“THE V WORD”
Starring: Emma Stone, Penn Badgley, Amanda Bynes, Dan Byrd, and Thomas Haden Church
Directed by: Will Gluck
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for mature thematic elements involving teen sexuality, language and some drug material.
Genre: Comedy
Running Time: 1hr 32min
Release Date: September 17th, 2010
Distributed by: Sony Pictures Releasing
By John Delia
Disappointing tops the list of words that come to mind after seeing Easy A. The storyline is trite, casting not up to par and the direction bored me with mundane characters. It’s a teenage film that brings more fantasy than reality.
The V word is being thrown around in a few movies this year and Easy A takes on the subject in this absurd high school comedy. If the thought of loosing your virginity has crossed your mind more than once, then this film should enlighten you on some of the consequences of letting your best friend know. That’s what happed to Olive (Emma Stone) who was cornered in the girl’s room by her best friend Rhiannon (Aly Michalka) and leaked out the untruth that she lost the big V. Unfortunately for Olive her arch nemesis Marianne (Amanda Bynes) was in one of the stalls and the whole school knew in a matter of minutes. To get the story straight Olive goes on the Internet and confesses. And that’s where we the audience become voyeurs to the whole story.
To tell you the truth I am not happy with Easy A. The movie has a lot of flaws that pop out and genuinely make the storyline unrealistic. Teens, time to Tweet, Tweet, Tweeter like the last time I panned a teen film. But, let me hear from you AFTER you see the movie. If you agree with me that it would not ever have been aloud to happen at your school, then I want to know. If your admin allows a low slung bustier (a tight-fitting often strapless top worn as a brassiere or outer garment), strapless bras, guidance councilors that confide in students giving inappropriate advice, cell phone messaging in classrooms, well you will see where I am coming from. And doesn’t the red A stand for Adultery? I thought the film was about the V word for Virginity.
I get the outward meaning that the film targets; that being how our society has become so openly hypocritical of our fellow man. It was interesting to see how quickly the ‘news’ got out among the cell-laden schoolmates showing how strong social networking has become. One redeeming factor is that the film does show the loosing of one’s virginity at such an early age can be a loosing proposition.
As for the acting, director Will Gluck (Fired Up!) lets his actors run wild portraying characters that are old hat, insipid (Penn Badgley as Woodchuck), ditsy (Amanda Bynes as Marianne), and not gay enough (Dan Byrd as Brandon). Have you seen Mean Girls, A Cinderella Story or even television’s Lizzie McGuire? Oh, and sorry Emma, but you looked too old for the part.
On the flipside of the coin are some extremely funny and refreshing characters played by Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson. They play Olive’s ultraliberal minded parents creating magic with their roles. Here is where Gluck shows his comedy side and really had me in stitches. Too bad, he couldn’t do as well with the rest of the cast.
The film is rated PG-13 for mature thematic elements involving teen sexuality, language and some drug material.
FINAL ANALYSIS:Â A teen delusion and an adult yawner. (2 of 5)