Easy A

While "The Town" represented film as art, "Easy A" represented film as life. Now, whenever films do this, the good ones are caricatures of real life, lest we fall into the trap of assuming that they do really happen. This film is not made from real life experiences; yet, in a way, it seems like it could have been.

I came away loving this film, namely because it is a feel good movie. It's job is to make you laugh, and then walk away with a warm aura around your head as you leave the theater, which it did, at least for me. I love Emma Stone, and I think she's the face for our generation in movie characters--sarcastic, rude, over the top, willing to do anything, and self-aware. Often she says that she is doing things because she's seen that that's how they've been done in movies. I didn't understand how her character, Olive, could be an outcast until the date scene, which I will explore later. Nevertheless, Emma Stone is great. Critics keep raving about her, saying that she's the next star, and maybe she is. She was wonderful. And Stanley Tucci, as Olive's dad, made me remember why I love him as an actor. He was funny, frank, and sincere.

The film is about a loner's journey from obscurity to infamy through the help of a rumor. Olive didn't want to tell her best friend (who gets on her nerves sometimes, one of the truest to life parts of this film) that she spent the whole weekend at home listening to a Natasha Bedingfield singing card, so she made up a story about a college boyfriend, and her best friend pieced together a one-night-stand that didn't happen. This conversation was overheard by the school bitch, Amanda Bynes' Marianne Bryant, the leader of the Christians at the school, who spreads this lie like wildfire. All of a sudden, Olive is noticed by everyone, and hated by the Christians.

Then, Olive is approached by Brandon, a homosexual who gets abused daily and wants things to change. He proposes that they fake do it, so he won't be bullied anymore. He doesn't want the friends or the fame--he just wants the pain to stop. Olive sees this, and decides to help. One of the most comical scenes in the film is Brandon and Olive pretending to have sex at a party, while everyone listens outside. Because of that, Olive becomes the school slut.

Instead of crying or whining about her plight, Olive takes the badass road and accepts the stereotype by sowing a red A onto all her new, skanky clothes. Then, more rejects come to her and ask for her help. How many people would be in this situation, I wondered as I watched. Olive saw the suffering and decided to help. I can't decide if I want to believe that this is what Jesus would want, because it's so twisted. But Olive is helping people stop hurting. And yet, she's letting everyone assume she's a whore. I don't know.

Anyway, I thought several things were interesting that the film understood to be true. Olive seeks help from a higher power by going to a Catholic church and confessing. The touching scene shows Olive admitting that everyone hates her, and she even is starting to hate herself. At the end of her confession, she pushes the tiny gate open and finds that there is no one in the box beside her, no priest listening to her. The filmmakers were trying to say that religion and/or God will let you down when you need them the most. Then, she goes to see a minister (Fred Armistan) who forces his beliefs on her by insisting that there is a hell. To make matters worse, Olive sees a picture frame on his desk with Marianne in it, showing that she is the minister's daughter. What does this whole situation say about Christians? That uppity, bitchy, rich groups call themselves Christians and refuse to relate to people but instead rape others with their beliefs and quarantine themselves from the rest of the world. God, if that is how the rest of the world sees Christians (or worse, how we really are), then somewhere, we fucked up.

Something else I thought was interesting was the Todd character. Olive has liked him since the 8th grade, but more or less forgot about him. He is the school mascot and works at the Lobster Shack, and is surprisingly nerdy. Maybe nerdy's not the right term--he's unique. He's kind of a loser in the way he talks and acts, but what's cool is that he doesn't care. He is who he is, and that's what he wants. I think because of this, Olive is attracted to him. She's an outsider herself, which we see on her date.

Olive is sitting alone in the cafeteria, and a guy comes over and starts conversation. He asks her on a date, while being funny and charming, and Olive is smiling radiantly because, despite her reputation, this doesn't happen a lot. Guys pay her to pretend that they had sex, but no guys have actually tried to get there for real. While at the table, we can see Olive's excitement as the boy walks away, a genuine moment in the film. Here's a girl, despite her reputation, and she doesn't feel special very often. However, the film mirrors real life because, after an awesome date proposal, the next scene is the couple on the date with nothing to say. Awkward as all get out, the two can't find anything to talk about. She babbles on about obscure topics with confusing enthusiasm, showing how a girl this pretty could have less than many friends. Then, to make matters worse, as they leave, the guy hands Olive a $200 gift card to Home Depot, showing that all this was for his social gain, not any interest in her. My heart broke at this, because you can see the disappointment in her eyes as he wonders what's wrong. Then he attempts to more or less rape her, and she runs off with a broken spirit. This scene is painful, but it is one of the most genuine and real scenes in the film.

I gained some new perspectives and reaffirmed some thoughts thanks to this film. First, the film solidified my rejection of popular Christianity and showed its harmful effects it has on the world. Second, I saw two individuals who didn't care that they were weird but were confident in being themselves, something I aspire to do. I guess I don't think there is any identity or vitality in mainstream America, and that's why I try to do different things. Because I want to live. Finally, I saw again that my generation is obsessed with sex (whose isn't), but we are probably the first to have our obsession backed by the mass media to such an overwhelming and gratuitous extent. Way to go guys.