Back in 2007, Greg Mottola’s Superbad came out to pretty good reviews and a solid box office return. Despite the film being quite enjoyable (and funny), nothing about Mottola’s direction really stood out. He did not write the movie and was essentially a director for hire by producer Judd Apatow (who had worked with Mottola on his short-lived television series Undeclared). Little did most people know that, when he made Superbad, Mottola already had the screenplay for Adventureland written. However, due to script’s personal and more downtrodden nature, Mottola had to get a hit made before he could direct it.
With a big box office return for Superbad in check, Mottola was given free reign to make his passion project. Despite the fact that Adventureland is being sold as just another teen-sex comedy, it is the farthest thing from it. In fact, I would almost consider it a teen-age drama with comedic elements. From the first frame, one can tell that this is something that has been rattling around in Mottola’s head for quite some time. Everything in the movie feels personal, genuine, and realistic. Nothing ever seems forced or out of place. And I loved it for that.
It’s really hard to explain why I loved this movie so much. It just has this feeling to it that’s hard to describe. It’s nostalgic, sweet, heartbreaking, funny, awkward, charming and believable. Although I haven’t necessarily been in all the situations in the film, I could identify and sympathize with the characters as they went through them. Strangely, there were times where I felt like I had been there myself.
Everyone was cast perfectly in this movie. Jesse Eisenberg was great as James. Eisenberg was awkward, innocent and charming all at the same time. I felt like I had been in James’ shoes many times before and Eisenberg's portrayal has a lot to do with that. Eisenberg really sold the character from the first time he stepped on screen. I knew he was going to be great the moment I saw that look on his face in the first shot of the movie. I’ve heard people be mixed on Kristen Stewart as Em but I really liked what she did. I felt that all of her actions were genuine and that her character was appropriately complex. She’s hard to like all of the time but that’s kind of the point. Still, unlike Cate Blanchett’s portrayal of Daisy in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, I could actually sympathize with Em and understood why she was self-destructive (where as Daisy was just a bitch to be bitch). Martin Starr is great as Joel, the awkward and incredibly sexually frustrated friend of James. I’ve been a fan of Starr since Freaks and Geeks and never has he really been given a chance to show his acting chops until this film. I felt that he really did a great job at being funny and still getting some solid emotions from the crowd. His proposal to go see a “shitty movie” killed me. I thought Ryan Reynolds was great as Connell, the park maintenance man. I felt that he had an appropriate mixture of sleaziness and strange charisma. Even though he is a very unlikable character, he still manages to be somewhat sympathetic. Lastly, Bill Hader and Kristen Wigg have great chemistry as the sheltered, odd couple that runs the amusement park. Hader’s moment with a baseball bat was one of the funniest things I’ve seen in quite some time.
I loved Mottola’s direction on this film. Whenever someone makes a movie that is very personal and close to them and their private lives, you can usually feel it in their direction. I definitely felt it in Mottola’s in this movie. Every shot had a certain energy and passion to it. Each composition felt like it was carefully composed. It’s not very often that you see a comedy and feel like the director behind it truly had a vision. Adventureland is an exception. Mottola really is able to capture a feeling in this movie that is hard to capture. He captures the excitement of falling in love. That may not seem hard to the layman but he captures it and doesn’t make it feel Hollywood or forced. Everything feels real. There aren’t many movies you’ll see where two characters share a car ride with no words said while the Velvet Underground’s “Pale Blue Eyes” plays in the background. As this occurs, Mottola balances between lights bouncing off of the windows and extreme close-ups of the two teens. In a sense, nothing is happening. But it’s perfect. I’ve been in that car before. I’ve had that feeling of awkwardness, of feeling alive and of being in love and not being able to say anything about it. It is perfect. Add to all that a great capturing of 1980’s nostalgia and an amazing soundtrack and you have rare film that is just about perfect.
The only thing that I remotely had a problem with in this movie was the ending. Now, don’t get me wrong: it’s not a bad ending by any means. However, as the movie keep rolling on before me, I began to realize that it may be hard to end this film satisfyingly. What Mottola went with was audience pleasing and, while I didn’t find it mawkish in any way, it did not feel as genuine as the rest of the movie. Still, I would only consider this a minor complaint.
I really loved Adventureland. It was really funny, emotional and just incredibly enjoyable to watch. When I wasn’t laughing from the clever humor being presented to me (think the polar opposite of Superbad’s foulness), I was emotionally engaged in the complicated love story being presented to me. Everything about this movie is incredibly well done. The cast is great, the direction is well thought-out and personal, the soundtrack is amazing and the story is well crafted. It’s a movie that’s nowhere no as commercial or easy to take as Superbad but that’s what I loved about it. At times, it’s a heart breaking film to watch. At other times, it’s pretty charming and hilarious. But the bottom line is this: in the end, it’s just a really good movie.
9/10
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