Somewhat Easy B-

Piss-your-pants funny, witty, occassionally smart, even downright clever in parts and led by an intelligent, versatile young comedienne, Easy A is an oddity as both a Hollywood studio comedy and a film about high school. And, as a rarity in today's film landscape, a film like Easy A is bound to be praised for things it simply isn't. Much like Drew Barrymore's Whip It! last year, another slightly uneven film celebrated for its "girl power" while majore problems were ignored, Easy A gets a lot right but also fails (miserably, in some regards) in portions. Right from the get go, the first of Easy A's problems rears its ugly little head: that voiceover. Granted, some viewers may find its self-consciousness and constant calling of attention to itself, as in the many instances where Emma Stone brings up some high school movie cliché and then reassures the audience that this movie is not like that at all refreshing and engaging. But nothing irritates me more than when writing is too clever for its own good. It's so post-modern it makes me want to puke. Diablo Cody is able to find a nice balance, miraculously, between quirk and character; narration like that in Easy A or Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, which was similarly self-conscious and smug, are simply too clever for their own good.

Along those same lines, halfway through the film, Easy A decides that it wants to become a tribute to the legacy of John Hughes' films. That's all fine and dandy, even if the whole conceit is a little on-the-nose and dubious to begin with, but the way it is introduced makes no sense. It's as if halfway through writing the script, the screenwriters realized something was missing and thought that the answer was more pop culture referencing. And if you're going to make a pop culture reference in a high school movie, it has to be about the films of John Hughes. Easy A makes a grand issue out of Emma Stone's character wanting her life to emulate Sixteen Candles but, honestly, it doesn't need it.

Finally, and most glaringly, Easy A can't decide whether or not it wants to condemn Emma Stone's character for her sexual "exploits" or celebrate her for daring to flaunt them in front of the entire school. At some points in the film, Easy A wants Emma's character to be a hero for the way she defies the social norm that, as Lil' Kim best described, "If a guy has two girls than he's the man/But if a girl does the same than she's a whore." When she emblazons that scarlet A on her clothes, she wears it with pride as she walks down the hallway. On the other hand, Easy A also wants her to be thought of as the bad guy for taking charge of her sexuality, even though it's a complete lie. Just when you think Easy A is ready to make a decision, whether or not it's the right decision, the film oscillates to the other side as quickly as it can. The film may think it's indecision is saying something profound, but it becomes a major problem.

This isn't to say that the film is a complete failure. On the contrary, actually. Easy A has some hilarious moments and an incredibly game cast who does wonders with their characters. Patricia Clarkson, Stanley Tucci and Penn Badgley (who instantly reminded me why I fell in love with him during the first season of Gossip Girl here), in particular, were stand outs among the supporting cast. But the true star of the film is, of course, Emma Stone, proving once and for all to all the skeptics that after playing the sidekick to Jonah Hill, Jesse Eisenberg and Anna Faris, she is a legitimate leading lady. She's Lindsay Lohan without an ounce of shame or the apprehension that mars her best work (Mean Girls, obviously). Whether she's singing obnoxiously to 'Pocketful of Sunshine,' trading one-liners with Penn, conversing with her folks, pretending she's a Tennessee Williams heroine or pretending to have sex with a gay man, Stone is a fearless comedienne and an absolute joy to watch. Here's hoping the rumor that she's up for the female lead in the Spider-Man reboot with Andy Garfield (!!!) is true; if those two are together, I may actually be legitimately excited for that film. B-

Blake Lively is the Whore of Babylon

Just look at the evidence below!

Okay, so I realize that she's filming an episode of Gossip Girl and it's really Serena who is a big fat whore, but isn't it fun to call her that? Working or not, I'm completely jealous that she's making out with the two hottest guys on the show (off-screen boyfriend Penn Badgley and Leighton Meester's man Sebastian Stan). NOT FAIR.

Yeah, I said it, Sebastien.

