The first surprising thing about Adventureland is that it’s
not really funny at all. The idea of a bunch of aimless, horny
twentysomethings working at a crappy amusement park in the 1980s seems
tailor-made for an Apatovian sex romp. But the second surprising thing
about Adventureland is that, even though it’s the story of a
disillusioned college-age schlub named James (Jesse Eisenberg, cute and
earnest) trying to lose his virginity, it turns out to be a genuinely
moving, bittersweet film about characters who actually seem like real
people instead of comedy clichés.

It helps that director Greg Mottola, working from his own script, is
able to get the most out of his cast. Even Ryan Reynolds, as a sexy
handyman who just can’t seem to grow up and stop scoring with
barely-post-high-school girls, shows a depth that usually escapes him.
But the best of the bunch is Kristen Stewart who—I can’t believe
I’m about to write this—between her work here and in
Twilight, is actually shaping up to be one of the best Hollywood
actresses of her generation. As Em, Stewart is impressive: She’s not
just your typical adoring date-movie lead, and neither is she the
dramatic lost girl who airily floats along to a tragic end. She’s a
popular girl who makes mistakes and has the strength and smarts to
understand she can do better.

The humor tends more toward dry observations about rubes who can’t
stop playing cheesy, obviously rigged sideshow games (“I’m pretty sure
that 40 percent of these fish are dead,” someone says while eyeing the
goldfish toss). But that’s okay; we can save the laugh-out-loud moments
for whatever garish Will Ferrell spectacle is coming down the pike this
summer. What we get instead is just about perfect for spring: a light
romance about young love between two confused kids about to jump
blindly into the real world.
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6 replies on “On Screen”

  2. If you haven’t seen the directors first film, The Daytrippers, you should. It’s great and I can’t wait to see Adventureland.

  3. I hope it’s a decent movie, as my parents live just down the road from Adventureland, the theme park (it’s north of Des Moines). Anything to make that park a bit less lame.

  4. I saw this as a sneak preview, and it was everything Constant says it is. I loved it, and the dry humor was right up my alley–very refreshing after being beaten over the head with Apatow-esque movies (although I love those, too).

  5. Why knock Kristen Stewart for the movies she’s been in? That’s how you get good. I first saw her in In The Land Of Women and she, by herself, made a decidecly second rate retread into a much better movie. She’s the real deal. Be glad.

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