FC Barcelona Sport

Olive Penderghast is your average Jane in high school, sweeping by under the radar – that is until she agrees to help her gay friend have an imaginary tryst so the jocks and rest of the school will stop picking on him for being gay. This one act transforms Olive into the school’s super-skank as the rumor mill goes active. What happens from there is a comedy of errors as Olive agrees to help fellow student after fellow student, letting them have imaginary flings with her as long as they provide the gift card of her choice. When her status becomes negative Olive takes a stand inspired by Hester Prinn and dons a scarlet A, making a statement about the way people choose to see her.

Easy A sets out to crib John Hughes in a very obvious way. Not only does Olive mention Hughes and the most popular teen films of the 80’s, but Will Gluck seems to be intent on cribbing Hughes in every way possible…and it works. While Easy A may not be a blow-for-blow Hughes film, the viewer is left with the same feeling they would be in a Hughes film – the feeling that these characters are really human, and the story has a heart.

Emma Stone is no Molly Ringwald, but by this I mean no disrespect. Ringwald grew to fame by playing the delicate, pretty girl that was either too popular (Breakfast Club) or overlooked (Sixteen Candles) but no matter what character she was, she was always delicate and understated. Emma Stone is not. Emma Stone is the Huges character for a modern generation – when situations arise that challenge her, Stone’s Olive makes the situation more obvious and pushes it to the next level attempting to throw her peers folly back on them.

What struck me most after watching Easy A was something I didn’t expect; I was struck by how Easy A could be a commentary for how a generation of teenagers is so vastly different from the teens of the 80’s. While our parents always tell us the differences between our struggles and theirs is only circumstantial, this film proves that wrong. In Sixteen Candles the worst thing that can happen to Samantha in Sixteen Candles is that a freshman pays five bucks to see her underwear, but in Easy A the worst thing that can happen to Olive is that men pay money to date her.


Director: Will Gluck

Olive: Whatever happened to chivalry? Does it only exist in 80's movies? I want John Cusack holding a boombox outside my window. I wanna ride off on a lawnmower with Patrick Dempsey. I want Jake from Sixteen Candles waiting outside the church for me. I want Judd Nelson thrusting his fist into the air because he knows he got me. Just once I want my life to be like an 80's movie, preferably one with a really awesome musical number for no apparent reason. But no, no, John Hughes did not direct my life.

So I finally got along to seeing Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Woody Allen’s latest take on love and romance. I do have to say that the film was worth the wait.

In traditional Allen fashion this is a confused and tangled story of characters looking for their life, their passion and their loves. Vicky and Cristina are best friends though they are as different as can be and decide to head to Vicky’s relative’s in Barcelona for the summer; Vicky is engaged to Doug a devoted but boring man and working on her Masters in Catalan culture, Cristina is a flight artist that cannot decide her medium and doesn’t know what she wants in a romance. Out for dinner one night they meet Juan Antonio who invites them to Oviedo with him for a weekend of culture and love making – he does not hide that this is his motive. Cristina is intrigued by Juan Antonio an pressures rigid Vicky into accompanying her with Juan Antonio. Though Vicky and Juan Antonio don’t immediately hit it off they do end up carrying a flame for each other that they hide as Juan Antonio begins a relationship with Cristina that becomes incredibly complex and eventually includes his ex-wife Maria Elena.

I am someone who has never been affected by the charms of Penelope Cruz, I really don’t think she is that good of an actress – in English. I think too much is going on in her head to translate from Spanish to English and as a result I have never really enjoyed her performances; however, she speaks mainly Spanish in Vicky Cristina Barcelona and I was amazed how large a difference it made in her performance. I can now begin to see the kind of talent that she really has, and I hope she can bring it to an English language film.

It is common knowledge that Scarlett has become Allen’s new muse. The funny thing about Scarlett’s muse status is that Allen didn’t want to work with her. In her first role with Allen in Match Point another actress was slotted in her part and dropped out at the last minute – Scarlett stepped in. Since working with her Allen can’t get enough of her. What was most interesting to me in their latest endeavor is that I believe in essence Scarlett was playing the traditional Allen character. Cristina is the Alvy Singer character who has impossible neurosis, quirky mannerisms, talks far too fast and is the crux of the tale – Cristina is the backbone of the story.

I used to consider Woody Allen an overrated filmmaker. However, in my post-film school life I have actually found a place for him in my film catalog. I deeply enjoy his movies and think that he is a filmmaker that has contributed to the art of film. I thank Scarlet Johansson for taking a last minute role in Match Point and reigniting Woody Allen’s zest for filmmaking.

Director & Writer: Woody Allen
Cristina: Scarlett Johansson
Vicky: Rebecca Hall
Juan Antonio: Javier Bardem
Maria Elena: Penelope Cruz
Doug: Chris Messina
Judy Nash: Patricia Clarkson
Mark Nash: Kevin Dunn
Narrator: Christopher Evan Welch

Juan Antonio: We are meant for each other and not meant for each other. It's a contradiction.