It find it scary how much I can relate to Adventureland. Its not THAT great of a movie, but it fills me with such a swelling nostalgic feeling that reminds me so much of my teen years that its extremely hard to not smile while watching this movie. I actually worked very briefly at an amusement park with my brother in my (very) early teens. I worked a lot of random summer jobs; pizza parlors, retail stores, firework stands, flea markets, and stuff like that. I knew the feeling of late summer nights, hearing the same songs over and over again, and making new friends very very well. This film makes me feel those old feelings and more.

The movie…

It's pretty impossible for me not to relate to this film, since I'm currently experiencing what feels like a slow transition from college into adulthood. Since it's based on the experiences the writer/director Gregg Motola had, there's a wealth of truth and depth to this seemingly silly comedy.

James is a guy fresh out of high school who wants to travel Europe and go to Colombia for Journalism… all on his parents' dime. When they tell him they can't afford to support him that way anymore, he takes a shitty summer job at a theme park named Adventureland near home. It's a great period piece since it's set in the 1980's and there are little signifiers to this time period…

Surprisingly heart-felt look at the transition into adulthood. Everything feels like it's the last time you'll ever do whatever thing it is; love, party, explore, be lazy etc. Adulthood looms large with its responsibilities and repetition that you want to savour the good things while they last. And to do that you need money, and for that you need a summer job. The job will be the bane of your existence and it will be a necessary evil that simultaneously provides you with the means to have fun (money) while requiring hefty payment (time) in return. You end up cursing the job from keeping you from experiencing life before you get on with being a grown up.
But looking back,…

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American Youth Comedy Double Bill

"This one is inexplicably called The *Flighing* Dutchman. Even more inexplicable is how they decided to spell it."

Adventureland is actually a semi-autobiographical film, written by Greg Mottola about his own experience in an amusement park. That was a great help for the film, Mottola captures perfectly the essence when you are young, directionless, ambitious, and suppressed.

Mottola’s dialogue feels natural, for example, As Brennan and Em ride in her car, listening to Husker Du, the awkward, but gentle, physical gestures and responses between them say more than their words ever could, these characters sound real, look real, and move real.

Jesse Eisenberg and…

As a coming of age movie, I found this quite well-made, with an assured visual sense, strong romantic chemistry, and a nice pace. It's the story of college grad James (Jesse Eisenberg) who takes up a summer job at the local theme park, falls in love with a girl (Kristen Stewart) and learns a bunch of lessons about life. While I appreciated the relaxed mood and tendency toward earnestness rather than vulgar antics, what this didn't really do was surprise me. It seemed to me another in a long line of this type of personal, nostalgic movie, without very much to especially distinguish it. Acting-wise, Eisenberg was good, and I have a higher tolerance for Kristen Stewart than seemingly most…

Back in America for this nostalgia soaked coming-of-age film set outside of the high school setting and at a low-paid summer job in an amusement park. From Superbad (2007) director Greg Mottola, this film borrows heavily from past experiences which gives it a nice grounding. I've seen Adventureland before and thoroughly enjoyed it, so I was rather eager to pay another visit. It was still very awesome. I'm rather easily pleased when it comes to coming-of-age films, all I really require is a likeable cast and a killer soundtrack and Adventureland well and truly delivers. Jesse Eisenberg handles the lead role superbly, and I couldn't help but completely fall in love with Kristen Stewart. Providing excellent support we have Martin…