Adventureland

Movie advertising can be very misleading. When you see the previews for Adventureland, you are lead to believe that you are going to see a teen comedy along the lines of Superbad. But, instead you get a sweet coming of age drama with some nicely comedic, character acting. It’s a good film, just not what you’d expect.

The reason I chose to go see this film is that my brother was visiting from out of town and I wanted to find a film that we’d both enjoy. My brother worked at Frontier Village in San Jose, California, just out of High School in the seventies, and I work at Universal Studios, so I thought we’d both be able to connect with the subject matter. But after watching the film, we had to agree that it wasn’t very much like our experience.

Jesse Eisenberg plays James, a young man who has just graduated from college. He was supposed to go backpacking in Europe before starting Grad School, but his father got demoted at work with a pay cut and was unable to help him financially. James must now get a job or lose his chance of continuing in college.

James has never had to work before, other than mowing a neighbor’s yard, so job hunting is a real challenge. Eventually he realizes that the only place that will hire him is Adventureland, a run down, dilapidated, amusement park. Jesse Eisenberg is endearing as James and the rest of the cast is rounded out with some very nice performances. Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig are very funny, but understated, as the Amusement Park managers. Ryan Reynolds is good as the maintenance man who all the guys envy for his Rock Star cool and way with the ladies. Martin Starr is the pipe smoking, Russian Lit major, who is still trying to refine his pick-up lines. And Kristen Stewart is Em, the mysterious girl who invites James into her world, much to his amazement.

This film is not a raunchy teen sex comedy. It is a gentle, humorous look at the lives of a group of young adults trying to figure things out. The look and feel of the 80’s is genuine and the period music only enhances the picture. If you go to this film, knowing ahead of time that this is not a raucous comedy, I think you will really enjoy it. It wasn’t what we expected, but we both really liked the ride.

Rating: First Run An E Ticket ride