Little Lie, Big Trouble, A-Plus John Hughes Homage

Rating: 10/10 (21 February 2011)

"John Hughes didn't direct my life," notes Olive Pendergast, played by the classy, sassy Emma Stone ("Zombieland, "Superbad" and the upcoming Spider-Man reboot), who hates being a smart but socially invisible high school student in the scatter-shot funny and thoughtful coming-of-age comedy, "Easy A". It's true. Will Gluck ("Fired Up", co-created the short-lived sitcom "The Loop") helmed the film, written by first-timer Bert V. Royal, and both men, with an talented cast, do a fun job paying homage to the late filmmaker while noting that reputation is everything, particularly your life.
Not wanting to admit she spent a weekend at home with her eccentric parents (Oscar nominees Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson) and listening/singing to a Natasha Bedinfield jam from a gift card from her nanna, Olive lies to her homegirl Rhiannon (Aly Michalka, "Hellcats") about losing her virginity to a community college student who doesn't exist.
The news, however, gets "Paul Revered", e-text style, by uber-Christian crusader Marianne Bryant (Amanda Bynes, "What I Like About You") through the high school, and Olive's equated to Hester Prynne, the protagonist of Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter" (one of my favorite reads), a book Olive bothered to read as part of her English class.
At first, Olive's horrified by her new position, but decides to be a "phony harlot", dressing sexy (with the letter "A" on her wardrobe) and pretending to date the school's male underdogs (dorks, gays, fatsos,etc) for gift cards (!). That gets her, sadly, unwanted blame for infidelity, inappropriate attention and social exclusion.
Royal's script's so sharp, it oozes out humor, and Gluck keeps it on target, bowing at Hughes's shrine, while noting the presence of 21st century communication. Oddly and deservedly Golden Globe-nommed, Ms. Stone guarantees her career longevity in her smart tack performance, recalling Ellen Page from "Juno". Tucci and Clarkson are so sweetly idiosyncratic (a rarity in teen comedies of any cinematic era), you wish they were your folks! Penn Badgley ("Gossip Girl") is relaxed and deep as Olive's long-time crush while being the school's basketball team's mascot (a woodchuck?!). Durable are Oscar-nommed Thomas Haden Church ("Sideways", "Smart People") as an concerned English teacher and Malcolm McDowell ("A Clockwork Orange") as a too-strict principal.
The surprises here are Bynes, who gonzo mocks her good girl rep, and Lisa Kudrow ("Friends") as a morally dubious guidance counselor. Ojai, California, the film's setting, is warm and inviting, courtesy of d.p. Michael Grady, contradicting the story's theme.
While being a love letter to Hughes's work and other 1980s teen coms, "Easy A" stands on its own two funny feet.