Adventureland (USA)

Director: Greg Mottola

Year: 2009

Running time: 107 mins

Perhaps the funniest film to be released this year, Greg Mottola’s Adventureland combines the hilarity of his prior film, Superbad, with a sense of maturity that will entertain audiences young and old.

Adventureland is set in the late 1980s and the aesthetic quality of the film and the script stay true to the decade that a fair few of us can barely remember. After plans for his big European adventure go awry, James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg) finds himself working at a small-town theme park, Adventureland (which is anything but), as a ‘carnie’ in the hopes that he can scrape together enough money for his college tuition. Worse yet for James, he’s been assigned to over-seeing the games stall, which is the least respected job in the entire park and does nothing to boost his credentials with the ladies, of which he has limited experience. Here, he meets an unlikely crew of young misfits: Joel (Martin Starr), a nerdy loner who is studies philosophy and Russian literature; Frigo, once James’ best friend until he turned four, now intent in hitting him continuously in the nuts and the angst-y Em (Kristen Stewart, who proves she’s got more talent than looking at Robert Pattinson sweetly and whispering “Vampire” now and again).

There’s a mish-mash of unexpected, yet delightful casting in this film. Ryan Reynolds (I imagine every girl who read this just swooned a little) plays the park mechanic who woos young women with his tale of once having played with Lou Reed and the ever-funny Bill Hader (he’s the step-brother in Forgetting Sarah Marshall) who plays the over-zealous owner and operator of the park itself.

Adventureland is filled with laughs without relying so much on the crass humour present in Superbad. The subtlety in some scenes compliments the outrageousness of others, and this equilibrium enables it to appeal to a much wider audience than its predecessor. The acting is superb and the 80s soundtrack that accompanies the film isn’t too bad, either. Anyone who has ever worked at or even visited a small town theme-park (or, come to think of it, Rainbows End) will appreciate the humour generated. While it has finished its’ run at the Film Festival, I have little doubt that this will soon be distributed to mainstream cinemas where you too can experience the charm of this film for a good two hours or so. See it!