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.
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