Kristen Stewart and Jesse Eissenberg in Adventureland (Miramax)
By Jason Lacsamana
Adventureland
was one of the funniest teen movies I've seen this year. The movie features a young man named James (Jesse Eisenberg) who is forced into getting a job in order to pay for college after his father loses his job. After being rejected by numerous employers he's finally hired on the spot by a amusement park called Adventureland. James soon finds that his job at Adventureland is actually more life changing than he expected after meeting a female coworker named Em (Kristen Stewart).
Okay, for the most part I really liked this movie. Honestly I found nothing wrong with the film. I just feel like I can't write a complete review because of the technical error that occurred during the screening in which there was no audio for about 5 minutes. I'm not a lip reader so I don't know if I missed an important conversation, so I apologize and I'm going to do my best without knowing what was said in that 5 minutes, courtesy of AMC Mission Valley.
Adventureland
was a good funny film and for the most part it was like most teen movies. Compared to
SuperBad
(by the same director Greg Mottola) I wouldn't say it was better mainly because I think teens can relate to
SuperBad
a lot more than
Adventureland
.
Superbad
is set during our time while
Adventureland
is occurring in the 80s. This time difference does in fact make a difference. One example of this is alcohol, in
SuperBad
it was a big deal because they were underage but in
Adventureland
although James looks pretty much the same age as Evan, it was as if it was no big deal.[Oh and F.Y.I for those wondering if the James is Evan from
SuperBad
, no he isn't although they look alike Evan is played by Michael Cera, James is played by Jesse Eisenbeg.]
One thing that always seems to be common in teen movies, and
Adventureland
is no exception, is marijuana -- Marijuana, Mary Jane, Weed, Wacky Tobacky, Greens -- whatever it's called it always seems to be in teen movies regardless of whether it's a horror teen movie, comedic teen movie, or drama. I suppose filmmakers just see us all as potheads.
Comedy! What's a teen movie without comedy? Too serious that's what it is and that's exactly what
Adventureland
wasn't!
Adventureland
had so many funny parts. It was a very amusing film but I found that the most amusing thing I heard when watching
Adventureland
came during the screening problem (when the sound went mute) when a fellow viewer in the crowd yelled "I'm so disappointed!" Ha-ha.
Of course just as with almost every teen movie there was some romance in
Adventureland
- It was pretty basic boy meets girl, they like each other, both make some stupid mistakes, then get back together in the end. Although it seems to possess many of the same characteristics most teen movies posses I still highly suggest going to watch
Adeventureland
because it was a very good movie.
Looking for a movie?? Guys looking for a good movie to take your girl to, I suggest bringing them to see
Adventureland
it's a funny film. For all you illegal potheads and alcoholics, this movie has the two things you love booze and weed. I don't suggest the film for those under the age of 17 or those over the age of 30. I only say that because I feel people between the age of 17-30 can relate to it a lot better mainly because either they're going through similar situations right now or just getting out of those situations. Plus I don't think a 9-year-old should be watching a bunch of teens getting drunk and high, it sets a bad example.
If you like the actors and actresses in this movie they've done some other really good films before. You may recognize Frigo as the Rollover minutes kid on the AT&T Wireless Commercials. Of course you know Em as Bella from
Twilight
- Bobby is one of the cops from
SuperBad
and of course he's one of the funniest characters in the movie.[For those of you who don't know, he also played Private Miller in
Pineapple Express
]. Connel is the infamous
Van Wilder
.
Everyone else in the movie I didn't recognize; it's not that they didn't do a good job, it's just that I don't think I've seen them in any other films. The whole cast did a wonderful job though especially Matt Bush as Frigo, who I thought was the funniest character in the movie. Well this concludes this review and as always help control the pet population get your pets neutered and don't buy bootleg movies. Oh and another to add -- don't drink and drive or smoke and drive, thats right you stoners I didn't forget about you.
--Jason Lacsamana is a senior at Mount Miguel High School. He says he wants to be a Teen Critic because he loves watching movies and loves to critique them but never really had a way of sharing his critiques.He cites zombie movies as his favorites of all time.
--Darrin Buchanan is a seventeen-year-old senior at Mount Miguel High School. His main hobbies are theater and speech. He's also a member of the varsity speech team and a part of all the theater productions at school. He loves going to movies and is looking forward to sharing his views with others.
