Easy A

M: Our local movie critic, with whom we often agree, raved about Easy A. So, I brought it home. We invited family to watch it with us -- I am glad they didn't. When it was done, I apologized to V. Easy A is a play on the the novel The Scarlet Letter. Olive, played by Emma Stone, accidentally starts a rumor that she lost her virginity. The rumor grows and grows, and her reputation tumbles. Although at first, Olive embraces and enjoys her new-found notoriety, she eventually learns an important lesson (I am not sure what that lesson was). Emma Stone did a good job, she almost makes you like her very unlikable character. But, in the end, the movie is just too dirty to enjoy. It is also a bit hypocritical, which bugged me. Case in point, the "bad guys" in the movie are all overzealous and hypocritical religious folks. Fine, nobody likes a religious hypocrite. But, in labeling every character with religious belief as a bigoted "Jesus freak," this movie, at least to me, revealed its own ugly bigoted and hypocritical nature. I just didn't really care for it. 1 1/2 stars

V: Uggh. What a bummer. It just left us feeling dirty and disappointed. Emma Stone was a good actress and her parents were interesting and funny, played by a couple of my favorites: Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson. But it was too - eeeaghh. There was no good reason the main character would continue to act the way she did - she was just inviting the judgment she so readily condemned. Dumb. Can't recommend it. 1 star