Considered both one of Emma Stone’s best movies and one of the best rom-coms of all time, Easy A is a 2010s classic! These days, we adore Stone for her “hilarious and “raunchy” performance in Poor Things and her Oscar-winning role in La La Land. However, before all that, she proved herself as a wonderfully unique leading lady in Will Gluck’s wildly creative 2010 coming-of-age flick.
So, in honor of this hilarious and heartfelt film about a high school student named Olive to tried to take advantage of the rumors swirling around about her, let’s chat about ten moments from Easy A that are still perfect.
Olive’s Opening Monologue
Easy A opens with Olive explaining her journey on a livestream that we later find out is happening after all the events of the film. This opening scene, where she holds up a piece of paper that titles this stories’ first of five chapters shows how intelligent and funny she is and it sets the tone for the entire movie, which is made up of the following chapters:
- “The Shudder-Inducing-and-Clichéd, However-Totally-False Account Of How I Lost My Virginity To A Guy At A Community College.”
- “The Accelerated Velocity of Terminological Inexactitude.”
- “A Lady's Choice and a Gentleman's Agreement.”
- “How I, Olive Penderghast, Went From Assumed Trollop To an Actual HomeWrecker.”
- “Not With a Whimper But With a Bang.”
Overall, her voice-over is wonderful, and it makes her voice and personality shine. Plus it really helps us understand what she’s going through in a sincere yet hilarious way. This along with the moments within these chapters is why Easy A got such good reviews and why it still holds up.
The Pocket Full Of Sunshine Card Montage
There are so many songs that make me think of a specific movie scene, but one of the most iconic is the “Pocket Full of Sunshine” scene in Easy A. Seeing Stone jam out to the tune via a birthday card is seriously hilarious, and her evolution from hating it to loving it is the best, you can’t help but smile through the whole moment:
Honestly, I totally get why this “Pocket Full of Sunshine” scene went viral so many years later, it’s flawless.
Olive’s Parents Try To Guess Why She Got In Trouble
Can we all agree that Olive’s parents are the best? Played by Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson, Dill and Rosemary are legit cool parents who, for the most part, are very supportive of their daughter.
Even when she gets in trouble at school for calling a classmate a mean name, her parents aren’t really mad. In fact, they just want to know what she said. When Olive says it starts with a “T” they proceed to guess, but can’t get it, and tell her to spell it with her peas. Then, they hilariously threaten her saying she can’t have supper, even though she literally just ate.
Overall, Dill and Rosemary are icons, and parents of the year in my mind.
Olive’s First Deal With Brandon
When Olive’s fake “gentleman caller” Brandon shows up at her house to propose this deal, her parents are hilariously baffled, going back and forth saying “A boy?” “A boy.” three times. Then, the process of planning this deception gets going. Brandon, who is gay, asked Olive to have fake sex with him, so people at school would get off his back.
This leads to them going to a party together, where they have the loudest fake sex ever. If you want to see commitment to a bit that’s all about faking a bit, this scene is the best example. It’s over the top, awkward and hilarious. It also helps the ultimate storyline get going as Olive agrees to help more guys by pretending to have sex with them.
Olive Embraces The A, And She Starts Making Deals
One of the most iconic moments in this film comes when Olive transforms and embraces the rumors and starts rocking the A at school. In the spirit of The Scarlet Letter, Emma Stone’s character decides to reclaim the narrative surrounding her, and she switches up her style and starts making deals with guys.
From Home Depot gift cards to a Bed Bath and Beyond coupon and more, Olive is paid in odd ways, and her reactions to it all are priceless. Truly, this is a magnificent and hilarious montage.
Marianne Screams About Her Boyfriend Having Chlamydia While A Grease Song Plays In The Background
Olive’s plan goes a little too far when Marianne’s boyfriend blames her for his Chlamydia (which he actually got from sleeping with the guidance counselor). While this moment is what causes the ultimate conflict in the film, the way it’s presented is hilarious and incredibly creative.
This is because as the news travels that Marianne’s boyfriend has Chlamydia, “We Go Together” from Grease is playing in the background. Then, when Amanda Bynes' character finds out about it she screams “CHLAMYDIA!” into the phone in the high school office, and that’s immediately followed by “Wop ba-ba lu-mop and wop bam boom!”
Olive Goes From Church To Chruch Trying To Confess
In what starts as an emotional scene, Olive goes to a church to confess about everything that’s happened. However, it quickly turns hysterical when she realizes the priest isn’t in the confession box, and she proceeds to run to church after church trying to find someone to hear her out.
The real kicker though was when she finally found someone (who was brilliantly played by Fred Armisen), he also happened to be Marianne’s father. This caused Olive to understandably freak out.
Todd Gives Olive A Ride Home, And She Tells Him Why They Can’t Kiss
After Todd raps a happy birthday song while wearing a lobster hat (how endearing!), and Olive gets away from her terrible date (how horrific!), he offers to give her a ride home. On the drive, Olive cries her heart out, and she tells Todd what she’s been doing. Like the kind king he is, he doesn’t judge, and he supports her.
However, when he asks if he can kiss her if he promises to not tell anyone, Olive turns it down. Not because she’s not into him, but because she wants their first kiss to be perfect. It’s a vulnerable scene that goes from sad to sweet, and it really lets the heart of this film shine.
Olive Performs ‘Knock On Wood’
In an effort to get people to tune into her confessional livestream (and because she wanted a “musical number for no apparent reason”), Olive put on a performance at the school’s pep rally with the help of Woodchuck Todd and the pep band. She, of course, sang “Knock On Wood,” which was apparently the band’s “sexiest song in their repertoire,” and she was clearly having a blast.
Olive Gets Her ‘80s Movie Ending
Earlier in the film, right after she starts making all these deals, Olive says she wants John Cusack to hold a boombox up to her window, or to ride off on a lawnmower with Patrick Dempsey or Judd Nelson throwing his fist in the air for her or Jake from Sixteen Candles waiting for her. Well, she got all of that when Todd showed up at her house with his lawnmower at the end of her livestream.
Overall, it was a triumphant and sweet ending, that also paid homage to all the classic ‘80s movies Olive loves. It was an excellent way to bring this incredibly creative and witty film to an end, by turning four rom-com romantic gestures into one massive one.
From beginning to end, Easy A is a wonderfully funny time, and it’s a comedy that’s also full of heart. Emma Stone’s work as Olive is next level, and as her career has progressed, it’s so fun to go back and see one of the films that kicked it all off and reflect on the perfect moments within it.
