Review of Adventureland (2009) by Alexandrion D — 04 Aug 2011

Though this was written and directed by Greg Mottola, the same guy who made Superbad, and has apparently similar subject matter, this film has a completely different tone and feel to it. It's a much more modest, down-to-earth movie. As a result, it's less hilarious, but it also feels more realistic and easy to relate to.

The movie follows the summer of a young man (Jesse Eisenberg) who just graduated from college with a degree in liberal arts and has to take a terrible summer job at an amusement park as he saves up for grad school (huh, sounds a little bit like me and everyone I know). The movie gets some laughs out of the awfulness of his job, but focuses mainly on his relationship with a pretty girl who also works at the park (Kristen Stewart).

Maybe it's just because the main characters' lives are pretty similar to my own, but I ended up feeling very invested in the characters and caring what happened to them. Jesse Eisenberg gives a good everynerd performance; like Michael Cera, I find he can win my sympathy just by standing there. Kristen Stewart is pretty, but she really does just have one facial expression, doesn't she? I guess it's a testament either to her performance or to the writing, then, that I cared about her character even though she did not change facial expressions. Martin Starr is very funny as the main character's even nerdier and more unfortunate friend. Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig just show up to provide minor comic relief in a couple of scenes. Ryan Reynolds is ok, but actually doesn't do all that much in the movie.

It's not a technically remarkable movie, and nothing in the story is going to surprise you that much. It's often amusing but rarely hilarious. People expecting another Superbad will be disappointed, but it's very much a worthwhile movie. It creates characters you can care about, and you end up caring about the story because it matters to them.