Oh the waiting...

When you are young summer represents that time in which anything is possible. For a short time, you feel lighter than air, basking in the hope that the previous year is far behind you, and the future may be miles away. Adventureland is a coming-of-age film that captures that spirit of waiting. It tells the story of kids working at a summer theme park who are waiting for true love, for a way out of the house, for a college education, and for anything that will break them free from the patterns of their daily life. Even if they are in no hurry for the fall to get here.

If you think that the main character James is completely directionless that’s where you would be wrong. James knows exactly what he wants from life, but like the rest of his co-workers, he doesn’t know how he is going to get it. Thus the theme-park where his new 20-something comrades reside serves as a kind of “in limbo” waiting place for, amongst other things, their maturity. It’s the late 80’s and James Brennan (Eisenberg) is a squeaky clean graduate on his way to travel Europe for the summer. Times are a bit harder for his parents though, and when the funds seem to be running dry for his upcoming trip and future plans to attend Columbia grad school, James has no choice but to land a summer job to save up money. When he walks into a job at the local theme, park Adventureland, James unknowingly steps into a summer of romance, personal growth and introspection.

He meets Joel a student of Russian literature who, despite his brute personality is probably much too brilliant to work the job he is currently serving. There is Lisa P, the cute one, and the flirt who is the obsession of most of the male employees at adventureland. I’m pretty sure that it’s no coincidence that Lisa’s Adventureland t-shirt says “Rides*Rides*Rides”. Ryan Reynolds gives a toned down performance as the maintenance man at the park, Connel. Connell is married, but you would never know it watching him tell stories of his days “in the band” to enquiring blondes waiting in line at the tilt-a-whirl. James is most interested in Emily though. She works in the Games department with James and appears to have some depth that draws James to her. Her sexual experience far outweights James but he is not intimidated. Perhaps it is his character’s one flaw that he says too much. It lends his character to awkward conversations around females like Emily, and divulging too much about her exploits to co-workers. At the same time, she is a young girl who has a tortured past, and we believe that she finds some kind of solace in James’ character. They share something over the course of the summer, even if it is never articulated. As you can imagine all of these characters begin to intersect in a way that is often predictable but is seemingly genuine.

The film has most of the young adult comedy tropes that you’ve come to expect, including the seminal virgin who surprisingly, in this case is played suprisingly by the lead male character. He smokes pot gets into as little trouble as he knows how to, and is as genuine a kid as you will see on-screen in a comedy with an equal amount of jokes as nostalgia The goofy title will mislead you but there is something sweet and genuinely sincere plugging along through the plot of this little film.

3.5/5