Writer: Lorraine Tan

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Watch this if you liked: “Mean Girls”, “I Love You Beth Cooper”

Personal reinvention takes on a whole new meaning in Will Gluck's high school comedy "Easy A". Olive Penderghast (Emma Stone), self proclaimed "invisible to the opposite sex", is the misguided but lovable heroin in what could possibly be the funniest comedy of the year. Olive is a sharp witted girl who is a wallflower in her school, that is, until she tells a white lie that will change her life forever. After being pressured by her best friend (Aly Michalka), she fibs about having lost her virginity to a fictional community college student. What started out as a harmless lie soon spirals into uncontrollable and greatly exaggerated rumours as it gets passed along the grapevine.

"Easy A" is a heartwarming film mixed in with a good dose of reality. The movie accurately shows how easily truth gets distorted after being mixed in with gossip and judgment. What may seem like a good idea one day can just as easily turn into a disaster the next.

References from Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter are also drawn as Olive finds herself caught in a similar situation as the book's protagonist, Hester Prynne. As rumours of her scandalous sexual encounters get around, Olive decides to ride on the gossip mill and eventually finds herself an unorthodox path to popularity.

Emma Stone delivers an astoundingly convincing performance in "Easy A". The script is clever in which Stone presents with grace and charm, and just the right dash of carefully timed witticism. Stone is entirely lovable in the film and her comic expressions and outstanding performance are enough reason to see "Easy A". Furthermore, she is backed up by a stellar cast such as the delightful Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson who play as Olive's cool and funny parents.

Elements of pop culture and technology such as social networking are also effortlessly weaved into the film. It explores a reality in the digital age where truth can so often be overlooked for lies that are juicier and more scandalous. Most people will believe what they want to believe and group culture and mindsets can in this way be so readily adopted.

Overall, "Easy A" goes well above and beyond the forced and sometimes tasteless humour associated with high school films. This is a movie with not only depth, but a universally important message to ultimately be true to yourself.

Cinema Online, 16 November 2010