Nobody is going to put John Cusack into a romantic role opposite his sister Joan Cusack -- God, I hope not -- but  they still have great film chemistry. Their phone interactions in “Grosse Pointe Blank” are classic, especially when Marcella (Joan) cradles the phone while she works to burn down their office. The movie is all about John’s hired assassin Martin Blank and Minnie Driver’s Debi Newberry – his too-cool former girlfried - but Joan is a scene stealer when she manifests Jekyll and Hyde phone personalities when switching lines between a weapons dealer and a recipe sharer. Here are the great four:

1. Grosse Pointe Blank (1997) – Joan plays office manager Marcella for paid assassin Martin Blank (John), convincing the boss to go to his 10-year high school reunion while he’s in Detroit to do a hit. ✰✰✰✰✰
2. Sixteen Candles (1984) – The Cusacks just have bit parts as geeks in this film and they don't meet onscreen, so you're watching this movie for something else. Still, keep your eyes open for the young siblings and their background appearances in a variety of head gear. ✰✰✰✰
3. Say Anything (1989)– I don’t want sell anything, buy anything or process anything, but I do want to watch over and over, as John (as Lloyd Dobler) says that phrase in various permutations, trying to win Ione Skye’s Diane Court over and over. John's sister plays (whaddaya know) Lloyd’s sister. ✰✰✰✰✰
4. High Fidelity (2000)– One of the most successful cases ever of moving a movie setting from one country to another _- in this case moving from the England of Nick Hornby’s amazing book, to the Chicago of John Cusack’s world. John picked the music, including my first intro to the wonderful band Belle and Sebastian. Joan is mostly notable here for chewing John out. ✰✰✰✰✰
   

I have not yet seen Cradle Will Rock, Martian Child or War, Inc. – three other Cusack & Cusack vehicles. Anyone have words of wisdom about any of those?

“Easy A” doesn’t wear its literary pedigree on its sleeve. Nope, it’s stitched prominently on its revealing bodice. This catchy update of “The Scarlet Letter” never gets tired of reminding you what Great American Novel it's based on, right down to the big, red A on actress Emma Stone’s chest. You can’t miss it really, unless (as sometimes happens) her décolletage distracts your attention. That’s my biggest quibble about “Easy A”: It’s based on the premise that Olive (Stone’s character) was something of an invisible teen until an unseemly rumor about her virginity took flight. Stone, especially with auburn hair, is way too attractive to have been the wallflower. Oh, well. I suffered through the improbability of it all. 

That notwithstanding, I think this is best of the subgenre of classic tales moved to high school – well, the best since “Clueless” set the standard and seemingly spawned the whole genre in 1995. That movie, by the way, never felt compelled  to tell you it was based on a Jane Austen novel, “Emma.”

In “Easy A” we’re in beautiful Ojai (near Santa Barbara), instead of 17th century Salem, so a few changes are necessary. For one thing, those deemed insufficiently virtuous aren’t dunked in a pond. Given how “Easy A” exploits Emma Stone’s, ahem, physical assets, it’s a little surprising they didn’t go for a pond and a wet T-shirt. But instead of pond or pillory, her character Olive gets detention and has to clean the cafeteria and bathroom.

Stone’s Olive casually dumps quirky, offhanded punch lines (like a good episode of “Gilmore Girls”) and moves on.  Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson, as her parents, are the kind of parents are lots of fun onscreen, but can be pretty embarrassing in real life. Still, I love watching them devote their comedic talents to a single letter (T, not Olive’s A), as they try to guess the epithet that got their daughter sent to the principal.

“Easy A” honors its cinematic ancestors, as well as Hawthorne’s novel, referring to and updating classic scenes from “Sixteen Candles,” “The Breakfast Club,” “Say Anything,” “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” and (huh?) “Can’t Buy Me Love.” It also takes sly digs at Demi Moore’s film version of  “The Scarlet Letter.”

These five aren't the kind of film I saw in high school. Back then, English teachers showed us movies of "Macbeth," "Fahrenheit 451," and even a cartoon version of "Animal Farm," knowing not everyone was actually going to read the book. Likewise, in “Easy A” (No. 4 below), Thomas Haden Church’s Mr. Griffin is frustrated by modern students who think watching Demi Moore’s “Scarlet Letter” is a passable substitute for reading Hawthorne's classic. 

These movies aren't movie versions of classics, they are reimagined modern versions of classics, each one set in a high school, in order to appeal to tweens, teens and Chick Flick Guys. Students who try to watch any of these as a substitute for classwork are even more clueless than Alicia Silverstone's Cher Horowitz in our first pick. 

1.  Clueless (1995) – The best of the category. Amy Heckerling’s “Clueless” is so good, it made me read the book it was based on: Jane Austen’s “Emma.” Sharp writing, clever costuming, perfect casting and cheeky social commentary (like Austen's original) make “Clueless” priceless. But you also have to blame this film's success for spawning the lesser updates below. ✰✰✰✰✰
   
2.  10 Things I Hate About You (1999) -  Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles play outcasts who are made for each other, if only they can get past those 10 things. It is based, need we say, on Shakespeare’s “Taming of the Shrew,” but has a better soundtrack. I’m tempted to say “Shrew” was the first version of  the I Hate You, I Love You sub-genre. However, knowing that Shakespeare stole many of his plots, I'm not so sure. ✰✰✰✰
   
3.   She’s the Man (2006) – Amanda Bynes. How can you enjoy an actor so obnoxious? Actually, I can't, but I can enjoy some of her films. There are a handful of enjoyable moments in this Shakespeare knock-off, where a teen takes her brother's spot in boarding school so she can play soccer. A version of one of Shakespeare's more difficult comedies, “Twelfth Night.” ✰✰✰
   
4. Easy A (2010) – Emma Stone’s Olive is no Puritan, but she’s an updated Hester Prynne, right down to the big red A she wears on her significantly-bigger than A-sized chest. Ojai, near Santa Barbara, makes a more picturesque backdrop than Salem, and in high school, the bad kids don't get pilloried or dunked. They have to clean the cafeteria and the bathrooms. ✰✰✰✰✰
   
5. She’s All That (1999) – Shaw’s “Pygmalion” is the story of trying to turn raw material into a real woman. So is “My Fair Lady.”  The story is good material to start with -- "My Fair Lady" is the classic update of the classic -- but “She’s All That “ is a substandard version. ✰✰✰