Celluloid

I thought Greg Mottola’s Superbad was vastly overrated so I approached his new film Adventureland with a healthy amount of skepticism. I like my raunchiness spare and well-placed and find my attention-span waning at approximately ten dick-jokes. Thankfully, whereas Superbad centered around a group of dirty-minded high-school virgins trying their darndest to do the deed, Adventureland is a nostalgic examination of the joys and anguishes of young adulthood. The plot is unmistakably paint-by-the-numbers: a dorky yet intelligent recent college graduate named James Brennan (The Squid And The Whale’s Jesse Eisenberg) is forced to work at an amusement park for the summer where he encounters the harshness of young love. On paper, Mottola’s characters seem about as cliche as you can get: nerdy yet smart virgin main character, alluring love interest with a closet full of skeletons, intellectually-challenged seductress, older cool musician guy, stoner best friend. Fortunately, Motolla paints these characters with a deft brush. Rather than coming off cartoonish, Mottola’s characters are brimming with an authentic albeit flawed humanity. Adventureland is nicely casted and contains very natural performances from the likes of Ryan Reynolds and Freaks And Geeks alum Martin Starr. Kristen Stewart, who’s bound for stardom because of her role in some cheesy vampire flick I refuse to ever watch, gives a particularly strong performance as James’ love interest Em. If a well-acted, intelligently-penned coming-of-age dramedy sounds like your cup of tea, then you’re sure to appreciate the surprisingly heartfelt Adventureland. — Capt. Obvious

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