Movie Review: "The Social Network" and "Easy A"

Patrick recently discovered a movie club online that we are testing out:  http://www.weeklycinema.com

Basically, we pay $20 for 4 movie tickets a month and as a bonus for signing up, we also get an extra free movie this month.  So assuming I've done the math correctly, that's $5 a ticket (+ a free ticket).  Not bad considering that the average movie here in DC is $11, which is more than a 50% savings.  As avid moviegoers, I have no qualms about us putting these tickets to good use.  

This past weekend, for instance, we saw two movies -- The Social Network on Friday night and Easy A on Sunday night.  Both turned out to be very good movies that I highly recommend.  Despite embodying two completely different tones (one a tragedy and the other a comedy), both explore the volatile nature of relationships formed in the delicate world of academia.  And that, my friends, is about the only parallel I can draw between these two films. 

Here are my two cents on each...

THE SOCIAL NETWORK

Before watching this movie, Mark Zuckerberg was just a name at the bottom of a website that I happen to frequent (along with 500 million other people apparently).  I was always impressed that a college student my age (only 1.5 months my senior according to Wikipedia) was the mastermind behind such a successful online enterprise, but my interest never extended much beyond that.  That is, until now.

The Social Network is not just a movie about Facebook.  It's about the relationships involved in its invention and the dissolution of these relationships as Facebook rapidly evolves from a local college venture to a global phenomenon, culminating in an intellectual property battle in which several parties fight for due credit for their role in conceiving it.  In this sense, it is aptly titled.  

Of course, it is no secret that the movie takes significant liberties with the actual story, adding obligatory party scenes (it does take place on a college campus after all) and romantic plot lines that did not actually occur.  These embellishments are not necessarily central to the film, but they are obviously there to give it a little life.  How else can one make a story about the creation of a website interesting when in reality a majority of the time was probably spent slaving away in front of a computer typing up codes, constructing algorithms, and most likely not attending parties?  

What really drives the film is Zuckerberg's character.  Whether it's fact or fiction, the Zuckerberg portrayed in the movie is, to put it delicately, an a-hole.  He is arrogant and condescending, constantly asserting his intellectual superiority over anyone who crosses his path (friend or foe) and making no attempts to be modest, while at the same time he is insecure and socially awkward.  On the other hand, he also has some rather redeeming moments in the film where you get the sense that, okay, maybe he's not a total jerk, and in the end you can't deny the fact that the guy is brilliant.  What you end up with is an intriguing character that is utterly three-dimensional -- one that you hate but simultaneously can't help but like -- and is probably more compelling than the real life Mark Zuckerberg, and for that, Jesse Eisenberg (the actor) deserves some serious accolades for his performance.  

Sidenote:  Unlike Zuckerberg, Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, the other key player in the film, is a wholly sympathetic character.  

Fact:  The movie was based on the book The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius, and Betrayal on which Saverin served as the main consultant.  

...Coincidence?

Like its main character, this movie is smart.  The dialogue is witty, the pacing is spot on, and the plot is engaging.  While the founding of Facebook and the legal aftermath that ensued is an interesting story in itself, it's the craft with which the story is told that makes this movie worth seeing.  It's an experience you can't get simply by reading about it in the newspaper.

Easy A

It was a beautiful, lazy Sunday afternoon and according to the weather channel, an ideal 80 degrees outside.  Naturally we felt like getting out of the apartment, and the obvious solution was to see a movie.  What better way to spend a bright, sunny day than in a dark, air-conditioned movie theater?  As usual, we turned to Rotten Tomatoes to see what movies were rating well.  It's usually pretty reliable when deciding whether or not a movie is worth seeing.  Eventually we settled on "Easy A."  Though neither of us had ever heard of it before, it rated an impressive 86% which boded well enough.  Despite this rating, I still had my doubts.  I have had my fill of formulaic teen comedies in my day and was preparing myself for another.

Well, it turned out to be quite entertaining.   It's Mean Girls again but with a new spin.  For anyone like me who had never heard of it before, it's about an average teenage girl (don't they all start this way?) named Olive who inadvertently makes a name for herself at school after telling an innocent white lie to her best friend about losing her virginity to a college guy.  As her new reputation quickly spreads, she is solicited by a gay student to pretend to have sex with him at a party in an attempt to fit in with the heterosexual crowd.  She concedes out of the goodness of her heart and soon finds herself being approached by other equally desperate students eager to boost their reputations around school.  One can guess where this leads.  At first she accepts her newfound status and embraces the harassment of her classmates by dressing the part and embroidering a scarlet "A" on her shirts (in the spirit of "The Scarlet Letter"which they are studying in class) but soon things get out of hand and she must somehow find a way to repair her reputation before it is irrevocably damaged.  

While it still has its share of deja vu, like Amanda Bynes' wildly religious character constantly spitting judgments at Olive or the multiple references to John Hughes films from the 80's, for the most part, the humor in this film is clever and fresh, mostly emanating from Emma Stone's performance, who I would argue is much more charismatic than Lindsay Lohan's character in Mean Girls.  There are many potentially cheesy lines in this film that were saved by her delivery. 

What I love about this film is that Olive has a genuinely good relationship with her parents and does not feel the need to hide what's going on in her life from them, and in turn, they are 100% supportive of her.  Example:

Olive's Mom:  No judgment, but you kind of look like a stripper.

Olive:  Mom!  

Olive's Father:  A high-end stripper... for governors or athletes.

I found this relationship refreshing, though it's kind of sad how this is a rarity in most films these days.

If you don't get around to watching Easy A, life will go on, and if you do end up watching it, you will likely not find yourself a changed person, but if you are looking for something that's lighthearted and entertaining to fill a lazy Sunday night, this would be a good bet.

oo,