Synopsis:
A
comedy set in the summer of 1987 and centered
around a recent college grad (Eisenberg) who
takes a nowhere job at his local amusement park,
only to find it's the perfect course to get him
prepared for the real world.
The Freak's
Rating: A- : Pulling an audience into a
film can be a difficult without establishing
commonality immediately. Films fail more
often than not. Filmmakers attempt to
force the audience to relate, often turning them
off to anything or anyone in the story.
Adventureland instantly bonds us with the
characters by throwing in a couple plot lines we
all have experienced: summer jobs and summer
loves. Mix in the interest of working at
an amusement park and you have the popcorn
eaters interested.
Adventureland is put together by a Greg Mottola,
director of Superbad. As Mottola's
freshman writing gig, the film bursts with
originality. Stereotypes are present, such
as the hunk and the princess, but most
characters are genuine in their dialogue and
performances. Some would say that a comedy
doesn't need much of a style; that all it needs
to do is make you laugh. I would argue
that without a style you have no laughter.
You need cast members that can deliver lines
perfectly, writing that is sharp enough to not
overplay jokes and set designs that keep you in
the moment of the intended "stage" of the jokes.
Adventureland accomplishes all nicely. It
has always been my thought that comedy is one of
the most difficult genres of acting to do.
Perhaps one day the Academy will agree.
A top
notch casting decision surrounds an unknown lead
with wonderful supporting roles. Bill
Heder and Kristen Wiig are fantastic as the park
managers, stealing every scene they are in.
The two bounce dialogue off one another so
quickly that a repeat viewing is necessary to
catch all the one liners that whizzed right by.
Ryan Reynolds is reliable as Mike Connell, the
park's resident musician who snags every woman
he lines up. Though annoying at times, his
part is a solid piece to the puzzle.
Kristen Stewart, of Twilight
fame, is an attractive and desirable love
interest, albeit a fairly depressed looking one.
Stewart to me always looks like she just put
down a joint, something that the tabloids say
might be accurate. At least here the pot
smoking is seen as an element of the film,
giving her an excuse to look the way she does.
Where
Adventureland truly excels is the storytelling
of a summer. Though most of us will never
have a summer quite like this, we've all had
jobs where the same muzak played each and every
day and the customers were insanely annoying.
Most importantly, there was a girl/guy that we
couldn't keep our eyes off of. Teenage
lust and awkwardness is a part of our lives that
most of us are quite happy is behind us, but
seeing it pulled off so accurately here you
can't help but miss it just a little.
If
there are weak points in the film, they lie
within a few dialogue blips, a small overplayed
"wing man" role to the lead and a lack of solid
windup before the home run ending. There
are some dramatic lulls that stop the laughter
at times and could have been edited out as well.
All mistakes are forgivable and I'd be shocked
if Adventureland didn't make it into my Blu Ray
library one day, if only for a reminder of
summer days gone by.
Brian's Rating: B+
: Kristen Stewart is going to be a star.
She is not outright gorgeous, but has a demure
pretty look coupled with an amazing talent to
act that will take her far. Now I want to see
Twilight.
I was somewhat misled going into this movie that
it was going to be a comedy, however I only
laughed maybe 2 times in the movie. There were
more than 2 funny parts that are supposed to
make you laugh, but most of them fell flat.
However, despite the lack of funny in this
comedy, I still liked the movie. Romantic
comedies bug the heck out of me, but this was
not one of those. Instead, it was a story of
budding romance, similar to "Nick & Norah's
Infinite Playlist" except with college aged
kids. These types of romance films are so much
better because they show more of the raw,
awkward interactions that are actually true in
relationships. Almost all of us can identify
with this setting, even if not with the specific
circumstances.
Both the leads in this were great. A perfect
casting job for the parts. They sold the
characters, drew me in, and kept me interested
as to what was going to happen next. They make
mistakes, they make seemingly random decisions,
they share good moments, and bad moments. My
only gripe on the characters and story is the
last 30 seconds before the credits roll. I
don't want to spoil it, but I wish they were
left out so the viewer can decide for
themselves. Really makes me appreciate the
movie "Once"
(also reviewed on this site).
I would watch this movie again, and I would
recommend others to see it. I would not say it
was amazing, but it was entertaining. It worked
out perfectly for an anniversary date and a rare
chance to visit an actual theater.
Jen's Rating: B
: Entertaining movie, depicted summers as a
teen very well. I like how the sex scenes
didn't show any sex...that's the way it should
always be.
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