High school graduate James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg) is going to Europe in the summer and Columbia University after that. However, his parents—who are in dire straits financially—advise him to take up a summer job. James ends up a lowly games operator at a shabby theme park in his neighborhood called Adventureland. While coming to terms with a boring job and little pay, James strikes up friendships with the other people working at the park and—future be damned—he ends up having the best time of his life.
When Adventureland came out more than four years ago, it underperformed at the box office. Grossing merely $16 million in the States, the film barely made a mark in its theatrical release. A quick look at the marketing for the film and it’s obvious the groundwork was being laid for a sex comedy, much in the vein of director Greg Mottola’s previous film, Superbad. The trailer for the film features tons of jokes, one-liners and raunchy humor. Even the poster places its good-looking cast with jubilant faces and implies the film is a stoner comedy. Why, then, did the film not find an audience?
Because Adventureland is not a stoner comedy.
In the ‘80s, Greg Mottola worked for some time in a theme park in New York, and “Adventureland” is heavily inspired from his recollections of that time. Not that you need me to tell you this: one viewing is sufficient to recognize how autobiographical, intimate and nostalgic it is. Every frame in Adventureland oozes with the kind of rose-tinted affection one can only have for something dear in one’s past. One of the greatest assets a movie can possess is in evoking a strong sense of time and place. Mottola, working with cinematographer Terry Stacey, creates a universe that is intricately lived-in with characters who are real, forget realistic.
I can understand why people who discovered Mottola from Superbad would be baffled, even infuriated by this film. In contrast to the rampant gross-out jokes and swearing in the former, Adventureland is a more solemn story. Preferring rumination to raucousness, the film is not afraid to meander because it’s primary goal is a vibe, not a compact story. It’s been four years since I first saw the film and I have forgotten some details and plot points. However, I remember instances; one where James, with his crush, watches the sky light up on the Fourth of July or the one where he sits with his best friend, smoking, and thinking aloud about life. These moments stay with you.
In what may have been another turnoff to the uninformed viewer, Adventureland delves into unabashed melancholy at some points. There is an undercurrent of failure and regret to the film that’s striking. Several characters are headed nowhere but downward, and their lives are tragic to observe. James’ best friend, Joel, has a degree in Russian literature, and knows that will get him nothing in life. Moreover, he is bitter because in James he sees a better version of himself, someone who gets the attention of a girl Joel has had a crush on for long. Martin Starr is heartbreaking to watch here. The staff treats the park’s technician, Mike (played by Ryan Reynolds), with reverence because he is a part-time musician and jammed with Lou Reed once. However, not only is that in Mike’s distant past but it may not even be true. Casting Reynolds in such a role is a masterstroke; his innate charisma serves the character perfectly.
The people working in the park know their jobs are crappy and lives are glum. Adventureland tries to prove that the worst times of one’s life can lead to the fondest memories of one’s life. The relationships you form when you are down carry you through and stay with you when you’re finally up. To that end, it is a rousing success.
Adventureland is definitely a distant memory for theatergoers, and the cast and crew have gone on to different projects. Yet, it remains on the periphery of popular discourse, popping up every now and then when someone wants to point out an overlooked and/or underrated film. Today, I am that person, claiming that Greg Mottola’s follow-up to Superbad may be a different film, but it is a great film in its own right and deserves your attention.
Give Adventureland a chance.
