Review: Easy A (2010)

“The rumours of my promiscuity have been greatly exaggerated.”
– Olive Penderghast

SYNOPSIS: A clean-cut high school student relies on the school’s rumor mill to advance her social and financial standing. – via IMDB

I am not really into comedies, but every now and then you get a good one. One that is sharp and witty and doesn’t take itself too seriously or try too hard. Easy A was that one for me. I thoroughly enjoy Emma Stone, so to watch a film where she is leading lady is excellent. Olive is smart and intelligent and has an incredibly good sense of humour and Emma Stone brings out those qualities really well. I must say though that I can see how she got so flat about the reputation she had garnered, though how/why the hell she let it get so out of hand is beyond me.

Amanda Bynes cracked me up, definitely the kind of person that I would stay hundreds of kilometres away from –  what a nutcase and a silly bitch (yep, gonna put it out there just like that). It is a feel good movie to watched an A student go on to be the town bicycle, if only by reputation, and take it to a certain extent.

The relationship between Olive and Woodchuck Todd was quite sweet, and that he was the one that stood by her no matter what is pretty awesome. The way she embraced her role as the scarlet woman was terrible, though she rocked it. Olive’s family was definitely entertaining for me, and the banter that went on between them was truly crazy and funny. Patricia Clarkson and Stanley Tucci played the parents excellently.

I like Easy A, it was a fun movie that did not take the romance in it to extremes or make it the central point, only something that becomes evident later. Before that it is all about Olive and the silly mistakes that she makes that will take her to where she is. I definitely enjoyed this one, well worth a watch.

Rapid Review: Lars and the Real Girl (2007)

“You know, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. What we call mental illness isn’t always just an illness. It can be a communication; it can be a way to work something out.”
– Dr Dagmar

SYNOPSIS: In this comedy, Lars Lindstrom is an awkwardly shy young man in a small northern town who finally brings home the girl of his dreams to his brother and sister-in-law’s home. The only problem is that she’s not real – she’s a sex doll Lars ordered off the Internet. But sex is not what Lars has in mind, but rather a deep, meaningful relationship. His sister-in-law is worried for him, his brother thinks he’s nuts, but eventually the entire town goes along with his delusion in support of this sweet natured boy that they’ve always loved. – via IMDB

So I watched  this the other night at a movie night, a movie I have been meaning to get to for ages and just didn’t ever do it. Everyone tells me that Ryan Gosling is amazing in here, and now I can finally say that he was incredibly impressive here. Gosh, he made me cringe! To take an actor like Gosling and get him to look and be like he was in here? I loved it. So damn awkward! He portrayed Lars in a way that you pitied him and also found him so extremely stunted but sweet and silly, all at the same time. Anyway, I liked the story, and feel that they balanced the drama and comedy well. It was never too much of both, and you get drawn into how incredibly nice the people are in Lars’s town. I felt so sorry for him by the end, because he genuinely just turned in on himself. I could totally understand his brother Gus’s frustration with the situation, because it isn’t an easy one, and he himself was carrying quite a bit of guilt for how his brother had turned out. I think the movie did a really good job portraying some psychological issues, both for the affected person as well as how it impacts those around them. Gosling did a wonderful job in genuinely selling to us that he was dating Bianca and that she, the plastic doll, was respected and loved and a real part of his life. That doll provided me with endless laughs, because not only was she creepy, she went from looking like a hooker to a more normal and bland kind of person, and before you even knew what the hell was happening, she was having her hair done, getting baths and changed and she was some religious virgin living with Gus and Karin because Lars had to respect that. I mean wow. I can only think of the medical bills attached to the amount of time that Dr Dagmar had to see both Lars and Bianca. Anyway, the score suited the film, and it was shot quite well. Lars and the Real Girl is quite different and something else, without a doubt. I am glad to say that I have finally seen it, but I wouldn’t go as far as to call it my favourite Gosling film. It doesn’t strike me as the kind of film I will be rushing to see again anytime soon, even though it was an entertaining watch.