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Greg Motolla's Adventureland is one of those teen-comedies that actually has heart to it. There are so many elements here we've seen before in other films (nerdy hero, love triangle, weed), but Mottola, who directed the hilarious Superbad and the recent sci-fi homage, Paul, adds a certain honesty and sweetness to the subject matter. This is a film about a teenager's world, and it's not so bright and happy as many would expect. There is pain in Adventureland, and that's one of the film's most strongest assets. It plays on the emotions teenagers go through, and that very element makes it a winner in my eyes.
The film is set in 1987. James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg) has made plans with his friends to fly to Europe after he graduates from college, but he is left in disappointment when his father loses his job. To make ends meet, he must work at Adventureland, a downmarket amusement park with a whole range of malfunctioning young people. Also working at the park is Em (Kristen Stewart), whom James takes an immediate liking to. However, Em is somehow connected to the park’s maintenance man, Mike (Ryan Reynolds).
Mottola wrote the screenplay for the film, and has stated that the film is inspired by his own experiences during the 80s. Adventureland does follow a fairly familiar narrative, but Mottola transcends it to a truly remarkable level. The dialogue is witty as ever, and the constant references to 80s pop culture adds to the humour. The film is absolutely hilarious, and it rarely ever ventures into the raunchy side of things like most teen comedies do. Mottola also has a great compassion for his characters. Most of the central characters are the underdog types - nerdy, crazy, or just plain socially awkward. After spending time with these characters, you really start to care about them. There are minor characters who also add a great deal of enjoyment to the film. The managers of the park, Bobby (Bill Hader) and Paulette (Kristen Wiig), are total caricatures and lend so much weight to the humour.
At the heart of it though, Adventureland is a coming-of-age story for James. Throughout the film, he deals with all kinds of emotions, particularly pain. There's a sad honesty about the film's portrayal of pain, and I think audiences, especially teenagers will respond to it. After all, pain is something every young person goes through during that time of their lives. Adventureland also has a unique sweetness about it - it's a very cute film in a lot of ways, with the lovely romance blossoming between James and Em, and all the friends they make at Adventureland. There's both a feel-good and a truly painful side to this film, and Mottola truly brings a nice touch to this with his writing.
The casting is fine, with Jesse Eisenberg really delivering an impressive performance as James. I never really understood why so many have called Eisenberg the "Michael Cera clone". I reckon he has a lot more range than Cera, and there's a great amount of charm to the way he plays James - he doesn't act like a complete total nerd in the film. Kristen Stewart has been a copping a lot due to the Twilight films, with many haters claiming she as no emotion and that she can't act. Obviously these people have not seen Adventureland. Stewart is absolutely beautiful and nuanced as Em. She definitely delivers the best performance in the film. There's definitely some emotional tension between her character and James, and Stewart pulls this off perfectly. Better yet, she shares a great deal of chemistry with Eisenberg, making them a perfect couple. Ryan Reynolds plays his character impressively. It's easy to assume his character, Mike, is the 'bad guy', but Reynolds plays him as a good man doing a bad thing. Bill Hader and Kristin Wiig are also terrific as Adventureland's managers, and Martin Starr brings a sweetness to his performance of Joel, another employee of the park.
The creation of the 80s era is flawless, with a relevant soundtrack and flashy costumes. Everything has a retro-vibe to it, and much of it is quite reminiscent of Superbad. The film is paced well, and the editing is truly unique in certain areas, particularly when the characters get high. Weed and drugs are definitely featured in Adventureland a lot, and brings that fun and teen feel to the film.
Adventureland is an almost perfect coming-of-age film. It's hilarious, it's sweet, and it's also sad. There's a lot of emotions running around in this film, and that's something we don't get these days in teen comedies. Adventureland has heart, and proves to most Twilight haters that Kristen Stewart can act. Yes, she's not that great in the Twilight saga, but give her a chance in this - she's pretty stunning.
9/10
