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The Harlot Letter

Amid the din of raunchy teen comedies ("American Pie", "Porky's", "Road Trip"), there occasionally arises a film that aims for something more - something that strives to be a bit clever, a bit subtle, a bit, shall we say, John Hughes-esque. They're uncommon, yes, but they do exist; they come around every few years, like some kind of angst-ridden Halley's comet. For every "Porky's" franchise, there's that rare "Sixteen Candles". Through the haze of straight-to-DVD-worthy National Lampoon's entries, there's a "Clueless". And in the wake of the "American Pie" series, there's "Mean Girls". To its credit, the film "Easy A" strives to be part of this more rarefied genre but, like its heroine, it just doesn't quite fit in.

"Easy A" starts with a clever premise: California High School nobody Olive Penderghast (Emma Stone, from "Superbad") fibs about losing her virginity, watches as her lie spreads like wildfire and quickly learns that perception is reality. Newcomer writer Bert V. Royal bases the whole thing on "The Scarlet Letter" - much as "Clueless was Amy Heckerling's riff on "Emma". But where Ms. Heckerling used her source material as inspiration, Mr. Royal continually references his to the point that Olive is not only studying the Hawthorne book in class but mentioning the fact that she's studying it (in a criminally overused voice-over) and then wearing a literal "A" on her chest.

This is where the film goes wrong. It's far too aware that it's trying to be clever. There's a difference between being "meta" and being lazy. By having his characters reference similar films of the past, Mr. Royal only holds himself up to an insurmountable comparison.

It's a shame, too, since the story - and its lead actress - have promise. Ms. Stone, with her preternaturally smoky voice and gawky charm, is a natural to take on the post-Ringwald mantle. She does admirable work making Olive likable in the face of some pretty questionable decisions. She's also given parents who are a match made in Hollywood casting heaven. Patricia Clarkson and Stanley Tucci play Rosemary and Dill (really? c'mon, Mr. Royal), a set of wine-drinking uber-parents who've got a quick quip for every occasion. It does explain why Olive is so good with words - at least, in a Hollywood-fantasy kind of way.

The rest of the cast is essentially made up of caricatures, the most notable (and not in a good way) being Amanda Bynes' fire-and-brimstone religious nut who appears to have been ripped straight out of 2004's "Saved!". Worse still, Olive is given a best friend that is completely wrong for her character. Alyson Michalka's Rhi and Olive are so mismatched that you're almost relieved when their friendship dissolves (no spoiler here, trust me). Thankfully, Olive has some men in her life that are worth mentioning: Dan Byrd and Penn Badgley, as the gay friend and hunky love interest, respectively, make you wish the movie earned its inevitable ending.

"Easy A" is a mixed bag. I respect what it's going for, and bemoan its poor choices. Not all of these can be put at the feet of its green writer, or its equally inexperienced director (Will Gluck of "Fired Up!"). Apparently, the original script earned an R-rating, much like some of the films it emulates. The finished product is PG-13 (which is obvious in a scene where Olive is sent to the Principal's office for uttering a word that George Carlin wouldn't have batted an eye at). This change reeks of excessive studio meddling and almost immediately hobbles the film. It would have been better if they had learned something from the script: don't try to pretend to be something you're not.