Adventureland (2009)
Genre: Comedy / Romance
Duration: 107 minuten
Country:
United States
Directed by: Greg Mottola
Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart and Ryan Reynolds
IMDb score:
6,8 (174.225)
Releasedate: 3 April 2009
Adventureland plot
"Nothing brings people together like a crappy summer job."
Adventureland tells the story of recently graduated teenager James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg) in the summer of 1987. Because his father suffers a financial setback due to his job, James has to work for his school fees. With very little experience, James is not hired at several companies and it seems he has no choice but to take a meaningless job at Adventureland amusement park. He soon falls in love with Emily Lewin (Kristen Stewart), which sets in motion a series of events that teaches James important things about life, love and trust...
Social Media
Actors and actresses
James Brennan
Em Lewin
Joel
Paulette
Bobby
Mike Connell
Lisa P.
Mr. Brennan
Mr. Lewin
Mrs. Brennan
Reviews & comments
IH88
-
- 9761 messages
- 3190 votes
“My theory is you can't just avoid everybody you screw up with. You can trust me on that because I'm a New Yorker.”
Adventureland is a nice dramedy that flows quietly and never gets boring or long-winded, but also has few highlights. The movie has a bit of an odd balance of comedy and drama that doesn't really work. Comedy and drama can certainly go together and there are plenty of films that have successfully applied the formula, but here it seems as if director Greg Mottola is struggling to find a good balance between the two.
Especially the scenes that are meant to be funny don't work at all. The dramatic part still works a bit because Eisenberg and Stewart have a nice chemistry but it doesn't last. Why the film still gets a small pass is the wonderful summer atmosphere and the 80s, which is captured particularly well by Mottola. The music is great too and as mentioned, Eisenberg and Stewart sparkle. Bill Hader, Martin Starr and Ryan Reynolds are also on a roll and have nice supporting roles. Unfortunately, everything remains too much on the surface and the characters are too poorly developed. You've seen everything before, but better and with a little more spice and inspiration. Adventureland is too flat to leave a lasting impression, but the summer feeling is certainly awakened.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Brabants
-
- 2896 messages
- 2154 votes
Adventureland a light-hearted compelling story with nice characters that are well portrayed.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Shadowed
-
- 11421 messages
- 6719 votes
Okay.
Mottola clearly belongs within this genre. Have seen several comedies of his and you can clearly see that he has his heart in that area. Sometimes he uses a vulgar, loud form of comedy. This film is different in that regard. To my great surprise it was much quieter and slower.
Eisenberg was a good choice to play the lead role. Fits with his posture really exactly in this head. Stewart is certainly not bad at all, although I mostly missed some expression from her. It won't be the first time a fellow user has said that, but I regularly got the feeling that she just didn't feel like completing the production.
The setting is nice and several jokes catch on because of the fairly dry way of delivery. The film also sometimes feels recognizable, which makes you laugh at the awkwardness of the situation. It's a shame that the film relies a lot on characters. In fact, everyone outside the couple plays a real type, and when the film tries to give it a little more shape, it fails because it is difficult to empathize with it.
All in all I thought it was a bit of a shame that the direction can't really deliver a fresh tone to the whole, because it feels quite fresh and new. It's like watching a movie that really has something to say, but the problem is that it's all portrayed very naturally. Maybe that's intentional, but it came across a little too easy for me.
Entertaining and smooth. Easily one of the better comedies America has to offer. The pity is that the direction visually lags a bit and that the film is a bit too sweet here and there, but it looks good so that the relatively long running time of 109 minutes is never felt. Long before these kinds of stories then, of course it could also have had an Apatow running time.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Corporate & Media
Realtimes Network
Innovatieweg 20C
7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31(315)-764002
