==Shed a Light on Love==

Which Mottola definitely did, after his box office hit “Superbad”, Mottola returned with his own script which strived to be an entertaining, funny, wanderlust and heartfelt film about a recent college graduate, who due to some bad luck, is forced to take a shitty summer job at a themepark; Adventureland.

The film starts out slow, and many of the scenes featured in the trailer are right there at the beginning of the movie, you get a general sense f who the characters are and why the main, James, must take this terrible job. The script is often sharp and funny, and the characters are believable even though most of them are very two-dimensional.

For the most of the film, it goes from being funny to very funny, thanks to the in-between antics of Bill Hader and Kristin Wigg, who steal the show once they get on-screen. The rest of the cast is very serious and emotional (with exception of Matt Bush’s nutsack-punching Frigo). The tightrope between drama and comedy is a difficult thing to perform and many of this movie’s drama scenes come across very forced. While Mottola and Eisenberg show the awkwardness of the main character to an almost great effect. Eisenberg is right at home with this kind of character, he also managed to direct the entire cast in giving realistic performances.

From the directing, to cinematography and even the editing, it all comes together as a well-made film. As with all films, it’s the acting that ties the whole thing together in the end. Kristen Stewart gives the best performance of all, balancing humor, sadness and anxiety well, easily creating the deepest character in the film. Jesse Eisenberg gives a strong performance and made me forget he was actually ‘acting’. The rest of the cast do a good job too, making the entire film feeling very realistic.

Yet the movie can’t escape the fact that it’s a fantasy. For a guy, who’s still a virgin and has so much trouble with relationships, awkwardlytalking about classic novels and exes on dates, he’s instantly involved with two beautiful girls who are obviously outside of his reach. His character does experience conflict, yes, there’s plenty, but everything works out just fine in the end. In terms of the plot it’s a predictable movie and it goes the route pretty much all the other take too. He doesn’t exactly get what he wanted in the beginning, but surprise suprirse, at the end of the summer he finds what he really wanted (but didn’t know) all along.

It is through what should've been the worst summer of his life that he finds the path his life is going to take.

Adventureland manages to be a funny, entertaining but shallow film, that has you laughing and feeling for it’s characters, and at the same time has you wondering about all of the film’s missed opportunities to be anything but.. forgettable.


5,7/10

Coming-of-age is an interesting genre, as it often attempts a delicate balancing act of drama, comedy, and romance. This film certainly fits that description. In this case, the comedy is probably the strongest element, though it arrives primarily via the veteran supporting cast rather than the leads. Martin Starr, Bill Hader, and Kristen Wiig are all hilarious, often times performing what amounts to stand alone sketch comedy throughout the film ([spoiler]the unrefrigerated corn dog bit was a highlight[/spoiler]). Additionally, the film gets plenty of comedic mileage out of the budget amusement park setting.

The romance and drama elements of the film are very intertwined. Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart share plenty of cute scenes, and I think they work well together as a somewhat awkward, unconventional pairing (the fact that they later starred together in _American Ultra_ suggests that they may enjoy working together and have some natural chemistry, which is always nice to see). The dramatic elements to the romantic story are a little bit tougher to pull off. Unlike your typical rom-com, this film's romantic conflict doesn't come from some benign misunderstanding or "will-they won't-they" element, but rather incorporates some more serious drama. While these elements are perfectly serviceable, they didn't quite mesh with the rest of the story for me. This really stood out toward the end of the film, as it took some predictable turns, weaving toward a cliché finale. It also felt somewhat rushed and unearned, as the dramatic fallout of characters' bad decisions was relatively short-lived, being quickly swept aside to make way for an optimistic conclusion.


As a side note, I always find it interesting when plot threads are seemingly left hanging. In this case, the lack of resolution, or even acknowledgement of [spoiler]Mr. Brennan's presumed alcohol problem[/spoiler] definitely stood out. Makes me wonder if there was ever the thought to add something more there, or if it was always going to be a silent acknowledgement.

Mottola strikes one from the heart.

It's 1987 and James Brennan is home for the summer after earning himself a degree in Renaissance Studies. Which unsurprisingly isn't any use to him when trying to gain employment in this part of Pittsburg. Which is now a problem since his planned trip to Europe has fell by the wayside due to his father's enforced unemployment. So thus he finds himself working at Adventureland, a rusting time warp amusement park where only odd balls and idiots appear to frequent. But here James will make friends, learn life lessons and maybe just find true love?.

Be under no illusions, Adventureland is no teen sex comedy reliant on crude jokes and cringe slap-stick moments to get its humour. Which as it's brought to us by the director of Superbad may come as something of a surprise. Greg Mottola is the said director, who here has crafted an ode to his own teenage strife's concerning first jobs and first loves. Though not really offering anything new as such, I mean the old "summer I came of age" film is hardly new is it? Mottola has however managed to blend youthful spirits with a serious kink and nicely cloak it in a bittersweet 80s haze.

Some parts are clearly aimed at the guffaw teen viewers, awkward erections and friends who punch you in the testicles - tee hee hee, Adventureland feels, and is, a subtle film made by someone who clearly lived it. The care and thought that Mottola has put into it benefits the cast as much as it does the viewers. Jesse Eisenberg (James) is a splendid bit of casting, almost poetically slow, he nicely plays it to have the upcoming tribulations totally believable. Enter Kristen Stewart as Em, pretty and smartly essaying a girl, soon to be woman, trying to make sense in her off kilter world. Her scenes with both Eisenberg and the buff Ryan Reynolds, in a role that takes some skill to get as right as he does, are the highlights of the piece. While Martin Starr is the other performance of note as the pipe smoking intellectual, Joel.

What youngsters that I know who have seen the film have had less than favourable reactions to it. This can probably be put down to two things. One is that the expectation of another Superbad-a-like comedy has not been met. Two is that, you know what folks? Mottola hasn't made this for kids, he's made it for those who were once kids themselves in a decade not so very long ago... 8/10