Today, there’s a litany of teen rom-coms that try to mine the references and strengths of their predecessors, but the 2010 movie Easy A does it better than any of them. Inspired by a classic novel that’s anything but a romantic comedy, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Easy A is a refreshing take on coming-of-age that treats early explorations of Sєxuality as something young people shouldn’t be afraid of. Even by today’s standards, Easy A is sharp and poignant, more progressive in some ways than the raunchier comedies of its own era.
While the writing and storytelling are the foundation of the movie’s success, it’s Emma Stone’s Olive that sets the film apart from the typical genre fare. In the years since Easy A was released, Stone has won two Oscars and starred in some of the best movies of the 21st century, and the writing was on the wall, even in this light-hearted rom-com. Premiering just a few years after Stone’s breakout performance in Superbad, Easy A would still be fun without her, but the actress’s star power pours out of every frame, taking it to another level.
Easy A Hides A Deep Emotional Message Underneath Its Sharp Story
The Movie Doesn’t Sacrifice Character For Comedy
Though Stone is the beating heart of Easy A, the entire ensemble gives their all to the project. With a young Penn Badgley, Stanley Tucci, and Lisa Kudrow all featured, the movie takes place in a lived-in world. We might not all have grown up in a land as idyllic as Ojai, California, but the pitfalls and devastations of adolescence are plenty familiar. The characters behave badly, teens and adults alike, allowing them to become real, three-dimensional characters who make the heightened world of Easy A compelling.
It’s simple to look back on Easy A with knowing eyes and see all the ways it became such a mᴀssive success, and why its cast has only become more famous. The story never had to be anything more than a playful diversion and interesting twist on classic literature, but the film pushes itself to be much more. From the first moments of the story, we get an immediate picture of the narrative and Olive’s place in it. Not only that, but we see a world that’s going to be fun to spend time in, even when things are difficult.
Even when she’s wrong, Olive is undeniably likable and we feel for her deeply.
The many John Hughes references and homages to classic rom-coms could easily have turned the corner in the story. They could’ve lost their nostalgia and tongue-in-cheek appeal to become trite, but this doesn’t happen. Anchored by Olive’s witty commentary and the emotionally resonant message, the sillier aspects of Easy A round out a story that could have gone in a much darker direction. For all the romantic moments and montages set to Natasha Bedingfield’s “Pocketful of Sunshine,” Easy A isn’t thin on character or plot. Even its slight over-reliance on ’80s movie allusions can’t undermine this.
Though a comedy through and through, Easy A has real stakes and sees Olive brought low by both her choices and the actions of others. Even when she’s wrong, Olive is undeniably likable and we feel for her deeply, as we all know what it’s like to be plagued by a rumor or reputation that doesn’t ring true. While we hope the narrative of Easy A is pure fiction, it’s effective because Olive’s story is a viscerally real take on the universal feelings of being misunderstood in high school.
The Teen Comedies Of Today Could Learn A Lot From Easy A
Over 15 Years Later, Easy A Has Retained Its Quality
Is Easy A perfect? Of course not. There are dated elements and plenty of goofy moments that stick out as of their time, but no movie is immune to this. In fact, when comparing Easy A to the teen comedies released today, it’s only more obvious what a mᴀssive step back cinema has taken when it comes to honestly talking about this stage of life. Easy A is fun and over-the-top, but never unreasonably so, and Olive is an active character who refuses to let anyone be put down for their choices and the ways they move through the world.
It’s true that the era of the late 2000s/early 2010s was uniquely suited to churning out great teen comedies. Social media and non-stop phone use weren’t rampant yet, and there was still a sense of promise of all the 21st century might turn out to be. This isn’t to say Easy A doesn’t have its fair share of cynicism and disillusionment, but at its core, it’s a hopeful movie that concludes with the happily-ever-after audiences were hoping for. Easy A rests on the shoulders of the great teen rom-coms that came before, but it doesn’t struggle to pay its dues.
