Director: Greg Mottola (Superbad)Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart (Twilight, Into the Wild), Bill Hader (SNL, Superbad), Kristen Wiig (SNL), Ryan Reynolds (Waiting..., Van Wilder), Martin Starr (Knocked Up)
The Deal: James' grand summer of touring Europe before starting grad school at Columbia hits a roadblock when his parents have a financial setback. Now forced to find summer work, he takes a job at the only place that seems to be hiring, a local amusement park, Adventureland. His initial disappointments of summer soon vanish as he quickly falls in love with Em (Stewart), a co-worker at the park. Through the summer, James and company have eye-opening experiences about life, love, trust, and heartbreak, and by the end of the summer, amidst all of the chaos, James discovers what he truly values.
Thoughts: The marketing campaign for the film is very misleading, and if you're looking for the next Superbad, you'll be disappointed. That aside, it still is a pretty good film that hits home in these troubled economic times, despite the film being set in 1987. It's biggest strength is the level of emotion the film brings, especially with Em and James. It's the most compelling aspect of the story, and what ultimately keeps the film afloat when the film isn't firing on all cylinders.
The high emotional level of the film is due to the surprisingly good performances by the main characters. This was the first I've seen of Eisenberg, and I thought he did a wonderful job with his character. The viewer really feels his troubles as he tries to mend everything that's gone wrong with his summer. I'm very happy to see Stewart giving a performance that is far from hers in Twilight. She has real emotion here, and despite all of her character's stupid decisions, you still feel sorry for her and want to forgive her. Hader and Wiig were the comedic anchors of the film. Both were very funny as the park owners, and they really helped pick the film up since they are responsible for the only bits I found funny.
Personally, I found this film way over hyped. Critics raved about its vintage feel, subtle humor, and overall ability to cause reminiscing about their happy younger years. Here in lies the problem. For my generation, we can't make that connection. We know nothing of the 80's, as we were born in them, hence, we don't remember them. We can connect emotionally with the characters, but the film's other "strong" points can easily fly over our heads. Because of this, I found the plot to be somewhat of a roller coaster itself. There were plenty of highs were I was really enjoying it, but then there were plenty of lows were I was quite board.
Verdict: Though over-hyped by many critics, the film still does an excellent job delivering the emotion. It's well acted, and the audience can connect with the character's financial struggles due to the tough economic times we are experiencing today. ☆☆☆1/2
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