(Pictures via Just Jared)

Looking Good, Mr. Westwick

I've always liked Ed Westwick, but I think his charm and personality is more readily apparent in his demeanor on Gossip Girl not necessarily his looks. He's not ugly, but he's certainly an acquired taste and certainly more out there than the bland and all-American looking Chace Crawford. So when this set of photographs from GQ emerged last week, my jaw nearly dropped to the floor. Ed is smoking in these pics. Goddamn, who ever was the photographer behind these deserves some kind of Noble Prize for making odd looking models look like sex gods. If Penn isn't careful (and doesn't shave off that ridiculous beard), he may have some serious competition for the title of sexiest Gossip Guy.

Lady GaGa Knows Her Stuff

No truer words have ever been spoken.
Adapted from The GaGa's "Boys Boys Boys" from her incredible album The Fame.

(Boys, boys, boys)

We like boys in cars





(Boys, boys, boys)

Buy us drinks in bars




(Boys, boys, boys)

With hairspray and denim








(Boys, boys, boys)

We love them!

As Pretty as a Picture

Life Got Cold

I am truly sorry that I haven't been with you in the past few days. This little thing called the real world has seriously been raping me in the ass interfering in my blogging. In the past week, I've been dealing with never ending school work, money problems, a career fair that I've been dreading for a long while, the daunting prospect of finding a summer internship, a sick grandma and a father who has just been diagnosed with diabetes while his hours have just been cut at his job. Seriously, when I called my mother on Saturday, the only good news she had was that she got a whole bunch of prescriptions for under $10. You know times are tough when that's the most exciting part of your week.

As if that wasn't tough enough, I have more bad news: I'm going to be out of commission for another couple of days. I have two exams in the next two days and I'll be spending all of my free time studying or pretending to study, so that means no new posts until Wednesday. Blurg. But, hopefully when I come back, I'll have a review of Arnaud Desplachin's mindblowingly amazing A Christmas Tale for you to read. Cross your fingers!

While I'm gone, here are a couple pictures of Gossip Girl hotties Leighton "Where is this girl's Emmy?" Meester and Penn "Give me a proper storyline, please and thank you" Badgley that I have been drooling over for the past couple of days. Enjoy!

Leighton photos from L-Meester
Penn photos from Penn Badgley Fan

Imaginary Boyfriends (and Girlfriends) of 2008

Last year, I listed 10 or so people I fell in love with throughout 2007 and instead of doing the same thing again, I decided to change it up a bit for 2008. For this year's list, I choose a number of people whom I like to think of as my imaginary boyfriends (and even some girlfriends)- in other words, the hottest and most beautiful men and women of 2008. And, in case you're particularly attentive, the men from this list are ineligible since I've already proclaimed my love for them (repeatedly, in many instances) and I wanted to show off some new blood.

Sam Sparro
No one looked quite as dapper as Sam Sparro did in his top hat and tails in his "Black & Gold" music video. Even when he dresses up in something as outrageous as this, he's still a hottie in my books. Oh, how I wish he could find success in America so everyone could love him as much as I do.

Gaspard Ulliel, Louis Garrel & Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet
The French trio of Gaspard, Louis and Grégoire made quite the impression on me in 2008. This photoshoot made my jaw drop and I've been a Gaspard fan ever since. I saw Louis in The Dreamers a couple of years ago, but it wasn't until the one-two punch of Ma Mère and Les Chansons d'Amour that I realized just how sexy he was. People kept talking about Robert Pattinson's hair all throughout 2008, but he has nothing on Louis and his locks which practically has me screaming, "Dirty Frenchboy, come have sex with me." And what can I say about cute, little Grégoire? He was so adorable as Garrel's charming, albeit a little stalkerish, boyfriend/rebound guy/whatever in Les Chansons d'Amour.

Jamie Bell
I know, what took me so long? I'm still going through his filmography, but I finally saw Billy Elliot and his performance completely floored me. Besides, just look at what that cute preteen grew up to become.

