Adventureland poster

2009·107 min·Released

Adventureland

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

Comedy
Drama
Romance

It's the summer of 1987, and recent college grad James Brennan can't wait to begin his long-anticipated dream trip to Europe. Unfortunately, James' plans come to a screeching halt when his parents announce that they are unable to subsidize his trip. Forced to take a job at the local amusement park, James prepares for the worst summer ever, until he finds love with a captivating co-worker named Em.

6.4(2,374 votes)

Popularity2

Videos

Adventureland - Official Trailer 2

Cast & Crew

Jesse Eisenberg

Jesse Eisenberg

James Brennan

Kristen Stewart

Kristen Stewart

Em Lewin

Martin Starr

Martin Starr

Joel

Kristen Wiig

Kristen Wiig

Paulette

Bill Hader

Bill Hader

Bobby

Ryan Reynolds

Ryan Reynolds

Mike Connell

Margarita Levieva

Margarita Levieva

Lisa P.

Jack Gilpin

Jack Gilpin

Mr. Brennan

Josh Pais

Josh Pais

Mr. Lewin

Wendie Malick

Wendie Malick

Mrs. Brennan

Mary Birdsong

Mary Birdsong

Francy

Matt Bush

Matt Bush

Tommy Frigo

No editorial yet

Guides and articles for this movie will appear here after content sync.

John Chard

Written on 5/8/2020

Mottola strikes one from the heart. It's 1987 and James Brennan is home for the summer after earning himself a degree in Renaissance Studies. Which unsurprisingly isn't any use to him when trying to gain employment in this part of Pittsburg. Which is now a problem since his planned trip to Europe has fell by the wayside due to his father's enforced unemployment. So thus he finds himself working at Adventureland, a rusting time warp amusement park where only odd balls and idiots appear to frequent. But here James will make friends, learn life lessons and maybe just find true love?. Be under no illusions, Adventureland is no teen sex comedy reliant on crude jokes and cringe slap-stick moments to get its humour. Which as it's brought to us by the director of Superbad may come as something of a surprise. Greg Mottola is the said director, who here has crafted an ode to his own teenage strife's concerning first jobs and first loves. Though not really offering anything new as such, I mean the old "summer I came of age" film is hardly new is it? Mottola has however managed to blend youthful spirits with a serious kink and nicely cloak it in a bittersweet 80s haze. Some parts are clearly aimed at the guffaw teen viewers, awkward erections and friends who punch you in the testicles - tee hee hee, Adventureland feels, and is, a subtle film made by someone who clearly lived it. The care and thought that Mottola has put into it benefits the cast as much as it does the viewers. Jesse Eisenberg (James) is a splendid bit of casting, almost poetically slow, he nicely plays it to have the upcoming tribulations totally believable. Enter Kristen Stewart as Em, pretty and smartly essaying a girl, soon to be woman, trying to make sense in her off kilter world. Her scenes with both Eisenberg and the buff Ryan Reynolds, in a role that takes some skill to get as right as he does, are the highlights of the piece. While Martin Starr is the other performance of note as the pipe smoking intellectual, Joel. What youngsters that I know who have seen the film have had less than favourable reactions to it. This can probably be put down to two things. One is that the expectation of another Superbad-a-like comedy has not been met. Two is that, you know what folks? Mottola hasn't made this for kids, he's made it for those who were once kids themselves in a decade not so very long ago... 8/10

Media

Adventureland - Official Trailer 2

Adventureland - Official Trailer 2