My first impression of Adventureland was "Wow, why didn't I hear about this sooner?", and my second impression was "Wow, Kristen Stewart has even less of an emotional expression range than Keanu Reeves." The was an eerie moment where I was thinking just that near the end of the film, when at that exact time, Stewart actually said 'Wow'. I laughed.
The story of Adventureland is a simple one. James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg, Zombieland) just graduated and is planning on a trip to Europe, financed by his parents, when he finds out that his dad has been demoted and that the Eurotrip is a no go. Even worse is the fact that James's parents also can't afford the New York apartment he was planning to move to for college.
As a solution, he finds a job at Adventureland, a second-rate themepark in Pittsburgh, PA. He's assigned to the games where he meets Joel (Martin Starr, Knocked Up), an oversized glasses bearing student of Slavic languages and Emily (Kristen Stewart, Jumper), a somewhat depressed girl living with her distant father and bitchy stepmother. Completing the main cast are park-manager Bobby (Bill Hader, Superbad), maintenance engineer Mike Connell (Ryan Reynolds, Ryan fucking Reynolds) as well as a variety of park employees such as the token hottie, the token douche and the token jock.
Of course, James falls deeply in love with Emily, who in turn has an affair with the married Connell. Both James and Emily mention that they don't want to lose the other person, but also say that they're not ready for something steady. James decides to accept the invitation of the park hottie, Lisa P. (Margarita Levieva, The Invisible), but feels guilty right after and confesses everything to Emily. Some time later he finds out about Emily and Connell though, so drama happens and that's basically the whole story.
Of course, there's more to it, but I don't want to give away too much. Go see for yourself.
You might be thinking, "Man, He kind of makes it sound like a bad film." Admittedly, that's true, but that's only because the story itself isn't that deep or complicated. It's the overall feel of the film, combined by the acting and the great soundtrack that accumulated to the 9-star score I gave it.
The performances of the actors are sublime. Of course, there are some slightly over the top characters, like the neurotic Bobby and his wife, but most of the actors play their parts with a beautiful subtlety that I love. You almost believe that they're real people because of their natural ways of portraying their characters.
Jesse Eisenberg is casted perfectly for the hopelessly romantic James. He knows how to hold his own, but he'll never be the most popular guy in the crowd. He plays his part with a natural ease which makes the character all the more convincing. It reminded me a lot of Zach Braff's performance in Garden State. Coincidentally, the overall feel of the film is a lot like the vibe I got off Garden State; a bit nostalgic for some reason you can't put your finger on, combined with a feel-good undertone that doesn't annoy you by forcing you to actually feel good. You slide into it.
I know it's stating the obvious, but Ryan Reynolds delivers his part brilliantly. We mostly know him as the wise-cracking type from Van Wilder (Or maybe Wolverine), or as the raging psycho from Amityville, but in Adventureland he gets to show his 'normal' side. One one end, he plays a down-to-earth mechanic who establishes an understanding with James throughout the film. On the other end he's the cheating husband who invites young park-employees to his mother's basement on a regular basis. The odd thing though, is that you sympathize with him. Besides the cheating, he's a cool guy and you could see yourself hanging out with him. Hell, even in the scenes where he's with Emily he doesn't come off as an asshole.
Another performance that should be noted, even if only because I'd probably get yelled at if I didn't touch on the subject, it Kristen Stewart's. As mentioned earlier, she still has the range of expressions of a partially chipped brick: It's not all the same, there is some variation on the surface, but underneath it's still a brick. Although she does smile and even cry at some points, the main problem lies within her eyes. Basically, they're doll's eyes. There's no expression or emotion to be found in those pools of angst whatsoever, which doesn't really make most of the channeled emotions believable. The only convincing bits are where she acts troubled, tortured or depressed. In other words, when she's playing Bella again. Luckily though, her character is troubled or depressed for the better part of this film, so she gets away with it for most of the time.
One thing that made me laugh was her general behaviour in this film; she's having a sexual affair with a married man, while she's also keeping James on a leash. It amuses me to imagine those hordes of Twi-hards going "Oh my God, this can't be! Bella! No! Think about Edward!", but maybe that's just me.*
The rest of the performances are as natural as Eisenberg's and Reynolds's and give the film that kind of nostalgic feel-good vibe we know from films like Garden State or About Schmidt.
I feel I should also mention the soundtrack. Since the film takes place in 1987, it makes for a great collection of music throughout the entire ordeal, with songs like Here I Go Again, Breaking The Law and Rock Me Amadeus. If you're an '80s child like I am, it's a feast of recognition that is guaranteed to bring a smile to your face.
All in all, Adventureland is a film well worth seeing. It's without a doubt one of the best films I have seen so far this year and I doubt that there will be something to top that.
* Obviously, I don't care much for Twilight, or Stewart's acting for that matter. Pattinson I can live with, since Remember Me looks like an interesting film and he actually acts in that one, but other than that I couldn't care less about the whole Sparkly Emo Saga.
