It's 1987 and James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg - Cursed) is all set to enjoy a summer of culture and significance back-packing around Europe now that he has finished school. That is, until his parents reveal that they are having some financial problems and his graduation money is no longer available. Forced to spend his summer at home whilst his friends go off to explore new lands, James struggles to find work to help pay for college in New York. Luckily the local theme park are hiring so James enlists as a staff member of Adventureland where his juvenile childhood best-friend Tommy (Matt Bush) works. James soon gets introduced to a whole host of colourful characters including Em (Kristen Stewart - Twilight) a girl he develops strong feelings for but who seems to be dealing with some issues of her own.
Adventureland is a rare find... an 80s film that doesn't rely on cliché to tell its story. This is a movie that could very easily be mistaken for a lost gem from that decade; a film that could sit proudly alongside The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink and Sixteen Candles. The attention to detail writer/director Greg Mottola has put into Adventureland is staggering with its delicate balance of comedy and drama delivering a real sense of the 80s and the good feelings associated with movies from that era.
The film's simple but affecting story is brilliantly complimented with a strong soundtrack featuring the likes of The Cure, Crowded House and The Outfield. It's a soundtrack you would expect to hear in a film made during the 80s, not a film made about the 80s. Again Mottola resists the urge to fill his story with commercial hits from 1987 opting instead to use music that the kids in the story would probably have been listening to at the time. That pretty much sums up the look and feel of Adventureland, it's a story that revels in its simplicity to tell the classic tale of boy meets girl. Mottola also manages to flesh out all of his secondary and supporting characters giving them presence and purpose - something the late John Hughes did frequently in his films. I'm sure Hughes would be very proud of Adventureland; it's a fitting homage to his body of work.
Jesse Eisenberg handles his first major lead role with gusto and promise. He does really well here and has some nice chemistry going with Kristen Stewart. She proves that there's more to her CV than just being Bella from Twilight. She also enjoys the opportunity to show off more of her acting skills here. Margarita Levieva (Spread) is bewitching as Lisa P, James' other love interest and Bill Hader steals every scene he is in as Bobby, the manager of the theme park who along with wife Paulette (Kristen Wiig) tries and keep everything running smoothly during the busy summer season. The scene where Bobby chases a guy with a baseball bat had everyone in the audience clapping. Ryan Reynolds has a brilliant cameo as Connell, the theme park maintenance man and ultra-cool musician that all the guys look up to and who all the girls swoon after. His entrance into the film is great too, with shades on and a guitar across his shoulder as he acknowledges the guys with a deft nod in their direction. It's very cool.
The DVD edition of Adventureland has some nice added extras including some deleted scenes, 2 featurettes including one that covers the behind the scenes process of the film and a feature commentary from leading man Jesse Eisenberg and director Greg Mottola.
To compare this to films like American Pie and Road Trip is perhaps unfair. Whilst I'm a big fan of those movies, this is a different prospect altogether. As mentioned before, this feels like a film made in 1987 and with that comes a sentimentality and style lacking in the newer teen comedies of today. The story also has a lot of heart thrown in too (something that John Hughes did in all of his films) which helps make Adventureland such an entertaining watch. It's definitely one of the comedies of the year and will leave you clamouring to see other 80s classics in similar vein whilst wondering why Hollywood doesn't make them like this anymore. Adventureland is a real treat that shouldn't be missed.
Adventureland is released on DVD, Blu Ray and Itunes on Monday February 8th 2010
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