Will Gluck directs Emma Stone, Amanda Bynes and Thomas Haden Church in this teen comedy about a straight A student who leans hard into the untrue gossip that she has been having sex. 

There’s a lot to like about Easy A. It is a primary coloured fizzpopper that marshalls a deep cast of talent efficiently. Imminently watchy. Yet it fails as a teen comedy by trying to be both a pastiche and a celebration of those well loved John Hughes movies AND the slightly less well appreciated 90s attempts to marry classic literature with lunchhall intrigue (see Clueless, 10 Things I Hate About You, Get Over It). And the reason it fails is the jokes rarely land… and when they could, they are given no room to breathe. It is way too crammed a script, desperate to point out a good joke has happened with a tag line pointing out how good a joke we’ve just heard is, or insecurely moving onto the next shot before the final syllable of a gag has settled. Not that it matters as this is the movie that announced Emma Stone to the world. Easily the most likeable new movie star to emerge this decade she takes her first starring role and just dazzles. Sure, the maximum effort put in on her part shows but endears. She absolutely rocks here and seven years on, the charm offensive shows no sign of abating.

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