Olive Penderghast, a witty and self-aware 17-year-old high school student in Ojai, California, narrates her story into her webcam, recounting a series of events that drastically changed her life.
It all begins when Olive invents a lie to avoid spending the weekend on a camping trip with her best friend Rhiannon Abernathy and Rhiannon’s eccentric hippie parents. Instead of telling the truth, Olive claims she has a date with a college boy. In reality, she spends the weekend alone at home, listening repeatedly to Natasha Bedingfield’s Pocketful of Sunshine from a musical greeting card sent by her grandmother.
The following Monday, Rhiannon presses Olive for details about her alleged date. Under pressure, Olive fabricates another lie, claiming she lost her virginity to the boy. Their conversation is overheard by Marianne Bryant, a devout Christian student known for leading the school’s church group. The story spreads rapidly throughout the school, and Olive soon becomes the subject of scandalous gossip. Marianne and her friends take it upon themselves to “save” Olive from her perceived immoral behavior.
Olive’s reputation as the school tramp grows overnight, leading her to confide the truth to her gay classmate Brandon, who is frequently bullied for his sexual orientation. Brandon suggests they stage a fake sexual encounter at an upcoming party to convince others that he is straight. Olive agrees to help, and their loud, over-the-top performance convinces the crowd, boosting Brandon’s social standing.
The fallout from this fake encounter causes Olive and Rhiannon to argue. Frustrated by the judgment she faces, Olive decides to lean into her new reputation instead of fighting it. She begins dressing provocatively, adopting a bold persona, and stitches a red “A” onto her clothing as a nod to Hester Prynne, the protagonist of The Scarlet Letter, which her English class is studying.
Soon, other unpopular boys at school approach Olive, begging her to lie about having had sexual encounters with them in exchange for small gifts, like gift cards. Olive reluctantly agrees, turning their requests into a form of social currency. As her fabricated exploits grow in number, her reputation spirals further out of control.
Meanwhile, Marianne’s boyfriend, Micah, contracts chlamydia from an affair with Mrs. Griffith, the school guidance counselor. To protect Mrs. Griffith, Micah falsely claims Olive gave him the sexually transmitted infection. Because Olive admires Mrs. Griffith’s husband, Mr. Griffith, who is also her favorite teacher, she reluctantly takes the blame to prevent the truth from destroying their marriage.
The escalating rumors and scrutiny intensify when Marianne’s church group begins actively harassing Olive, with Rhiannon now among their ranks. Feeling increasingly isolated, Olive agrees to go on a date with Anson, one of Rhiannon’s crushes, hoping for a reprieve from the stress. However, the date goes poorly when Anson offers her money to actually sleep with him instead of just pretending they did. Disgusted, Olive storms out.
Amidst the chaos, Olive reconnects with Todd, her childhood crush and the school mascot. Todd reassures her that he doesn’t believe the rumors, recalling how Olive once lied for him when he wasn’t ready for his first kiss years ago. Inspired by his support, Olive decides to confront the people she has helped by lying for them, asking them to admit the truth. However, none of them are willing to give up their newfound popularity.
Olive then approaches Mrs. Griffith, urging her to come clean about her affair with Micah. Mrs. Griffith refuses, dismissing Olive’s concerns and claiming no one would believe her anyway. Infuriated, Olive informs Mr. Griffith about his wife’s affair, prompting him to separate from Mrs. Griffith.
Feeling lost, Olive seeks advice from her supportive mother, who encourages her to take control of the narrative. Olive devises a plan to set the record straight. At a school pep rally, she performs a flashy song-and-dance number to draw attention and directs everyone
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