Alex recommends Easy A while looking at Emma Stone, John Cusack, and perception.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Last September was probably the peak of Emma Stone\u2019s \u2018It Girl\u2019 status, when her supporting roles in movies like Superbad and Zombieland lead to her being the star of Easy A. When that movie was released, her star was probably at its highest point; people seemed to like the movie, and people seemed to like her in it, for good reason. She\u2019s an incredibly charismatic actress, so charismatic that she often confuses people into thinking she is physically attractive. But aside from that, she also has great comic timing, as well as an impressive amount of physical comedy skills, and she can be a half-decent dramatic actress when the time comes. Basically, she has all of the ingredients necessary to be the lead in a teen movie that doesn\u2019t suck.<\/p>\n

In order for the movie to work, Easy A requires almost as much suspension of disbelief as Avatar: the whole plot revolves around the fact that nobody is having sex in the California high school that Stone\u2019s character, Olive Penderghast, attends. Nobody! Once Olive lies about having sex with somebody, the rumour spreads, and Olive has become the school slut. From there, she uses her newfound reputation to help out a variety of bullied kids by allowing them to say that she had sex with them in exchange for Amazon.com gift cards. It\u2019s basic stuff, but Stone is great, and so is the rest of a cast that includes Stanley Tucci, Patricia Clarkson, Thomas Haden Church, Dan Byrd, Amanda Bynes, Lisa Kudrow, and the Other Tucker<\/a> (who is somehow occasionally funny in this without talking about old school Elvis Costello records and obscure podcasts). And if you aren\u2019t sold on the idea of Stone being an enjoyable actress, here you go:<\/p>\n