Spring Break
'Adventureland' predictable yet hilarious outing
Tim Pfarr
Issue date: 4/10/09 Section: Diversions
Adventureland
Rating: B
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Ryan Renolds, Bill Hader
Plot: A college graduate gets a job working at an amusement park after his post-graduation plans fall apart.
Every now and then, a film comes around that reminds us just how low work can go. Last time it was "Office Space." This time it's "Adventureland," the new film by Greg Mottola, director of "Superbad." However, this one takes place in 1987.
In the film, recent college graduate James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg) finds himself in a pickle when his parents tell him that they cannot afford to give him the graduation gift they promised (a trip to Europe). They also tell him that his plans to move to New York in the fall for graduate school might be shattered by the family's economic situation.
So James searches for a job. Unfortunately, the English major can't find one, so he takes the only one he can find: a job working a game booth at Adventureland, the local amusement park. In fact, the mustache-sporting, white-tennis-shoe-wearing park manager Bobby (Bill Hader) hires James on the spot when he inquires about the job.
But Bobby warns James that if he gives away a "giant ass panda" (the top prize for his game stall), he might as well kiss his job goodbye.
On his second day, James nearly gets robbed at knife point for a giant ass panda, but neighboring booth operator Em (Kristen Stewart) swoops in and saves him.
However, the instant spark between them also marks considerable thickening of the plot. Viewers discover that Em has a history with the park's dude-guy playboy maintenance worker Mike Connell (Ryan Renolds), and the gorgeous, dancing former employee Lisa P returns to work at Adventureland for the summer.
Audiences also discover fairly quickly that James is a virgin, waiting to find the right girl to have sex for the first time.
The primary focus of the film is the tangled web of sexual tension between James, Em, Lisa P and Mike Connell.
Rating: B
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Ryan Renolds, Bill Hader
Plot: A college graduate gets a job working at an amusement park after his post-graduation plans fall apart.
Every now and then, a film comes around that reminds us just how low work can go. Last time it was "Office Space." This time it's "Adventureland," the new film by Greg Mottola, director of "Superbad." However, this one takes place in 1987.
In the film, recent college graduate James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg) finds himself in a pickle when his parents tell him that they cannot afford to give him the graduation gift they promised (a trip to Europe). They also tell him that his plans to move to New York in the fall for graduate school might be shattered by the family's economic situation.
So James searches for a job. Unfortunately, the English major can't find one, so he takes the only one he can find: a job working a game booth at Adventureland, the local amusement park. In fact, the mustache-sporting, white-tennis-shoe-wearing park manager Bobby (Bill Hader) hires James on the spot when he inquires about the job.
But Bobby warns James that if he gives away a "giant ass panda" (the top prize for his game stall), he might as well kiss his job goodbye.
On his second day, James nearly gets robbed at knife point for a giant ass panda, but neighboring booth operator Em (Kristen Stewart) swoops in and saves him.
However, the instant spark between them also marks considerable thickening of the plot. Viewers discover that Em has a history with the park's dude-guy playboy maintenance worker Mike Connell (Ryan Renolds), and the gorgeous, dancing former employee Lisa P returns to work at Adventureland for the summer.
Audiences also discover fairly quickly that James is a virgin, waiting to find the right girl to have sex for the first time.
The primary focus of the film is the tangled web of sexual tension between James, Em, Lisa P and Mike Connell.
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