Adventureland

Hi,

Here’s what I saw last night-

Adventureland, Directed by Greg Mottola (Superbad) and starring Jessie Eisenberg (Cursed), Kristen Stewart (Twilight Saga), Bill Hader (Superbad) and Ryan Reynolds (X-Men Origins: Wolverine).

Like Funny People this film is more a drama with some comedy elements thrown in, and like Apatow, Mottola has reigned in the comedy to tell a heart warming coming of age story.

Set in 1987, the film follows James (Eisenberg), leaving college and finding his summer European holiday and New York Ivy League school plans crushed by his parent’s career problems. He sets out to find a job to pay for New York, and that job is working on games in Adventureland. It may be boring, but he meets and befriends a number of people including Em (Stewart) who James falls in love with.

The more the film went on the more I felt I was watching a John Hughes movie, not as good as that, but not far off. The acting was fine from all concerned, with Eisenberg turning in a superb performance. Reynolds was solid, Hader much more controlled than some of his previous roles and Stewart so much better than her turn in Twilight. The characters were all very believable and likable, and the situations they found themselves in all felt very real.
Direction was sound with some very good cinematography, the soundtrack was brilliant and used very well throughout the film.

Overall I really enjoyed this film, with its likable characters, sombre moments, funny moments which were all acted and directed really well.

(8/10 – Extremely Good)

2 (a young couple) left the screening!