Overall: 4.2 Stars (out of 5)

Synopsis

High school is the setting for this freewheeling comedic twist on Nathaniel Hawthorne's 19th-century novel The Scarlet Letter. Ambitious student Olive (Emma Stone) decides to boost her popularity by pretending to be the school slut. As the school's swirling rumor mill increases both her notoriety and her finances, Olive enjoys her new found status but eventually must decide which is more important: popularity or self-esteem.

Starring: Emma Stone, Penn Badgley, Amanda Bynes, Thomas Haden Church, Patricia Clarkson, Cam Gigandet, Lisa Kudrow, Malcolm McDowell, Stanley Tucci

Directors: Will Gluck

Blu-ray Release Date: December 21, 2010

Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese

Rating

Overall rating weighted as follows:

Audio 40%, Video 40%, Special Features 20%

Movie - it's just our opinion so take it with a grain of salt

Audio: 4.1 Stars

Dolby and DTS Demo Discs used as basis for comparison

Subwoofer - 4.0 Stars

Dialog - 5.0 Stars

Surround Effects - 4.0 Stars

Dynamic Range - 3.5 Stars

English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

French: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1

Portuguese: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

Easy A has the standard audio one could expect from a teen comedy. All of its witty conversations are heard with lossless clarity. There are a few scenes were ambient sounds of chatty students, echoed voices bathrooms, and rustling leaves are heard. The sub-woofer is not very active until music is heard. In fact, besides the dialog, the music is the best thing to hear in this movie. It fills the room and provides great atmosphere.

Video: 4.3 Stars

Spears & Munsil Benchmark Blu-ray Edition used as basis for comparison

Color Accuracy - 4.0 Stars

Shadow detail - 4.5 Stars

Clarity - 4.0 Stars

Skin tones - 4.5 Stars

Compression - 4.5 Stars

Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC

Video resolution: 1080p

Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Easy A has above average video performance. The movie does have a slight orange tint to it, but it's not very noticeable. Somehow it seems to bring a bright cheery vibe to the movie. There were a few scenes were the video was very blocky, but it was done on purpose to simulate a webcast. Sometimes the movie did not seem as sharp as it could have, especially when compared to the crystal clear video of the extra features.

Bonus Features: 4.0 Stars

Extra Credit: Pop-Up Trivia Track

Audio Commentary: Director Will Gluck and Actress Emma Stone

The Making of 'Easy A'

Vocabulary of Hilarity

The School of Pop Culture: Movies of the Eighties

Gag Reel

Emma Stone Audition Footage

Trailers

Movie IQ

BD-Live

Movie: 4.5 Stars

Easy A is not a cookie cutter teen comedy. Instead of the standard boy meets girl story, it analyzes stereotypes, questions religion, and pokes fun at spreading rumors. All while remaining witty and charming.

If you are a fan of John Hughes movies, this is a must watch. There are several scenes where famous dialog from his movies are used. At the beginning they even spend time directly referencing Hughes movies as contrast to what this movie is. In several ways, this is a modern day John Hughes movie. It has a lot of heart and addresses serious issues of today's youth while remaining charismatic. The witty script and actors performances really make this movie endearing. I would've enjoyed this movie if it was just about Emma Stone's character hanging out with her lovingly comical family.