LIHU‘E — With the exception of the movie “Juno” — the delightfully quirky and intelligent movie about a pregnant teenage girl played by Ellen Page — there has not been a movie that captures the angst and humor of teen
LIHU‘E — With the exception of the movie “Juno” — the delightfully quirky and intelligent movie about a pregnant teenage girl played by Ellen Page — there has not been a movie that captures the angst and humor of teen life since the John Hughes days (“The Breakfast Club,” “Sixteen Candles”) until now, with “Easy A.”
The movie, released in September, stars Emma Stone as Olive, a typical teen in Ojai, Calif., who tells a little lie that gets out of hand. The lie is about her losing her virginity, which she tells her friend in the bathroom to cover up spending a weekend alone. The truth is she’s a virgin.
This plotline of the little fib that gets out of hand may not work as a great movie in some cases, but in this film it does, mostly due to Stone. This is undoubtedly a breakout role for her; think Julia Roberts in “Pretty Woman.” She is a funnier, more-grown-up Molly Ringwald (they even share the same red hair color), expressing on screen the turmoil of high school, at once showing sass and insecurity.
To prove the point of Stone’s talent, she is currently lined up to star in six movies over the next few years, including the female role in “Superman” and the starring role of Skeeter Phelan in “The Help,” based on the bestselling novel.
But it’s not just Stone who makes this movie great. It’s the supporting cast: Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson play Olive’s parents, a laid-back couple who are at once sarcastic and caring, the mom and dad we all want as teenagers. There’s also Thomas Haden Church (from “Sideways”), who plays teacher Mr. Griffin, who introduces the book “The Scarlet Letter” which the film is loosely based on. Amanda Bynes plays the conservative, religious peer at high school who wants to drag Olive through the swamp of regret for her supposed immoral behavior.
The charm of “Easy A” though, was the ability of Director Will Gluck to balance the scales in a teenage movie in 2010. That is, encompass the substance and heart of the John Hughes era while keeping it contemporary with a little raunchiness and callousness, the reality of today, like “Superbad,” which Stone also stars in. Like “Juno,” “Easy A” forgoes the gratuitous sex and violence and vulgar words, rather using clever, current dialogue and somewhat-realistic scenarios (although as in most movies, the characters look years older and more glamorous than high-school age), touching on the consequences of social media and instant communication — Facebook, texting, web casts — that we are all victims and perpetrators of these days.
Audience members at Kukui Grove Cinema enjoyed this film last week, and could apply the movie’s situations to real life, namely here on Kaua‘i. “It was good — it relates to this island how news travels super fast,” said Tori Watanabe, who attended the movie with boyfriend Bradley Cremer. Malachi Burrow agreed, and saw that the lessons in the movie applied directly to the T-shirt he happened to be wearing. “Being a senior in high school, it mainly relates to my T-shirt (which reads ‘I’m a Keeper’). The rumors — you have to decide whether they are worth keeping, whether they are true or not,” Burrow said. “People struggle and go through things,” he added. “You have to watch what you say.”
