Spotlight: Emma Stone

It isn't often that we get a second chance as viewers. I'm not talking about re-makes, which usually feel like we are being unconstitutionally subjected to double jeopardy (not to be confused with Ashley Judd's Double Jeopardy, torture enough in original form). Remember Lindsay Lohan? No, she's not dead, but you've probably exiled her to your pop cultural blind spot by this point. She's the actress equivalent of a meth lab explosion...but not too long ago she was poised as America's next sweetheart because America can't go more than 6 months without a new sweetheart. At her age, America is starting to look a little desperate.

I always though Lindsay was overrated. She was good in Mean Girls and did show promise as a comedic actress, but overall really didn't do it for me. Maybe I was just holding out for the next gen model, the one where they got the bugs worked out (stupid shoplifting coke whore glitch!). As it usually doesn't work out with me, waiting for 2.0 is starting to look like a good decision.

Emma Stone's first real exposure came in 2007's Superbad (though she was in an episode of Lucky Louie). Not to spoil a future post, but the movie was one of the funniest of the year and besides giving birth to the legend of McLovin' gave us a classic "hey, who's that chick" moment. But this wasn't a walk in the park. Emma payed her dues having to serve as Jonah Hill's love interest. I know, girls like funny guys. Jonah Hill's not that funny. All of Monty Python wasn't that funny.

But since most of us (not even me) don't keep a spreadsheet on actors to keep an eye on and have to rely on our faulty human memories, I had a "hey, that's what's her name" moment the following year. That would be while watching the underrated "The Rocker," Rainn Wilson's attempt at cashing in on Dwight Shrute. Underrated thanks to Stone and a really good performance by Josh Gad. Who? He's the fat kid who hasn't been in much of note since but showed incredible comedic delivery. Seriously, watch it. Anyway, I now knew  Stone's name.

Next, she made The House Bunny with Anna Faris, which seems like something I would have seen. But I didn't. I did see 2009's Zombieland and, look at that, there's that girl again. Another supporting role, but a supporting role in one of the most fun films of the decade. And she got a bit of a promotion to Jesse Eisenberg's love interest. Excuse me, Academy Award nominee Jesese Eisenberg. Girls like sensitive funny guys, right? (Bonus cool Zombieland link.)

Then last year she finally gets a film of her own: Easy A. How big a success was it? It inspired this very post that you are reading now. Right now! Stone carries a pretty good film (with help from funny turns by Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson as her parents) and proves she should be considered a legit star. It's her Mean Girls. She plays one of those unrealistically smart and funny high school girls, but with enough charm that you start to fantasize about being her classmate in the way that the best 80s teen movie characters managed to get into your head and distort your perception of the real world and ultimately lead you down the road of disappointment. But, you know, in a good way.

Which all leads me to having to admit I am now excited about Stone as Gwen Stacey in next year's The Amazing Spider-Man. Not to mention a Spidey played by Andrew Garfield, who was probably 2010's actor of the year for me. And not to mention it's being directed by (500) Days of Summer's Marc Webb. Actually, now I'm going to pissed if it's not great. And not in a good way.