Film Review - Adventureland

Kristen Stewart Stars in Greg Mottola's Romantic Comedy Film

Sep 17, 2009

Greg Mottola delivers another comedy gem with new film Adventureland. Read a review of the movie below

Set in Pittsburgh during the summer of 1987, coming-of-age comedy-drama Adventureland tells the story of James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg), an intelligent, if slightly geeky, high school graduate who’s planning a dream trip to Europe before taking a place as a literature student at Columbia University in New York. However, when his parents suffer an unfortunate financial setback, James’ plans for a holiday abroad are put on hold as he is forced to take a summer job at the unfashionable theme park, Adventureland, to help fund his move to university.

James embarks on a journey that takes him from the early humiliation of being lumbered with a job collecting money on the games stalls at Adventureland to finding love with fellow employee, Emily Lewin (Kristen Stewart). Emily is the sexy but slightly ambiguous girl who helps James through his first few days dealing with the dregs of society that populate the antiquated theme park.

Writer/Director Greg Mottola produces a similar group of odd-ball misfits to that which proved such a winner in cult film Superbad (2007). Thankfully though, the all too familiar gang of Jonah Hill, Seth Rogan et al are wisely overlooked and instead of opting for an out-and-out comedy romp, there is an air of sophistication to this indie offering. What starts out as a relatively run of the mill teen comedy soon develops more serious tones as the personal problems of Adventureland’s employees comes to the fore, and despite their differing personalities, each has an inner turmoil that unites them. It’s like Adventureland is a ‘get start’ programme for some of Pittsburgh’s most downtrodden adolescents.

James, an astute if slightly lonely individual, forms the sanity amidst a bunch of characters that are far from ordinary. He’s trying to make sense of his future, and finds a mutual disrespect for life in the form of Emily, whose own home is in turmoil following the recent death of her mother.

Flanking the two central performances and providing much of the comic relief are Joel (Martin Starr), a bespectacled, pipe-smoking loser, who seems to be a permanent fixture in the soul-sapping theme park; and Tommy Frigo (Matt Bush), a grossly immature former school friend of James who has a penchant for planting a fist, unsuspectingly, in James’ family jewels as part of his ‘friendly’ banter.

Big Ass Panda

Bill Hader as Bobby, the park’s manager, also puts in his usual scene-stealing performance. Along with his agreeable assistant and partner, Paulette (Kristen Wiig), Bobby spends his time keeping the less than ‘well oiled’ ship that is Adventureland ticking over, even if it involves the sort of corner cutting that could only go unpunished in a time much less safety-conscious than today. Indeed on his first day in the new job, James is briefed by Joel with the stark warning that if he loses a ‘big ass panda’, as the star prize on one of the stalls is affectionately known, then he may as well go home as this is an offence worthy of dismissal.

It is, in fact, the ‘big ass’ panda that acts as the broker in James’ summer romance, as the flirtatious Emily saves the nerdy new boy from an altercation with an angry customer, determined to get his hands on the fluffy prize.

As James and Emily’s relationship grows, as with all boy-meets-girl movie romances, there are inevitable complications, and when Emily’s secret relationship with park mechanic, Mike (Ryan Reynolds), threatens to spoil what is turning into an enjoyable summer, James is forced to confront his feelings head on.

Adventureland is a quaint romantic-comedy, it lacks any notable hilarity but it has significant charm to make it enjoyable all the same. Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart put in solid leading performances as the two muddled characters whose own teenage shortcomings pale in comparison to the adolescent-like selfishness demonstrated by their respective parents. The two form a relationship as they both try and make sense of their lives and it’s a teen romance that always retains a believability and really leaves you rooting for the pair to overcome their individual troubles and make it together (not to mention giving hope to every geeky teenager in the world).

Adventureland isn’t the kind of film that dwells incredibly on the nostalgia of the 1980’s. It’s the sort of story that is equally applicable to today’s teenagers as those from yesteryear. But there’s a sense of youthful optimism that washes over the latter stages of the movie and leaves you wistfully yearning a time when you thought your future was mapped out before you. It may have been tough at the time, but looking back… it was so much fun! As the film’s tagline puts it perfectly –

‘it was the worst job they ever imagined… and the best time of their lives’.

Verdict: 4/5

Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Bill Hader, Ryan Reynolds, Martin Starr, Matt Bush

The copyright of the article Film Review - Adventureland in Romantic Comedy Films is owned by Gareth Harding. Permission to republish Film Review - Adventureland in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.