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Capone has fun on the ADVENTURELAND ride at SXSW, and wants to ride again!!!
Hey everyone. Capone in Chicago here, with one of my favorite finds at the SXSW Film Festival this year.
In a strange and wonderful way, I'm both a little ticked off and extremely pleased with the folks that are marketing the latest film from writer-director Greg Mottola (THE DAYTRIPPERS; SUPERBAD) entitled ADVENTURELAND. Most of you probably think this is a silly comedy about a bunch of teenagers who work at a rundown amusement park circa the 1980s, and you'd be about half right. There's a big part of me that wants you to walk into ADVENTURELAND thinking you know exactly what you're in for, so if you like surprises then walk away from this review right now. While I won't spoil any major plot points in this review, those of you who continue reading need to understand that you're going to discover that the tone and plot of this film are a lot more interesting and weighty than any of the advertising might lead you to believe. As long as you're cool with knowing that ahead of time, continue reading.
Your first clue that ADVENTURELAND has some emotional depth should have been the two young leads. James is played by Jessie Eisenberg, who has starred in such melancholy treats as THE SQUID AND THE WHALE, THE HUNTING PARTY, RODGER DODGER, and THE EDUCATION OF CHARLIE BANKS. Then we have Kristen Stewart as Em. Excluding her star-making turn in Twilight, Stewart is one of her generation's best actors, with such works as PANIC ROOM, THE CAKE EATERS, INTO THE WILD, FIERCE PEOPLE, UNDERTOW, COLD CREEK MANOR, and THE SAFETY OF OBJECTS. I remember when I first started seeing the trailer for ADVENTURELAND, my first thought was, "What the hell is Kristen Stewart doing in this goofy comedy?" But when you see the film, you understand that an actress of some measure and talent is absolutely required to capture this troubled young woman's journey though some very dark places. Stewart could not be more perfect in this role.
Not to short change Eisenberg, who slides gracefully into the role of a young man whose virginity bothers him but not enough to lose his dignity to rid himself of it (like the kids in Superbad). James is strangely confident in his ability to attract women, even if he's not quite capable of holding onto them once they grow to like him. In the film, he is befriended by two very different men--Joel, played by Martin Starr ("Freaks and Geeks," KNOCKED UP), an uber-social outcast whose very look makes him a target; and the slightly older Mike (Ryan Reynolds, who plays this role seriously, leaving his smarm in the dressing room), who offers sage advice about women to James, even as the two men pursue the same woman.
When his parents' financial stability deflates, college grad James is forced to put off his plans to spend a summer in Europe to get the worst possible job--as one of those guys in charge of those awful carnival games at the amusement park. His bosses are the husband-and-wife team of Bobby and Paulette (SNL's Bill Hader, sporting a hideous Tom Selleck mustache, and Kristen Wiig, whose character might be a tiny bit brain damaged). Hader and Wiig provide the film's funniest moments, and they are much needed at times as the film digs deeper into Em's upbringing and her current romantic situation. It's clear that she truly likes James, and just being around her brings James out of his shell enough that other women who work at the part start to notice him, including the voluptuous Lisa P (Margarita Levieva). In the perfect world, these two would hook up for the summer and possibly get serious enough to stay together beyond the carney life. But how many of us can say that our early 20s love lives went according to plan?
James plies Em with perfect mix tapes featuring dark and intellectually stimulating works from Lou Reed, The Replacements, Alex Chilton and Husker Du, as if to counter the inane '80s pop music played nonstop and on constant rotation at the park. You may actually make Falco's "Rock Me Amadeus" the theme song to your next killing spree. Mottola beautifully recreates the conflicting sonic landscapes of the 1980s better than anyone else in recent memory. And his nearly wall-to-wall use of music reminded me of an ‘80s version of AMERICAN GRAFFITI or DAZED AND CONFUSED.
But where the film really scores points are in its dark corners. Although many may attempt to compare ADVENTURELAND to the films of John Hughes, that's not what I saw at all. What came to mind for me was FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH, written by Cameron Crowe and another prime example of bait-and-switch advertising. People walked into that movie expecting "Hey, dude, let's party" and topless Phoebe Cates, both of which they got, but they also got tales of bad sex and abortions. And it's these portions of the plot that elevated the film to its legendary heights. Now, there are no abortions in Mottola's film, but that doesn't mean that some really cruel and unusual stuff doesn't happen between the cock-punching gags and Hader's psychotic, bat-wielding moment of glorious insanity as he chases off patrons intent on beating the spit out of James. And it's in these quiet but powerful sequences where Eisenberg and Stewart truly show what they can accomplish.
The day that Greg Mottola fails to surprise me will be a disappointing day for me indeed. Even in SUPERBAD, there are moments of incredible sweetness that I was not expecting, but ADVENTURELAND goes beyond the occasional moment and gives over large potions of the movie to these tough and tender scenes. This is a film that defied all of my expectations, still delivers loads of laughs, but inserts great moments of humanity and soul that make is something really special. You are going to love this movie.
-- Capone
capone@aintitcoolmail.com
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No Friggin way!
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people said "oh you expect a comedy, but it's so much mroe! it has heart!" about a lot of the Apatow comedies. And I thought they had no more depth or "emotion" than your typical rom-com.
so I'm not gonna buy into the idea that i should expect more than just zany comedy from this. -
The Jessica Alba lookalike from The Invisible? They just sold a ticket.
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of Superbad. It doesn't look like a goofy comedy, but, as Capone says, something with emotional depth. But it hasn't really been pushed as...anything. Just a movie starring the "Twilight" girl. I'd like to see this movie do well because I think it will legitimize this group of young talented actors who seem to be popping up in a lot of solid roles.
