Movie: “Adventureland”
Stars: 4.5 (out of five)
Rating: R for language, drug use and sexual references
Director: Greg Mottola
Release Date: April 3, 2009
In life, there are moments that capture us and define who we are. These moments are often obscure and unnoticeable, but they capture us and reveal our true intentions and even our future. Even in a trashy amusement park, these are the moments that the protagonist of “Adventureland,” James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg) longs to find and capture as his journey toward adulthood is staved off because of finances and the inevitability of reality.
Beginning in 1987 college graduate James Brennan has hit a brick wall, financially. In order to get into graduate school, he must find a job to sustain himself throughout the semester, as Reaganomics has taken an economic toll on his father’s income. This leads the poor James to “Adventureland,” a run-down theme park run by husband and wife team Paulette and Bobby (Apatow-stalwarts Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig) where he meets an assortment of quirky characters that will, inevitably, lead to a summer none of them will forget.
Among the people he meets is Em, played by “Twilight’s” Kristen Stewart, whose depth far exceeds genre conventions as a teenage lover. Their relationship quickly becomes a joy to watch as their conversations reveal brokenness and a humanness that eludes most teenage comedies. Their budding, often turbulent relationship is made up of small moments that showcase the actors’ capability and range. Stewart especially commands the screen and makes Em much more than a simple broken character. She adds dimension and a haunting beauty to her character.
On the other hand, Jesse Eisenberg is given the more challenging role of carrying an entire film, and it takes him a few scenes to catch his stride as he comes across as an imitator of Michael Cera (“Juno”), lamenting in awkwardness and long pauses. However, that is a small quibble as he becomes a quietly forceful character who reeks with existential urgency. He doesn’t know what he wants in his life, but he won’t give up trying to figure it out.
Also in fine form is Ryan Reynolds playing Mike Connell, a faded rock star with an unhappy marriage. Surprisingly, there is nothing snarky or lascivious within his performance and he succeeds in bringing his character to life rather than making him a foil for bad jokes and inhuman villainy.
The biggest surprise in “Adventureland” is not necessarily the moments captured, but the simplicity of the characters and their authenticity. From James to Em to Mike and the great supporting cast, writer/director Greg Mottola has perhaps pulled situations and personalities from his past. He should be commended for creating a tender romantic drama with discarded teenagers and their emotional complexity that explodes with color, both in personality and in technicality.
“Adventureland” captures these simple moments with kindness and compassion as James and his friends struggle for meaning in a dead-end existence, wrought with poor parenting, a dirty dead-end job and an affinity for drug abuse. It all leads to something we don’t expect, but life is always like that.
That is what “Adventureland” is. Ordinary moments shine and contribute to the story, which is soul bearing, honest, often heartbreaking and always full of the possibility of hope.
