Spotlight

Spotlight Date: 21-February-10
Spoiler Rating: Medium

Adventureland (2009)

Greg Mottola's Adventureland is set in 1987 and reminiscent of '80s movies like Say Anything Š that blend romance and comedy without shallowness or stupidity. That such a balancing act has become a lost art makes this coming-of-age tale especially enjoyable. It takes place over a summer when a nice, immature virgin named James (Jesse Eisenberg) misses out on a post-college trip to Europe because his parents fail to come through with the funds. His financial needs extend to graduate school in the fall, so he gets a job at an amusement park to earn money for first-term expenses. The park is called "Adventureland," and while it gives James an instructive look at dead ends to be avoided, it also teaches him about one ambition to be pursued.

The carnival offers a solid range of comic losers, from the blunt and occasionally violent boss (Bill Hader), to the depressive literary nerd (Martin Starr), to the resident Aphrodite known exclusively as "Lisa P" (Margarita Levieva). While these appear fatally designed for low-paying, meaningless employment, the sensitive Emily (Kristen Stewart, phlegmatically sexy as ever) and older handyman Connell (Ryan Reynolds) have a dignity that seems out of place among redneck ring-tossers and drunken teens hurling their corn dogs. James begins a tentative relationship with Em, not knowing (since none of the gossipy crew knows) that she is having an affair with the married Connell and is herself in the throes of a baffling evolution.

James' adventures — consistently funny, sometimes embarrassing, and often flavored with marijuana — are recounted with a simple artistry that betokens Mottola's affection for his characters and common delights like fireworks on the Fourth of July. Groping awkwardly towards love, James and Em grow through screwing up and being screwed over by disappointments their parents have handed them. With the slight exception of a romantic finale in the rain, Adventureland avoids grandstanding in both its humorous and personal moments. It conveys nostalgia for a time when the world was an oyster for a questing young man, albeit an oyster requiring repeated attempts at prying before giving up its pearl.

Copyright © 2010 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.