The summer is cooling down and the back-to-school blues have put people in heat for a good movie. If you are getting nostalgic for your high school years, then grab a few friends and go see “Easy A.” Despite the movie’s title, the film will take your mind off the grades and into the gutter just in time for IHUM reading.

The movie follows the teenage chronicles of one Olive (Emma Stone). She is the generic smart school girl who’s never done anything wrong and generally goes through life unnoticed. Soon a rumor goes around about her losing her virginity, branding her as the school trollop. However, instead of quelling these rumors, Olives begins selling stories about having sex with the school’s charity cases so they might gain social status. In turn, she also faces scrutiny from the Christian students on campus and supposedly finds her life modeling that of Hester Prynne’s from “The Scarlet Letter.” I personally didn’t fully buy the Hester Prynne metaphor, but it works for the sake of the movie.

While the plot may read like an overbearing tale of the trials and tribulations of some high school outcast, the film was anything but. Overall, “Easy A” is more humorous than dramatic. Whereas “The Scarlet Letter” focuses on the harsh scrutiny and ostracism Hester Prynne faces, “Easy A” focuses more on the potency that white lies about sexual promiscuity have on horny, insecure high school kids.

Don’t get me wrong. The film gets dramatic. Yet even the movie’s most heart-wrenching moments are far overshadowed by the frequent one-liners that fill the script. In fact, the film is so charming, humorous and quirky it is sometimes hard to properly empathize with the main character when necessary.

None of the scenes are ever as heavy as Hawthorne’s writing, but they can be equally educational. We learn that reading is more important than watching Demi Moore take a bath – not to mention butter knives are clearly a gateway into far more destructive behavior.

Still, the movie’s humor doesn’t solely thrive off its amusing script. Instead, it’s the colorful and believable cast of characters that really make the movie. First of all, Emma Stone’s portrayal of Olive is completely winning. So much so that it’s a bit of a reach to imagine someone so attractive and witty could be “the dorky, invisible girl” of her high school in the first place.

Some of the other characters aren’t as much of a stretch. Amanda Bynes plays the preachy pastor’s daughter who leads the flock of self-righteous Christians into shunning Olive’s behavior. Penn Badgley plays the corny yet lovable mascot. It’s only a slight verge off course from his usual role of the dapper, intellectual love interest. Lisa Kudrow plays the useless guidance counselor who dishes out more problems than advice.

However, the best characters have to be Patricia Clarkson and Stanley Tucci as Olive’s parents. Clarkson’s mom is an easygoing free spirit who discloses way too much information about her sex life, while Tucci’s dad is as bitingly sarcastic as he is cerebral.

So altogether, it’s a solid film. Despite lack of literary merit and casting someone way too hot in the “outcast role” (this is Hollywood, after all), the film’s only flaw is being too funny to be taken as more than it is. So if your first set of papers and problem sets has got you down, you can be sure to get at least one “Easy A” this fall.