Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
Olive, an average high school student, sees her below-the-radar existence turn around overnight once she decides to use the school's gossip grapevine to advance her social standing. Now her classmates are turning against her and the school board is becoming concerned, including her favorite teacher and the distracted guidance counselor. With the support of her hilariously idiosyncratic parents and a little help from a long-time crush, Olive attempts to take on her notorious new identity and crush the rumor mill once and for all.
Easy A is elevated chiefly by Emma Stone's breakout lead performance, which is genuinely charismatic and sharp — a true standout. The plot is a clever riff on The Scarlet Letter with some witty writing, though it follows fairly conventional teen-comedy beats and loses steam toward the end. Cinematography is workmanlike suburban high school fare with nothing distinctive. Novelty gets a modest boost for its self-aware literary framing and Stone's singular screen presence, but the overall template remains familiar. The ending resolves things neatly if a little too conveniently.