My So-Called Sex Life

DVD Review: EASY A

15 – 92mins – 2010
Written by: Burt V. Royal
Directed by: Will Gluck
Starring: Emma Stone, Penn Badgley, Amanda Bynes, Thomas Hayden Church , Patricia Clarkson, Cam Gigandet, Lisa Kudrow, Stanley Tucci, Alyson Michalka, Malcolm McDowell
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The old school alumni chillax in the courtyard with the new school freshers and the pair have a blast in this refreshingly self-aware teen comedy which openly pays homage to the classic John Hughes comedies of the 1980s (The Breakfast Club, Pretty In Pink, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off), infusing the retro references with the smart-mouthed indie cool of more contemporary gems such as Clueless and Juno.

Inspired by the 1850 novel The Scarlet Letter, Will Gluck's Easy A sees respectable-but-invisible high schooler Olive Penderghast (Stone) become the talk of the campus as a little white lie about losing her virginity spirals into a bogus reputation as a “dirty skank” – a reputation which Olive chooses to shamelessly embrace by stitching cloth “A”s onto all her clothes (akin to the acknowledgment of adultery in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s opus).

As her best friend (Alyson Michalka), fanatical chastity groups and teachers turn against her, Olive soon realises that her social experiment of not having sex but saying you are has its drawbacks – namely, she’s not actually getting any sex! And so Olive takes to her web cam (how very twenty first century!) to confess her sins and win back the respect she has spurned, and the affection of the one guy she really does want to wear an “A” for, Todd (Penn Badgley).

Undeniably it is the fabulous characters who make what could have been a crude, offensive film into a pocketful of sunshine. Superbad and The House Bunny’s red head Emma Stone is a fiery revelation of hip confidence in her first lead role as the candidly intellectual Olive; she’s peppy, witty and banters hilariously with her “clued in” parents – Patricia Clarkson and Stanley Tucci – and favourite teacher, the nonchalant Mr Griffith (Thomas Haden Church).

Praise must be paid to writer Burt V. Royal for the zippy dialogue and abundance of cliché-averting winks and nods, making what could have been a lazy, piggybacking succession of riffs into a smart and original gem. Even a climatic pep rally musical number doesn’t feel gauche in the candidly inspired and unreservedly modern context; after all, what would Ferris do?


In a CR@B Shell: Stone shines in this admirably sharp addition to the teen comedy genre. Easy A knows what it is and thrives amongst its classmates, working hard to garner an honourable rep standing atop its peer’s lofty shoulders (boombox aloft, natch) without sulking in the shadow of their acclaim.
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The Tension and the Smart

DVD Review: SMART PEOPLE
15 – 91mins – 2008
Written by: Mark Jude Poirier
Directed by: Noam Murro
Starring: Dennis Quaid, Sarah Jessica Parker, Ellen Page, Thomas Haden Church , Ashton Holmes
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Sometimes the smartest people have the most to learn

So reads the tagline to this quirky indie comedy drama from the producer of quirky indie comedy drama Sideways (2004), and such a seemingly paradoxical statement has never been more accurate than when you are first introduced to the lead protagonists in Noam Murro’s debut feature film, Smart People: Lawrence Wetherhold (Dennis Quaid) is an arrogant and apathetic English literature professor who has lived with his haughty, smart alec loner of a daughter, Vanessa (Ellen Page), since his wife died some years ago and his suppressed son, James (Ashton Holmes), moved away to college to spread his wings.

Lawrence ’s adopted brother, Chuck (Thomas Haden Church), is an indolent, unemployed free-loader who nevertheless never lets his dire situation get him down. Against Lawrence ’s wishes, Chuck ends up moving in to chez Wetherhold at the same time that the miserly college proff starts dating Janet Hartigan (Sarah Jessica Parker), a former student who treats Lawrence at the hospital after a minor accident. That is pretty much it in the way of plot, but Mark Jude Poirier’s witty script energizes the eccentric characters with sharp dialogue and zinging banter as this small scale character piece unfolds: Will Lawrence ever be able to love again? Will Vanessa ever learn to ‘chillax’ like a 17-year-old should? And will Chuck ever be able to stand on his own two feet? Oh, the angst!

It is a testament to the quality of the actors involved that you warm to these wholly unlikeable characters. Page and Haden Church are particularly engaging; spunky, acid-tongued Vanessa and her zany party animal of an (adopted) uncle’s polar personalities spark and clash in surprisingly unexpected, unconventional and unexceptable ways. Perhaps the key to the film’s success is that, underneath all the barbed comments and unsociable attitudes, these are recognisable people and their relationships are astutely observed. We could all learn a thing or two from Smart People.


CR@B Verdict: Bear with these pretentious brain boxes and they’ll win you over as they learn their most valuable lessons outside a classroom. With lesser performances this skeletal film could have fallen flat, but the repartee between the ensemble cast make Smart People a smart choice.
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