Adventureland

Set in 1987, Adventureland follows bright college graduate James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg) as he reluctantly agrees to take on a job at a low-rent amusement park to pay the bills – with the bulk of the proceedings subsequently revolving around his various misadventures within the title locale’s sprawling grounds (as well as his attempts at wooing Kristen Stewart’s spunky Em Lewin). Director Greg Mottola has infused Adventureland with a laid-back sensibility that inevitably proves an ideal complement to his unapologetically uneventful screenplay, and there’s little doubt that the pervasively authentic atmosphere proves instrumental in initially holding the viewer’s interest (ie Mottola effectively captures the circa-1980s landscape without resorting to over-the-top tricks or gimmicks). Eisenberg’s winning work as the central character certainly perpetuates the low-key yet likeable vibe, with his efforts ably (and agreeably) assisted by a uniformly appealing supporting cast that includes Martin Starr, Ryan Reynolds, and Bill Hader. There comes a point, however, at which the increasingly plotless bent of Mottola’s script becomes oppressive, as the filmmaker’s relentlessly episodic modus operandi is ultimately hindered by the inclusion of several eye-rollingly predictable plot threads (a fake break-up? Really?) It’s consequently not surprising to note that the positive vibes established by Mottola and his cast are inevitably rendered moot as the movie limps towards its exceedingly anti-climactic conclusion, with the end result a weak coming-of-age story that’s simply unable to bring anything new to the well-worn genre.

** out of ****