White so it won by default. Yet after seeing it, I think this movie stands on its own and doesn't need to be someone's default.

The story follows a high school student named Olive who isn't the most popular girl in school but isn't really looking to be the talk of the school. When the weekend comes, her best friend invites her to go camping but Olive just wants to spend the weekend at home. Olive decides to lie to her friend and tells her that she has a date that weekend. At school on Monday, Olive's best friend pesters Olive about her imaginary date until Olive says that they had sex. Word gets around school and suddenly Olive is the talk of the high school. One of Olive's friends hears about the rumor which Olive confesses is not true. However, her friend does not care for he is being bullied about being gay and wants to prove to the school that he's not. So he and Olive attend a popular party where they secure and room and pretend to have sex so that entire party can hear. The next day at school the rumors about the boy's sexuality are cast aside while Olive becomes the main attraction. Olive continues to have fake sex with numerous boys in school so that it will help their reputation. Yet, the backlash causes Olive to become ostracized as she finds that though she believes she is helping these boys, she is not being true to herself.

First let me get out of the way my complaints with the film, which are few:
1. the plot is a bit contrived
2. the acting is not exceptional
3. the connection between the students reading The Scarlett Letter and Olive's being ostracized (to the point of wearing a scarlet A) is about a subtle as an anvil falling on one's head

But many tween movies are criticized for the same problems in script and acting, so I don't want to elaborate more on it here. Still, the good in this film completely outweighs the bad. These are a few of the things that I think separate this film from other asinine dopey chick flix:
1. this is NOT (thank god) a coming of age tale
2. there is little romance and some good comedy
3. it is not self righteous in its message

I think that the message of this film is very good and not something that you see everyday. Most teen films are about falling in love with the person you thought you hated (when does that ever really happen?) or being led astray by the glitter and false happiness of popularity. However, this movie is about how doing something that seems altruistic can actually come back to hurt you and others. It's about helping others while never losing your sense of self. And who doesn't like a couple chuckles while learning a solid life lesson? I certainly do!

-DLP