Jesse McCartney
I'm not sure when it happened, but sometime over 2008 Jesse McCartney went from a blonde, mop-topped, girl-ish looking, 14 year old to a Justin Timberlake-wannabe, sex machine. All I can say is that I'm grateful it happened.

Nick Jonas
It may be a felony, but I'm not ashamed...Nick is a total hottie.

Cam Gigandet
One viewing of the mediocre Never Back Down was all it took and now I'm obsessed. I remember him as Volchock on The O.C. but, for some odd reason, he's so much hotter now.

Steve Sandvoss
Latter Days was no masterpiece, but Sandvoss' performance in it was one for the ages. It would have been easy for him to have simply shrugged off the whole Mormon aspect of the role and instead focused on being a hot boy who happens to be a Mormon. Luckily, Sandvoss is smarter than that and crafted a character that, no matter your religious preference, you can totally sympathize with.

Mitch Reinholt
As the perfectly adorable jock who expands his horizons by dating the quirky and artistic Hannah in the documentary American Teen, Mitch Reinholt quickly stole my heart. I didn't even care that he ended their relationship in the douchiest way possible, he still seems like a good guy

Nicholas Hoult
This one came out of nowhere, considering I had never seen an episode of Skins or his performance in About a Boy, but after looking around photographer Kai Z. Feng's website (more on that here) it was an instant attraction. Now that I've seen the first episode of Skins, I feel confident that this attraction will blossom into something more once I see season 1.

Penn Badgley
I've been in love with Penn ever since the first episode of Gossip Girl. True fact. He only gets hotter in my eyes as time goes on. Now, all we need is for the Gossip Girl writers to give him something interesting to do this season and we'll be all set.

Christina Hendricks
That ass! Those curves! Goddamn, this is a REAL woman!

Penélope Cruz
Whenever I was at work and straightening up the makeup aisle, I always had to stop for a second and admire the lovely Penélope Cruz ad for L'Oreal. She is a breathtaking beauty; whatever she does, she always looks flawless. It's totally not fair. Add to that the fact that she has a gorgeous boyfriend and she gets more interesting as an actress with every performance and she becomes even more enviable.

"Gossip Girl": The New (and Best) Successor to "The O.C."

The new Fall Season has barely started and I am already in love with a new show. Wednesday night was the premiere of the new teenage soap opera Gossip Girl (based on the hit books by Cecily von Ziegesar) and from the first ten minutes, I was hooked. The show isn't as smartly written as The O.C. was in its prime, but it's delightfully trashy and so over-the-top it makes shows like Laguna Beach and The Hills look almost like documentaries in comparison.

The show revolves around the students of an elite private school in New York City: There's Serena van der Woodsen (Blake Lively), a former wild child who has come back from a semester at boarding school a whole new person. Blair, her former best friend, has turned into a cold bitch with her departure. Nate, Blair's boyfriend, cheated on Blair with Serena before she left and is really in love with her. Chuck, Nate's best friend, is a druggie prick who hits on naive freshman. And, finally, there are the newcomers to this world: Jenny Humphrey, a freshman trying to fit in with all the right girls and her brother...


Dan (played by Penn Badgley), the loveable outcast of the school who is hopelessly in love with Serena. All I have to say about Dan are two things:

1) Awwwwwww!
2) We finally have a new Seth Cohen!

He was so sweet, whether it was when he was helping his sister pick out a dress for the big party or punching Chuck out after he tries to seduce/rape his sister, that my friend Shannon and I went "Awwww" practically every time he came on screen. And I was so happy when he, through a coincidence, got a date with Serena. They didn't get much of a chance to be together (they had to stop what they were doing and rescue his sister in the middle) but they have amazing chemistry. Plus, that final shot of them in the taxi cab together was so amazing, I'm still thinking about it for some reason. I know this relationship is way too easy for a show of this nature, and there are bound to be major ups and downs, but it will be nice while everything is happy.