Movie Review: Adventureland

by Ryan


rating: 2/4 banana peels


Don't let this films marketing fool you, its more of a drama than a comedy. It was really confusing for the first quarter of the movie, not knowing whether to laugh or feel sorry for the characters. Adventureland is Greg Mottola's follow-up from the ultra-funny and ultra-successful film, Superbad. It follows a college grad coming home for the summer after graduation, finding his life falling apart he's forced to get a job at the only place he could, a theme park.

With a cast including Jesse Eisenberg, Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig, Kristen Stewart, and the director from Superbad, I was expecting a pretty funny movie with adult, coming of age, overtones. However, what you get is more like a dark comedy, something that is very serious with a little comedy sprinkled throughout. Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig were relegated to an almost cameo-esque performance, which offered most of the comedy in the film as well. A waste of good comedic talent if you ask me. It has a fun indie feel and the drama in the film is actually shot and portayed very well. Something you wouldn't expect from a comedic director like Mottola.

Has any one else seen Adventureland? What were your thoughts?





by Travis
3/4 banana peels

I'm going to have to respectfully disagree with Ryan's review.

Everytime I ask someone what they thought of Adventureland, they say the same old thing: "Oh I thought it was going to be like Superbad but it wasn't...it was more of a dark comedy." Well whoop-de-doo. Firstly, it wasn't "dark". Secondly, of course it's not Superbad and it wasn't written as that kind of a comedy. It was the same director, but that doesn't mean you can blame him because it wasn't "Superbad 2". Go ahead and say the marketing lead you astray but don't put the blame on the movie itself. Film industry is a business in case anyone forgot, so if a movie like Superbad did great and moviegoers want to see more like it, then of course the producers are going to market movies like it, even if they're not at all the same. And then you're going to walk out dissapointed and tell everyone how much you disliked it.

I think director Greg Mottola did a good job and I wouldn't classify him as a purely "comedic" director. So he did Superbad and a few episodes of Arrested Development, fine, but that doesn't mean he can't make something dramatic too.

I liked Adventureland a lot. It felt very real and thankfully didn't involve the likes of the overrated and overplayed Michael Cera, Jonah Hill, or Seth Rogan... which, ironically, was "fresh" to me, considering that's how they're marketed as. I don't think Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig were just cameos, I think they had plenty of screen time and they were great in their scenes. They were supporting characters for comedic relief...it's nothing new. The real story was about the kid. If you watch it for his story, then it's a great coming-of-age movie about his angst, confusion, and love in the best summer of his teenage years.