Adventureland (2009)

This is the only film I've seen at the cinema where I've come in late and missed the first few minutes. I was going to see it with a friend and were delayed getting there and missed the first three or four minutes. Annoyed, I swore I would never do the same thing again, and so far I have not. Four years later, I finally got around to watching it again, from the start, uninterrupted! Here's the review.

Adventureland is a romantic comedy set in 1980s Pennsylvania. James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg) desperately wants to join his best friend on holiday in Europe before they set off for university together. Unfortunately, his dad's demotion means his parents can't afford to pay for the trip and faced with no other option, he gets a job at Adventureland, the local lame amusement park. There, he encounters an eclectic range of characters: pipe-smoking Joel (Martin Starr), his ex-best friend Tommy Frigo (Matt Bush), smooth-talking repairman Mike Connell (Ryan Reynolds), the enticing Lisa P. (Margarita Levieva), eccentric assistant manager Bobby (Bill Hader) and his wife, manager Paulette (Kristen Wiig) and the beautiful, enchanting Em (Kristen Stewart).

After Em saves James from being stabbed by an understandably irate customer, he falls for her and the two begin a very awkward, stop-start relationship, punctuated by uncomfortable encounters with her father (Josh Pais) and stepmother (the excellent Mary Birdsong), Em's relationship with the unhappily married Mike and Lisa P.'s suspicious interest in James.

Adventureland's strengths are in its performances. It's not the funniest comedy I've ever seen. In fact, I didn't laugh out loud more than two or three times, but Eisenberg is his usual winning self, Stewart is confident in her role, self-assured and at the same time vulnerable and the various supporting characters are well-played. If you're only familiar with Kristen Stewart through her Twilight roles (I'm not, having only seen the first one quite a while ago), you probably already have an opinion of her. If it's a negative one, put that to one side and watch her in this film. If you think she can't act, that she only has "one facial expression" or if you hold any of the other criticisms that have been levelled at her, watch this film. It's also an excellent retro piece, full of classic 80s music (notably Falco's "Rock Me Amadeus", which is played ad nauseum on the theme park's speakers and always reminds me of the excellent "Dr. Zaius" parody in The Simpsons) and various news clips of President Reagan.

The film's ending split my friend and I. He disliked it, saying it was too predictable. I disagreed, saying that their relationship ended appropriately. Either way, if you're looking for a good, well-acted film and nostalgic for either young love or the 1980s, watch Adventureland.

8 out of 10.