Adventureland….SuperGood.

Criminally overlooked at the theatres, Adventureland is a great little sleeper from Greg Mottola, the director of Superbad.

Set in the summer of 1987, we follow recent college grad James Brennan and the somewhat crappy circumstances that has lead to him spending his summer working in a two-bit amusement park instead of his originally planned self-discovery trip to Europe.  James (played with complete believability by Jesse Eisenberg, though my gut tells me Michael Cera may have been first choice) is more compassionate and self aware than your average college grad, spitting forth Shakespeare quotes and relaying his SAT scores when applying for a job at a burger joint, the guy is intelligent and earnest. Enter Em (Kristen Stewart), a coworker who’s mystery, laid back vibe and obvious cuteness sends James into a tailspin.

Adventureland is undoubtedly sentimental in parts, which may put some people off, but I can tell you right now that if you were a teenager or young adult in the 80’s (like myself) you are going to completely connect with it. Besides the fact that it features a soundtrack chock-full of hits from the era, it also conveys a certain innocence and charm that I for one, often forget existed in my formative years.

For those that scorned me for my dislike of the drab Twilight, I can tell you that Kristen Stewart is fantastic in Adventureland (a film she made before Twilight) and encompasses the likable but obviously fucked-up character of Em with pure grace. Hell, even Ryan Reynolds, a dude I have had a love/hate relationship with for years won me over as the suave maintenance guy with a penchant for younger girls.

It’s a real shame that Adventureland was mis-marketed as a followup to Superbad. People expecting the same over-the-top, wild humour of that film will be let down completely. This isn’t to say Adventureland is not funny. It certainly is. Bill Hadar’s turn as the amusement park owner is classic stuff by itself, but if you’re after yet another Judd Apatow comedy, you’d best look elsewhere. Adventureland has more heart than hilarity.

All that aside though, how could anyone dislike a film that features songs by The Cure, Crowded House, INXS and the mighty Wang Chung?