Easy A

I’d been dying to see Easy A since the very first time I saw a preview.  It had all the makings of a great evening away from the reality of school and work and dirty kitchens.

When my not-so-literary husband said he didn’t really want to see the movie, I planned and schemed and waited for the perfect time to go without him, which came about this evening, after a particularly painful and boring statistics class (when they’re not normally that painful or boring, so maybe seemed more painful and boring in comparison to the normal level of interesting).  So, as soon as I could, I ran out of class, grabbed a small bag of popcorn and a bag of peanut M&Ms, and flew into the theater.

The previews were for the most part unremarkable — except for the It’s Kind of  a Funny Story, which looks to be really, really good.

The movie started off with a number of cliches, masquerading as not being cliches, but then it got much, much better.  It was smart and funny and cool and literary.  It had just enough John Hughes to make me love it like I loved Pretty in Pink, and just enough The Scarlet Letter to scratch that itch that English teachers get, looking for allusions and recognition of previous works of literature.

As far as how The Scarlet Letter worked in the film; well, it was okay.  I’m not sure the taunts  of some “Jesus-freaks” and the bullying by some  homophobes compares to what Hawthorne was capturing about the Puritanical society Hester Prynne was immersed in.  But, still, when you’re the one being shoved into a locker just for being gay, or called a slut, whore, or skank just because you had sex, that’s pretty oppressive and awful from your own perspective.  While you’re in high school, high school seems omnipresent and everlasting (thank goodness that goes away, though).  I think the film captures the essence of Hawthorne’s work.

The cast was delightful, especially Patricia Clarkson and Stanley Tucci.  Yes, the ridiculously happy family that Olive lives in does not exist in real life., but it’s nice to imagine it might.

Overall, I give the movie a solid A.  An Easy A, if you will.