She’s the modern Hester Prynne. Except she never lost her virginity.

Olive Abernanthy (Emma Stone) was just another nobody – that is, until a false account of a sexual interaction she did not have with a college guy spread throughout high school. With the help of devout Christian, Marianne (Amanda Bynes) and the invention of cellular devices, a lie Olive told to appease her friend is mistaken for truth by the whole school.

With a scarlet ‘A’ adorned on her corsets, Olive struts through the halls of Ojai High School accepting coupons from Bath & Body works, preferably Office Max, in exchange for pretending to have sexual encounters with various boys. But this tangled web of lies eventually leads Olive to question what her reputation has made her to be.
The movie Easy A, released on September 17, is chockfull of distinct characters, such as Rhiannon (Alyson Michalka), the one who cannot go a few breaths without swearing; Marianne, the driven religious girl who pushes her views on everyone; Brandon (Dan Byrd), the proud gay who is sick of abuse; Mr. Griffith (Thomas Church), the funny teacher who cares about his students; and Todd (Penn Badgley), the guy who is cool without trying.

The cast was attentive in including comedic aspects in their scenes, balancing off any serious moments. Emma was flawless in her portrayal of a quirky, confident teenager. Provided as comedic relief and as Olive’s guidance, Nicki Flynn (playing Mrs. Abernanthy) and Morgan Rusler (playing Mr. Abernanthy) are impeccable in showing both supportive and goofy personalities in the same scenes.

Laughter is inevitable: whether it instigates from Olive’s colorful rendition of Natasha Bedingfield’s “Pocketful of Sunshine” or from the ridiculously open conversations Olive holds with her parents.

Although comedy permeates throughout all parts of the movie, there is a disturbing, underlying social commentary worth noticing. While everyone Olive supposedly has a sexual encounter with is congratulated and treated better, Olive is called a “dirty skank”, which is the catalyst for her decision. Even though both genders did the same thing, they were not treated equally.

However, the idea that a whole student body would care so much about one person for allegedly losing their virginity does seem unlikely.

Warning: The movie is more for high school students than for younger generations due to sexually suggestive scenes and language.