Easy A

In this comedy based on The Scarlet Letter, straitlaced Olive (Emma Stone) acquires her “filthy skank” reputation by accident: She invents an imaginary boyfriend and fake-confesses to her best friend that she lost her virginity to him. It’s overheard by the school’s Jesus-freak-in-chief, and soon rumors of Olive’s loose ways spread like a text-message virus and she’s approached by all manner of nerds, fat boys, and outcasts who want help acquiring a studly reputation. Suddenly awash in gifts and condemnation, virginal Olive decides to embrace her inner Hester Prynne. In real life, high school girls kill themselves over such scorn; in Easy A, Olive cuts up her conservative wardrobe and starts wearing sexy improvised bustiers (each adorned with a huge red letter “A”), strutting down school hallways and turning heads. These rather outlandish plot points are made tolerable by witty writing and a winning performance by Stone, whose sultry voice and oversized eyes make her an eminently appealing heroine.