Review of Adventureland (2009) by Aaron A — 26 May 2012

Joel: [after getting hit in the head with a corn-dog] That was a whole corndog!

Synopsis: Unable to afford the European vacation he'd dreamed of, recent college grad James Brennan reluctantly takes a gig at a local amusement park, only to learn that the dead-end job is, in fact, excellent preparation for the real world.

Superbad in 2007 was an excellent comedy, though raunchy and full of slap-stick, the film was a focused examination of the coming of age of two friends who used each other as a crutch to get through their adolescence, and an authentic portrayal of the only things on the minds of young male students, Booze and girls. The picture was a huge success, so it's no surprise that director Greg Mottola would again turn to the universality of the youth experiences we all seem to know and recollect so fondly.

Although Superbad was more focused on slap-stick, raunch, and the theme of the fear of facing the real world. Adventureland tackles a gentler side of youth experiences, love. Perhaps more appropriately the film tackles the subject of one's first REAL love. The type of love that produces a magic that most of us, or maybe even all of us, will never know again. Through slightly hazy cinematography representing our memories, Adventureland also deals with the complications that tore apart such relationships such as naivety and ignorance, symptoms that are only remedied with the experience of other relationships and the absence of youth.

Adventureland is one of the best comedies of 2009. Sweet and gentle, yet also focused and charming, the film is a great companion piece to Superbad's raunchy edge; and may even be superior.