Easy A
Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter
is re-imagined as a contemporary high school comedy in this tale of a
scheming student who plots to give her popularity a boost by painting
herself the easiest lay in school. Like most high school kids, Olive
Penderghast (Emma Stone) just wants to be popular. So much so than when
her best friend, Rhiannon (Aly Michalka), asks Olive how her weekend
went, the bored teen decides to whip up a spicy white lie just to make
things interesting. But that minor exaggeration begins to take on a life
of its own when it reaches the ears of motor-mouth gossip Jesus freak
Marianne (Amanda Bynes), and in no time the entire student body is abuzz
over unassuming Olive's unrepentant weekend of debauchery. Of course
not a word of it is true, but that doesn't stop everyone in school from
talking, and an amused Olive from deciding to go with the flow. Playing
the role of the hussy to the hilt, the girl who used to be invisible
begins dressing provocatively and turning heads in the hallways. The
students aren't the only ones taking notice, either; Olive's English
teacher, Mr. Griffith (Thomas Haden Church), is concerned that the kind
of attention she's receiving isn't healthy for a developing girl, and
his wife (Lisa Kudrow), the school guidance counselor, is in full
agreement. The only people who seem remotely interested in the truth are
Olive's trusting and open-minded parents (Stanley Tucci and Patricia
Clarkson). As Olive takes note of the parallels between her own
situation and the plight of the Scarlet Letter heroine Hester Prynne,
she realizes that she may be able to manipulate her newfound notoriety
to give fellow classmate Brandon's (Dan Byrd) popularity a much-needed
shot in the arm. Olive never thought her little game could possibly have
any negative effect on anyone but herself, but when loose lips start
sinking ships all around her, she realizes that it's high time for the
truth to come out
