When I told everyone that I saw Paul, their response was "who?" or "how is he?" To answer both of those questions, Paul is an alien that crashed on our planet in 1947 who is he's rauchy, rude, fun, and basically Seth Rogen in alien form.
He was captured by the government and kept there in order to help them learn about the universe. But then he escaped and is picked up by two bumbling, British, apiring Sci-Fi writers (Simon Pegg and Nick Frost) trekking across the US visitng famous alien sites. This is only the beginning of the story.
Things quickly turn for the two friends when they are suddenly chased by government agents (Jason Bateman, Bill Hader, and Joe Lo Truglio), rednecks (David Koechner and John Carroll Lynch), and meet a motley crew of other characters including a cycloptic Kristen Wiig and Jane Lynch as a diner waitress.
It is the perfect blend of combination of Superbad, Shaun of the Dead, and E.T. with pot and peppered (heavily) with nerd refrences. The movie is definitely built for nerds. The duo start out at Comic-Con spouting off arguments about obscure comics and movies and go through with side references to Close Encouters of the Third Kind, Star Wars, E.T., Indiana Jones, etc. etc.
I loved every moment of this wacky and great experience. I had one worry that the British humor of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost would be lost since the director (Greg Motolla) is American, but that is not the case. Every awkward British humor moment is dry and perfect. I liked this better than Hot Fuzz, but I think it's tied with Shaun of the Dead for me.
Overall, I give this movie a nerdy 9/10!
Adventureland
Written & Directed by: Greg Motolla
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Martin Starr, Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig, Margarita Levieva, and Ryan Reynolds
Bonus Features: Frigo's Taps - A satiric "How To" on inflicting unexpected pain (BD Exclusive), Lisa P's Guide To Style (BD Exclusive), Welcome to Adventureland - Adventureland Commercials. Orientation Training Video, Drug Policy (BD Exclusive), Deleted Scenes, Just My Life: The Making of Adventureland, Feature Commentary with Greg Motolla and Jesse Eisenberg, Picture Music Selection, Digital Copy.
From the Box:
From the director of Superbad comes Adventureland, "a smart, witty comedy" (Kyle Smith, New York Post) we can all relate to. And the sights and sounds are even more awesome on Blu-ray.
When James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg) has to cancel his dream summer vacation and make some money for grad school, the only job he can get is at Adventureland, a tacky amusement park where the games are rigged and the ride make you hurl. But it's where he meets Em (Kristen Stewart, Twilight), and his rollercoaster ride to nowhere turns into the best summer ever. Filled with a carnival of colorful characters and set to a killer soundtrack, Adventureland is "the kind of adventure we could all use more of" (Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times) - especially in Blu-ray High Definition.
Adventureland is a film that caught a lot of people by surprise. I don't think anyone was really quite prepared for what Adventureland turned out to be. People were expecting a comedy more in line with Motolla's previous film, the fantastic Superbad. That isn't what Adventureland is at all. In reality, it's a touching coming of age story with a lot of laughs thrown in for good measure.
That surprise aside, Adventureland is indeed one great film.
Click the Rawr! for the full review.
I must admit, I was one of those who automatically assumed this would be a gross out sex comedy akin to Superbad. I'd guess some marketing folks at Miramax are to blame for that.
Thankfully, before I saw the film I was told what I would be in for and I think that allowed me to be able to judge the film more fairly then if it turned out to be something I wasn't expecting.
As a comedy, Adventureland doesn't offer much. It is very funny at parts, most of which come from the dynamic duo of Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig. There are some embarrassing moments with Jesse Eisenberg that are funny as well but the real strength of this movie is in the characters and the way the film doesn't exactly point out to you how something turns out.
The characters are charming and realistic and all played perfectly by the cast. This film is full of relative unknowns with the exception of Hader, Wiig, and Ryan Reynolds. This film was post Twilight so Kristen Stewart is probably known better now but to be honest, she slips into this role so well that I didn't even think about Twilight. For me, it's Stewart and Eisenberg who are the highlights of this film. Their story is emotional and has you rooting for things to work out for them. Kristen Stewart's performance here is sublime and elevates her so far beyond the drivel I have heard from Twilight that I'm almost convinced to actually watch those films.
The entire cast is great here. Ryan Reynolds does another admirable job here playing a surprisingly low key character. Sure he's a bit smarmy but Reynolds gives us a subtle and restrained performance.
As for the Blu-ray, the film's picture could stand to be a little clearer. It seemed a bit fuzzy at times. The sound was crisp though and the soundtrack is stellar. The disc is loaded with some hilarious special features, especially the Adventureland commercials.
Adventureland is an entertaining story about things not working out the way you'd hope, about falling in love, and about making tough decisions and going after what you realize you truly want. Its story revolves around characters who look and feel like they are real people and not Hollywood glamorization.
Adventureland is a definite must see and another plus in the career of Greg Motolla who's got a great talent to deliver both a touching drama with some extremely funny moments and a laugh riot comedy with some heart. He is the one to watch right now as Adventureland is certain to make it on many Top Ten lists.
Adventureland is available on DVD and Blu-ray now.
Rob Zombie's Halloween exploded into theaters this weekend with $26.5 million dollars. Superbad is still going strong taking the #2 spot with just over $12 million. Another new release Balls of Fury took third place with $11.6 million. The top five is rounded out with Bourne Ultimatum and Rush Hour 3 pulling in $10 million and $8.5 million respectively. The other new release this week Death Sentence seems to have been given just that. The critically panned film opened at #8 with $4 million dollars.
Next week bring another horror flick to theaters. Hatchet is being billed as Old School American Horror and has been racking up some great reviews. Let's hope it fares as well as Halloween. Maybe the bell hasn't rung on horror just yet.
#1 at the box office for two weeks running is the hilarious Superbad staring Michael Cera as Evan and Jonah Hill as Seth. I'll make it a quick review for everyone so you can hurry up and see it. One of the funniest movies of the year instantly charming and roll on the floor funny from the opening credits. Michael and Jonah together are comic gold. Michael Cera's other partner in crime, Clark Duke, can be seen in the background of the party scene at the end. I'd have liked to see him get more screen time. Maybe in the sequel?
The supporting cast includes Christopher Mintz-Passe as Fogell a wanna-be urban nerd self dubbed Mclovin'. Seth Rogen (who co-wrote the film with Evan Goldberg) and Bill Hader play two seemingly idiotic cops who take McLovin' on a wild booze filled night on the town. The two girls capturing the attention of Evan and Seth are played by Emma Stone and Martha MacIsaac. There are a few cameos I'll leave for you to discover on your own. The entire cast is great but its Jonah and Michael that really steal the show as two friends faced with going to different schools at the end of the summer.
Team Apatow has brought us another winning comedy. Not surprising as he did create one of the greatest television shows in history, Freaks and Geeks. Yes I went there.
The film is directed by Greg Motolla who really did a great job considering it is his first major film.
All in all, the movie is simply hilarious. It's a simple story about guys trying to get laid before the end of high school, a quest for liquor, and in the end a charming little tale of a lifelong friendship.
It's not at all superbad.
The following flicks are opening today at your local multiplex:
Superbad
The King of Kong
The Invasion
Death at a Funeral
The Last Legion
Go forth and enjoy!
