Easy AMovie Reviews

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Avg. Critic Score: 72 out of 100 Generally favorable reviews Metascore^® based on all critic reviews

Information for Parents:

Iffy for 14+

Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

90

Wall Street Journal | Joe Morgenstern
Why, then, am I so pleased with Easy A? Because the movie, despite a few flaws, seems to have been made by higher intelligence, and because it catapults Emma Stone into a higher place reserved for American actors who can handle elevated language with casually dazzling aplomb. Read full review
90

Arizona Republic |
This is the kind of movie about teenagers that an adult audience should embrace. It's simply that good, and Stone is nothing short of wonderful. Read full review
88

USA Today | Claudia Puig
Easy A not only makes the grade, but it comes in close to 100%. Read full review
88

Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert
It's a funny, engaging comedy that takes the familiar but underrated Emma Stone and makes her, I believe, a star. Read full review
80

The Hollywood Reporter | Kirk Honeycutt
A high school romp that turns a stale genre upside down with sly wit and sharp satire. Read full review
70

The New York Times | Stephen Holden
Easy A isn't nearly as good a movie as "Clueless," Ms. Heckerling's contemporary pastiche of the Jane Austen novel "Emma." But the one-liner-loaded screenplay has the same insouciant charm. Read full review
70

Variety |
What this high school morality fable really recalls is "Clueless" -- a comedy of very contemporary ill manners drawn from classic literature, an immersion in the young-adult lexicon and a potentially career-making showcase for its lead actress, Emma Stone. Read full review
70

Los Angeles Times |
Neither as smart nor as funny as it wants to be. With the verbal-cleverness dial set at 11, the teen comedy wears its glib cultural references - pop and 19th-century literary - in boldface embroidery. Read full review
67

Entertainment Weekly | Owen Gleiberman
Easy A has some agreeable fast banter, but it's so self-consciously stylized that it wears you out. Read full review
50

Village Voice | Melissa Anderson
As far as teen comedies informed by 10th-grade English syllabi go, Easy A, partly inspired by "The Scarlet Letter," is remedial ed compared with "Clueless" and "10 Things I Hate About You." Read full review

Metacritic link View more reviews for Easy A on Metacritic

Information for Parents

Common Sense Media says Iffy for 14+ Teen Scarlet Letter update is smart but risque.

What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that this smart teen comedy inspired by Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic novel The Scarlet Letter centers on a straight-laced teen (Emma Stone) who gets caught up in the school rumor mill (partly thanks to gossip spreading via Facebook and texting) -- a situation that many teens will be able to identify with. Labeled promiscuous after she tells a white lie and, later, exacerbates that lie with another, she quickly loses control of the situation (though, because this is a movie, she manages to cope with poise and wit). Although little action is shown, the subject of sex permeates the whole film, and there are lots of innuendoes/references and situations (including talk about losing virginity), as well as incidents in which kids judge one another. There's also some swearing (including "s--t") and allusions to underage drinking.

Families can talk about gossip and bullying. What role does technology play in how the gossip about Olive spreads? How can you prevent that kind of thing from happening in real life?
Why does Olive perpetuate the gossip about her? What does she get out of it, considering that it also torments her? Is her reaction believable?
Does the movie do a good job of modernizing a classic book? Do the movie and the novel The Scarlet Letter have the same message? Where do they differ?

The good stuff

Positive messages: In keeping with its connection to Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, the film thumbs its nose at hypocrisy and those who stand in judgment of others. Though it sometimes goes about this noble goal in a ham-handed way -- i.e. by stereotyping certain groups (like Christians and high schoolers in general) -- it does confront important questions about labeling and judging others (especially when your own life isn't perfect).
Positive role models: Olive gets an undeserved reputation for being sleazy and fights back by throwing other people's judgments in their face. Instead of submitting to her peers' small-mindedness, she stands up for herself (though she does sometimes go about it in an ill-advised manner). She uses humor to deflect cruelty and has a soft heart. She does bend the truth, sometimes to her detriment -- and she also takes the iffy step of demanding payment (in the form of gift cards) for helping guys with their reputations -- but in the end she finds that honesty really is the best policy. Her parents are both irreverent and supportive, and a young man accepts her for who she is rather than who she's reputed to be.

What to watch for

Violence: A teen slaps a peer; another gets into a fight, though viewers don't see the actual skirmish -- just him nursing a bleeding nose. A guy gets pushy trying to kiss a girl.
Sex: Though viewers don't actually see anyone having sex, the characters talk about it a lot, and the subject permeates the whole movie. Virginity (and the loss thereof) is a frequent topic of discussion. High schoolers gossip about a classmate's sex life. A girl and a boy fake having sex behind closed doors by making very loud grunting sounds and talking "dirty" to each other. A main character wears suggestive clothing to confront her "easy" reputation. A teacher talks about having sex with a student (who's of age). A quick glimpse of the side of a breast (the woman's a nudist). There's a vibrator in the movie, though it's not seen (wrapped in paper). Mention of a sexually transmitted disease.
Language: Language includes several uses of "s--t," plus "ass," "hell," "damn," "screw," "tw-t," "skank," "d--k," "t-t," and "whore." Also "goddamn" and "oh my God."
Consumerism: Lots of logos/mentions of stores/brands, including Costco, Home Depot, Target, Quiznos, T.J. Maxx, Bath & Body Works, and other mall-type stores (most are in the context of gift cards that the main character takes as payment for doing reptuation-related "favors" for guys).
Drinking, drugs and smoking: A bong is shown briefly. A teen asks another if he can fetch her a drink at a party (though viewers don't see them imbibing).

Common Sense Media An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.