"Top of the Queue Review" - Easy A

If you're looking for an intelligent film, with a story that appeals to both teenagers and adults, has a well written screenplay that actually makes sense with actors both young and old that do the script justice, then Easy A is one I highly recommend.

Set in a high school in Ojai, California, Easy A follows the story of "Olive" played by Emma Stone, a teenage girl who feels like an outcast.  She's too smart for the rest of her classmates and also still has feelings for a boy who wasn't ready to kiss her when they were younger during a "seven minutes in heaven" game at a party.  But it doesn't seem he still has feelings for her.  To get out of going away on a camping trip with her best friend Rhiannon's family, who she thinks is a little too much in the "free loving" lifestyle for her, she tells Rhiannon she has a date with a college boy.  On Monday, when forcefully pressed for details of the date, she lies and says she had her "v card" stamped but not to tell anyone.  Of course, Olive's arch enemy Marianna (Amanda Bynes), leader of the school's church group, overhears Olive's confession, and before you know it the entire school knows about Olive's college adventure.

Olive's English class is reading The Scarlet Letter and one of her class mates who belongs to the church group, says that Olive should wear a red letter A, just like Hester Pryne did in the novel.  Olive yells back at the student and is sent to the principle's office.  There she confides to her friend Brandon that she made the whole thing up about losing her virginity.   Brandon, though has other plans on how to use Olive's lie to better himself and Olive.

The rest of the movie shows how keeping up lies means you have to tell more lies and to never underestimate the power of a gift card.

The film has a stellar cast- along with Stone and Bynes, Penn Badgley plays "Todd", the boy Olive didn't quite spend seven minutes in heaven with and Dan Byrd from the tv show Cougar Town is "Brandon".   The adult cast is top notch as well with Thomas Haden Church as the English teacher, Lisa Kudrow his wife who is the guidance counsel who is too wrapped up in her own personal issues to give much guidance.   Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson are hilarious as Olive's parents. 

There are also a lot of great references to classic 80's teen movies like Sixteen Candles, Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller  - that will definitely connect to any of us who remember seeing those films when they were first released.

If you missed this when it was released last Fall, put it in your Netflix queue now. 

Trailer for the film -

Amazon link for the film on blu-ray  Easy A [Blu-ray]

Amazon link for the film on dvd - Easy A

Amazon link for Sixteen Candles on dvd - Sixteen Candles (High School Reunion Collection)

Amazon link for Breakfast Club on dvd - The Breakfast Club (High School Reunion Collection)

Amazon link for Ferris Bueller's Day Off dvd - Ferris Bueller's Day Off Bueller...Bueller... Edition (Special Collector's Edition)