Easy a (the Movie) V.S. Scarlet Letter (the Book)
Olive Pendergast is an average high school student - not one of the super-popular girls, but not a loser either. She gets good grades, comes from a happy home; her life is as easy-peasy as any teen's could get. Then a little lie she tells her best friend spreads through the school as white hot rumors naturally do. At first she enjoys the extra attention, and uses it to help out a friend. But of course, things go south, Olive becomes the school outcast, and she goes the distance to set right the things she can and move ahead with her life.
I had been told that this movie was a modern retelling of The Scarlet Letter, and so I waited until after I read the book to watch the movie. After all, I only had one book/movie to do to complete the Books to Movie Challenge! Well, while I thought this movie was pretty good, and certainly had some very funny scenes - it is definitely not a retelling of The Scarlet Letter. I will say that it is influenced by it, and carries some of the same themes - in fact discusses them openly in the movie - it is not nearly the same thing. (Note to students reading this and thinking you'll just watch the movie for your book reports - Don't do it. You'll look like a fool.) So - Movie/Book Spoilers will start now:
There are many similarities: The main character, a female, makes a poor choice by society's standards, and needs to live with the consequences. A particularly religious/spiritual group is hell-bent on delivering those consequences. The main character becomes an outcast, and deals with the situation with her head held high. She is also very intelligent, and attempts to do good unto others despite her social standing. Also, they both wear red A's sewn onto their tops.
The differences are also aplenty: Olive is not pregnant, and in fact, has never had sex. She has a family support system (and hands down the best movie parents EVER). Hester's Red A stands for "adultery" while Olive's stands for, um, "awesome"?
I had been told that this movie was a modern retelling of The Scarlet Letter, and so I waited until after I read the book to watch the movie. After all, I only had one book/movie to do to complete the Books to Movie Challenge! Well, while I thought this movie was pretty good, and certainly had some very funny scenes - it is definitely not a retelling of The Scarlet Letter. I will say that it is influenced by it, and carries some of the same themes - in fact discusses them openly in the movie - it is not nearly the same thing. (Note to students reading this and thinking you'll just watch the movie for your book reports - Don't do it. You'll look like a fool.) So - Movie/Book Spoilers will start now:
There are many similarities: The main character, a female, makes a poor choice by society's standards, and needs to live with the consequences. A particularly religious/spiritual group is hell-bent on delivering those consequences. The main character becomes an outcast, and deals with the situation with her head held high. She is also very intelligent, and attempts to do good unto others despite her social standing. Also, they both wear red A's sewn onto their tops.
The differences are also aplenty: Olive is not pregnant, and in fact, has never had sex. She has a family support system (and hands down the best movie parents EVER). Hester's Red A stands for "adultery" while Olive's stands for, um, "awesome"?