Her parents were really cool - Easy A (2010) Discussion

[–] BrianAwesome 12 years ago

I liked it when the dad asked the adopted black kid, "Where you from anyways?"

I got nothing.

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[–] p_banger 12 years ago

I liked it even more when the dad said "Let's Bucket List this b!tch" in front of the adopted black kid after going to such lengths to cover up a similar word that Olive had gotten sent to the office for earlier in the movie.

Of course, I didn't really like it--it just really exposed the latent hypocrisy of the parents. That and repeating themselves WAY too much.

Yes, I get that Olive and her parents agreed that she was "un-ground-able." They were probably right. Yes, I get that most of the parents' dialogue was done for the movie.

But dear God did it come off as a fake attempt at "real" parents. You know what most of those '80s movies that Olive loved had that this one didn't? Real parents--John Mahoney in "Say Anything" comes immediately to mind. Real, flawed, grounded, sensitive people trying their best to be the adults for their kids.

Were Olive's parents even the adults in this relationship? It didn't seem noticeable. And I love Tucci and Clarkson as character actors.

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[–] sporkyou 12 years ago

I wish mine were like that when I was a kid. A lot of people here say they are too 'liberal' or hands-off. Really, they weren't. They were very aware and involved in Olive's life. However, she was a mature teen. It was clear they wanted her to get used to making her own decisions and solving her own problems. That is very important in fostering confidence in kids. I could never go to my mother for advice because she would just try to control me and tell me what to do. It made me lack a lot of confidence in my own choices, even to this day.

When Olive finally confessed her situation to her mom, the mom said ok here is a story about me. Maybe this will help. She clearly could have said ok I insist you do x, y, z now. But instead she wanted her daughter to learn how to come up with her own solution.

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[–] Abercombie_n_Mitch 12 years ago

But no child is that mature at that age

I'd like to retract that statement you made, in high school I was leaps and bounds above others in maturity. I didn't get in trouble for partyting, smoking, drinking, got good grades. People assumed I was in my mid 20's because I was so mature, and my parents acted very similar to Olive's parents. My dad is known as the cool dad to my friends, he has long hair, is seen as a hippie and plays guitar, lets me do my thing, we talk when we see each other. We have a friend relationship. My mom is the same way she trusts me and lets me make my own decisions, kids need freedom to make their own decisions or else they will falter. Was being mature difficult? yeah because it was hard to relate to many friends who wanted to get high or drink, but my best friend is in the same boat his parents let him do anything he wants and he does not like smoking, drinking, and prefers to hang out with older people. Parents who are relaxed and cool about things can really make parenting all the better, but I'm going to say it is like the chicken-egg theory of which came first. Do parents have to get up tight when their children are bad or are their children already bad. I was always mature so I don't know if my parents would have acted differently, but looking around at my other friends their parents are nightmares and I get excessive stories about how verbally abusive their parents are and look how they end up, one has been in and out of rehab for the past 4 years while the other takes any opportunity she can to get drunk, smoke weed, and get boyfriends. Parent's like Olive's aren't bad at all but I think its important to take into account the kid, Olive didn't need discipline so they didn't need to be disciplinarians

follow on Instagram. @abercombie_n_mitch

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[–] pva3232 9 years ago

There is no one way to raise a child.
I think Olive was VERY mature for her age and they did GREAT job raising her to be responsible and wise beyond anyone else in HS except Todd.
It worked for her and their household.
Isn't that the goal? To raise responsible mature functioning members of society?

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[–] freebird1987 9 years ago

I wish my parents were like hers.

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