Stones shines in the smartest teen comedy in a long time

Rating: 9/10 (20 October 2010)

In her first (and long overdue) truly lead role, the delectable Emma Stone stars here as Olive, an unnoticed and unpopular high school girl who realises she can find the attention she seeks (not to mention better her financial standing) through lies and a clever manipulation of the school's rumour mill.
Upon hearing the basic plot, you might feel an uneasy suspicion creeping in that the underlying construct here – unpopular teen achieves popularity through some drastic change in their lifestyle, and gets one over on the popular kids who used to give her a hard time – might sound like one we've seen one too many times before (and usually not done very well), but leave any preconceived notions about what you think you might be in for at the door; as this film aims to subvert the modes of the teen drama at every turn and does it incredibly well.
Burt V. Royal's script is astute and clever. The dialogue is fresh and humorous, in a Juno-like manner, only outstripping Juno's achievements by far; a great many scenes are brilliantly funny, creating a wonderful and fun overall tone for the piece.
The film is current to the degree that it factors technology into the plot in a manner that makes it vitally integral to the story; Olive delivers her confession to everyone by uploading a video of it onto the internet – a nod to the YouTube generation. And facebook is of course dealt with too, with Olive's very likable teacher Mr. Griffith (Thomas Haden Church) reiterating facebook sceptics' main complaint with the social network: that status updates are boring, not to mention the fact that it can be used as a method of surveillance and tab keeping for anyone who endeavours to document their every action on there.
Why Stone hasn't shot to stardom long before now is one of the great mysteries of Hollywood. Her gorgeous looks, sexily husky voice and excellent comic timing has always marked her out as a unique force in the business, and her versatility and talent as an actress has been proved before now (perhaps best with her wonderful turn in Paper Man in 2009), but the role of Olive proves the perfect vehicle for Stone to showcase her skills, assuring her star status now, if it was ever in question before. Stanley Tucci is another actor who also shines here, as Olive's unbearably cool and sharply witty father.
The speed at which the school's rumour mill works and travels is wonderfully represented through some excellent camera work, as quite lengthy shots zoom at high speed through the school's grounds, pausing regularly to observe various people as they first hear the rumours about Olive's promiscuity.
The film deals with its delicate concept well – Stone herself has stated she has at times been concerned about the possibility that the film might glamorise promiscuity among younger girls, but the film manages to retain a sturdy moral foothold in the background of proceedings, which it also smartly uses to end on.
The absurdity of religious fanaticism is also touched upon, with Amanda Bynes' character Marianne's Christian group running a domineering and imposing presence within Olive's school. Olive intelligently disregards the group's nonsense, but also turns to religion later in the film when she is desperate to absolve her conscience.
The literary basis here is used to great effect beyond Olive's story paralleling that of Hawthorne's The Scarlett Letter, through one neatly later reverted back to Huckleberry Finn joke.
We are even treated to a little 80s nostalgia being thrown into the mix here, as Olive bemoans the loss of chivalry in modern day courtship (who doesn't want John Cusack holding up a boom box for them outside their window?) by reminiscing over love scenes in 80s movies.
This is by far the best teen comedy to come out of Hollywood in ages, and will hopefully be praised for its qualities and inventiveness for a long time to come, as well as gain Stone the true recognition that she deserves.