Adventureland (2009)

In the summer of 1987, a college graduate takes a 'nowhere' job at his local amusement park, only to find it's the perfect course to get him prepared for the real world.

Director:

Greg Mottola

Writer:

Greg Mottola

Stars:

Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Ryan Reynolds

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jesse Eisenberg	...	James Brennan
Kelsey Ford	...	Arlene
Michael Zegen	...	Eric
Ryan McFarland	...	Brad
Jack Gilpin	...	Mr. Brennan
Wendie Malick	...	Mrs. Brennan
Matt Bush	...	Tommy Frigo
Todd Cioppa	...	Velvet Touch Manager
Stephen Mast	...	Rich
Kristen Wiig	...	Paulette
Bill Hader	...	Bobby
Martin Starr	...	Joel
Adam Kroloff	...	Adult Contestant
Kristen Stewart	...	Em Lewin
Kevin Breznahan	...	Molly Hatchet T-Shirt Guy

Storyline

In 1987, James Brennan's dreams of a summer European tour before studying at an Ivy League school in New York City are ruined after his parents have a severe career setback. As a result, James must get a summer job to cover his upcoming expenses at the decrepit local amusement park, Adventureland, where he falls in love with a witty co-worker, Emily Lewin. In that bizarrely shady workplace, the young carnies have unforgettable and painful learning experiences about life, love and trust while James discovers what he truly values.

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Plot Keywords:

summer | job | amusement park | summer job | new york city | 

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Taglines:

It was the worst job they ever imagined... and the best time of their lives.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

14A

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 April 2009 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Adventureland - Job d'été à éviter

Filming Locations:

Beaver, Pennsylvania, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

£210,671 (UK) (11 September 2009)

Gross:

£489,686 (UK) (18 September 2009)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Miramax Films, Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, This Is That Productions

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Crews were hired to remove and hide snowfall and snow accumulation during filming because the film was shot in the winter months. In some indoor scenes, extras were paid to block the windows and doors so the snowfall wouldn't be visible on camera.

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Goofs

Joel asserts that the famous aphorism "Fortune favors the bold' was written by the Roman poet Virgil (Publius Vergilius Maro, 70-19 BC), but in fact, it was written by the Roman playwright Terence (Publius Terentius Afer, 185-159 BC) in his play Phormio. The phrase is often associated with Virgil's epic poem, the Aeneid, appearing in book 10 line 284, in a slightly different form. The overeducated Joel should know better.

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Quotes

Tommy Frigo: James, don't get all drunk and fall asleep or anything.
James Brennan: Why not?
Tommy Frigo: Because I'll jack off on your face.

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Crazy Credits

A commercial for the Adventureland amusement park can be seen during the end credits.

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Connections

References MisteRogers' Neighborhood (1968)

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Soundtracks

Limelight
Written by Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart

User Reviews

Roller-coaster of Love

"Adventureland"- ***1/2 BY: Kevin Muller The marketing for this film is terrible, just absolutely awful. The studio is pushing this film as the next "Superbad", just because the director of that film directed this gem. The truth is, this is far different than "Superbad", besides a few gross out gags. Where that film prided itself on its crudeness and vulgarity, this film prides itself on heart and pure emotion.

"Adventureland" has the feel of teen movies both from the 80's and 90's (more the 80's though). You have a sensitive character who is still trying to figure out who he is, and by a sequence of events, falls in love and more importantly, finds his true self. What makes the movie even more appealing is that it not only doesn't treat its characters as generic stereotypes, but as humans, which makes them more appealing to the audience.

Our main character here is James (played perfectly by Jessie Eisenberg) who has just graduated college and is looking forward to his trip to Europe with his fellow pal. The trip is not only supposed to be his graduation present, but also a way to escape his recent heartbreak, due to an emotional breakup. Things unfortunately go south with his finances, which forces him to get a job at the local amusement park. There he meets some interesting people: the two owners (Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig), nerdy Joel (the likable Martin Starr) and the beautiful "Em" (Kristen Stewert).

James and Em quickly fall for each other, but there is one small problem, she is in a very dysfunctional relationship with Connell (Ryan Reynolds), who plays the married park maintenance guy. Reynolds, who usually adds the goofy humor to every film he is in, holds back to really give the character a deepness that I was surprised he pulled off. I thought his performance was going to be similar to his Monty character from "Waiting". I applaud the restraint that he held throughout the film, because the character could have gone down that route very easily.

What makes this film work though is that director Greg Mottola doesn't overdo any aspect of the movie. The comedy, drama, and situations are all well balanced, which makes the film feel real. As I stated before, Reynolds is grounded, as is the rest of the cast with their performances. Eisenberg, who is accused of playing Michael Cera, gives a very layered and human performance. I am sorry to you Cera fans, but the awkward and caring guy thing was around way before Cera did it. Stewert, is just perfect in this role, she gives Em vulnerability, but makes her lovable at the same time. These two give perfect performances because neither of them have all the answers and it is about the deep connection they share, not just about the sex.

Go see this film, it deserves to be seen. This is a movie that Hollywood doesn't make anymore; a sweet, smart, moving and humorous experience that hopefully starts a chain of movies like it to follow.