As waves of college grads prepare to be beached onto the unfriendly shores of unemployment, director and screenwriter Greg Mottola ("Superbad") offers a sentimental cinematic salve to their anxieties.
Set in 1987, recent grad James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg, "The Squid and the Whale") dreams of the European summer tour that's supposed to be his graduation gift from his parents. But after a Reaganomic downturn forces his family to scale back, his plans are shattered.
Instead, the gawky intellectual must resort to slaving the season away at a seedy amusement park run by odd couple Bobby and Paulette (Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig, SNL).
The abysmal fall from dignity unsurprisingly turns into the summer of his life as James finds his place among a rag-tag group of outcasts, including a pretty but angst-y arcade girl named Em (Kristen Stewart, "Twilight").
Inspired by Mottola's own college-aged stint at a Long Island amusement park in the '80s, "Adventureland" is a predictable coming-of-age tale played out within a nostalgic time capsule.
"I think there is something character building in terrible jobs," Mottola said in a conference call. "I think you feel like you're in a club when you've had to go through it."
Set in a dilapidated Pittsburgh theme park and synced to a bevy of dated pop hits such as "Rock me Amadeus" and The Cure's "Just Like Heaven," the film paints relatable scenarios of weed-fueled hijinks and halting first time loves.
Jesse Eisenberg embodies the shy, hopeless romantic spot-on. (Michael Cera may have to keep an eye on him.) Kristen Stewart, in a role she filmed prior to "Twilight," works the hollow-eyed, troubled teen look convincingly as well. Regrettably though, she is a one-note character through the entire film. Margarita Levieva, playing the "shallow" love rival, Lisa P., frankly manages to reveal more depth.
Perhaps wrongly categorized as a comedy, the movie's humor doesn't please as much as the drama pains. While there is no lack of groin punching and amusement park-related jokes, elements of financial struggle, extra-marital affairs, broken homes and anti-Semitism weigh down the film's carnival aesthetic. The setting just seems under-utilized.
Though marketed to the "Superbad" crowd, Mottola simply doesn't craft the same creature in "Adventureland." The film isn't as much of an fun adventure as a sobering reality check with a few laughs and a half-hearted happy ending.
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