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Starring
Jesse Eisenberg
Kristen Stewart
Ryan Reynolds
Martin Starr
Kristen Wiig
Directed by
Greg Mottola
Final Grade:
D+Rated R for language, drug use and sexual references
a review by Heith Carnahan
The Rundown
James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg) is about to graduate college and set out on his European tour with his best friends. But his family's declining financial situation has put his big trip on ice, and he's informed rather unceremoniously one night that he'll have to get... gasp... a summer job.
After putting in due diligence, he realizes there are very few jobs available to him and decides to apply at Adventureland, a shabby amusement park not far from where he lives. There he meets Emily (Kristen Stewart), with whom he is immediately taken, and the summer adventures take off from there.
No adventure here
The year is 1987, but for some odd reason, most of the clothing, decor, and even automobiles appear in the style of the mid-70s. That, unfortunately, the was the second thing that grabbed my attention about Adventureland. The first thing I noticed was how annoying most of the characters were; in these kinds of films (that I like to call Indie Attempts, due to their mostly failed attempts at emulating quality indie films), the main characters tend to speak in very low tones, but they also speak in stutters and with blinding speed -- almost as though doing so gives their dialogue an air of candor it might not otherwise have. The unintended result is an obvious, almost pathetic look-how-indie-we-are flag-waving campaign that won't wind up convincing many people at all.
It'll be easy for new Kristen Stewart fans to look to Adventureland to hold them over until the Twilight sequel comes out later this year, but they need not bother. Her part in this film isn't anything extraordinary; not that her monotone would likely do much for it in any case, but it is puzzling how flavorless the object of the main character's affection is in this script. While everyone else in the park is lusting after the saucy Lisa P (Margarita Levieva), James, for the most part, manages to keep his sites set on Em despite all common sense to the contrary. Em, as a character, is keeping some pretty consistent company in the film, plodding about with other equally boring characters like Connell, head of park maintenance and probably the least exciting role on Ryan Reynolds' ever-growing resume; Joel (Martin Starr), the very epitome of the one-note character; and Frig (Matthew Bush), whose defining quality seems to be punching James in the junk at random times for no obvious reason. Also, glancing at the cast list for Adventureland, one finds "Molly Hatchet T-Shirt Guy," and my review is, at this point, nearly complete.
There are a few good laughs, mostly thanks to SNL cast members Bill Hader and the always-reliable Kristen Wiig, and if only the script revolved around these two Adventureland park managers, we might have something worth sitting through.
The Bottom Line
Skip it. Even screaming Twilight fans won't take anything away from Adventureland, and Kristen Stewart is, unforunately, about the most appealing thing about the film.
-- Heith Carnahan, heith @ movie-popcorn.com