As the posters for Adventureland screamed, this is Greg Mottola's follow-up to Superbad. While Superbad successfully entertained over the top, Adventureland expertly delivers realistic characters in a slice of life at an amusement park circa 1987.
This movie sticks out from the pack for a few reasons but mostly it's how the directing, writing and acting combine to tell a story of reasonable people. There are no good guys or bad guys, just people trying to live their lives with the cards they were dealt. It is very refreshing to see realistic behaviour and not a bunch of crutches for bad writing.
The plot starts with Jesse Eisenberg just graduating collage and planning to summer in Europe before heading to university in New York.
Quickly, his parents lose enough money to have him getting a summer job at a classic Playland style amusement park. From here he meets Kristen Stewart (pre-Twilight) who I must say is a delightful addition to the cool hot and confident actress roster.
From there it's a summer job movie with courting and colourful characters. Of special note are the park's owners and Ryan Reynolds as a surprisingly sympathetic and pathetic adulterer. As well, things once again only get better when Martin Starr steps in with his nice-odd-looking-guy role.
If you don't get a chance to hit it up in the theatre, it's definitely worth a rental if you're in the mood for one of the few good late teen early 20s courting movies.