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Caught a screener on Wed and have to say, you hit note for not my opinion. I have a bunch of friends that wanted to go see it this weekend because it looks "hilarious", however they really don't know what they are in for... What is it with the Marketing machine lately?!?! This film is undersold and sold as Superbad style comedy, when it is MUCH more than that.
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working at a theme park growing up. Most the guys are gay so the girls had much less options =) Hey makes a good ratio for me, some crazy/freaky chicks work at these parks. God I wish I was 20 again, sniff. I think I will see this if anything for Kennywood, I miss going to that park.
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I've roped some friends and co-workers into a matinee tomorrow.
I think Eisenberg is great, but I'd like to see him in something that shows some range. I've only seen ROGER DODGER and THE SQUID AND THE WHALE, though, so maybe one of these other movies lets him stretch. -
It was wonderful and well written. However I knew what to expect.The Marketing is going to get butts in the seats but I am not sure they are right audience to appreciate this film. My husband was one of them expecting jokes about periods and is not sure he liked it. However being that we are both huge fans of Kennywood Ammusement Park it was awseome to see shots of my favorite vintage rides in the whole country. And for the records they treat the customer and worker MUCH better than this film protrays. Walk into this film open minded, you will be really surprised.
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More like Dazed and Confused than Superbad, and that's a good thing.
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Apr 03, 2009 6:08:09 PM CDT
I found this a somber, bittersweat experience.
by the reluctant austinite
This is just what I was hoping for, but it's not going to please anyone expecting a laugh-a-second lowbrow comedy with sexual jokes galore. There are few bellylaughs, but that's not what this is about. This really took me back to my life 20 years ago, and it's a bittersweet reunion with a past that was both the best and the worst of times.
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It might have been a good movie but I wasn't in the mood for what it looked like it was turning out to be. It wasn't the LOL yuckfest it looked like from the trailer. At 15 minutes I was bored so I wandered out to see if there was a good showing around and I LOVE YOU, MAN was just starting so I went back and got my friend and watched it again. It's still hilarious. Slappa da bass, mun.
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just saw this and there were some meathead wannabe frat hipsters in the back gettin rowdy before the lights dimmed but as the film progressed they realized this was no Superbad. its quite good just not what the trailer suggests which is actually good... get it?
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Apr 03, 2009 6:44:18 PM CDT
bittersweat--heh, that's a good description anyway!
by the reluctant austinite
But I meant bittersweet!
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There were only 10 people in the theater this afternoon, and 2 of them walked out after about an hour.
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I saw this movie last night. Two things people should know about this movie or they're going to be highly disappointed as I was. First... this film is not a comedy. Yes it has a couple of laughable moments but those are the same funny parts we saw in the trailer. The marketing for this movie was way off and I can see why they went with the "Superbad kind of comedy" because they knew it would get the teenagers and everyone else that loved Superbad into the theaters. Well this film has about 60-120 seconds of funny moments in it. The rest is one big serious, slow date movie. Don't get me wrong... it's a well made movie and the acting is at the top for most of the cast but that's all it has. People expect a laugh-out-loud every 5 minutes movie but they're going to get the complete opposite. That's why there's going to be a number of people leaving before it's over. They wanted funny and got boring and slow.
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Quite meh. If you go in expecting, say, Super Bad you're going to be PISSED. It's more drama, less laughs. I don't think I laughed out loud once. Quite a few, heh heh moments but that's about all. The latest commercial is quite misleading, saying "Must be 17 to enter this park!" and making everyone expect a raunchy sex comedy.
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Seriously a lot of movies are mismarketed just to get people into the theater and I don't think it's right. Someone needs to put a stop to this trend.
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I had some issues with it, biggest of which was the 80's setting which was unconvincing. Anybody who remembers the 80's knows that they missed the mark on recreating the era. Plus some parts were underwritten. The theme park owners seemed to have a story that was edited out in addition to some other characters, Ryan Reynolds seems to be sleepwalking...worth a rent though. The lead actors def. do a great job.
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...not like this:
www.therobotard8000.com -
either everyone dresses like the cast of breakin 2 and sings mr.roboto or everyones an uber-hip, lou reed worshiping vinyl junkie. It seems the writers make the mistake of projecting what they wished the era or themselves were actually like. In reality the 80's were a frustrating transitional period where you had the excesses of pop culture some good some bad, blending with the emerging fringe cultures. You could enjoy aspects of both as things were not as defined. It seemed the 90's made everyone split into groups for better or worse.
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Apr 05, 2009 5:57:05 PM CDT
Who are the ad wizards who decided to market this as a comedy?
by garbageman33
A raucous comedy, no less. Aside from a few cock punches, there's nothing raunchy in the whole movie. Which isn't to say it's no good. I just had to recalibrate my expectations after 20 minutes or so. Which begs the question. Why would you market a movie in a way that you know will piss people off?
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Come on, "Unsatisfied" when he doesn't get the girl of his dreams? Dig a little deeper. There was more to the 80s than the Replacements, The Cure and The Smiths. I did enjoy hearing some Husker Du, though.
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The "Love Rectangle" with the 3 leads and Lisa P was well-realized and reminded me of a lot of relationship mistakes I've made in my day. Still, as much as Hollywood loves a happy ending, this one felt tacked on. The movie felt like it was leading towards a glorious LAST AMERICAN VIRGIN "screw you" ending and then boy magically tracks down girl and everything's all right. And honestly, even the Replacements, Cure, and Smiths were only so popular back then. Except for the 1 or 2 top 40 hits, those bands were really only fringe bands back then. It was retrospect and influence on other groups that made those acts huge. Hipster stuff like the Velvets, the Stooges, X...really not as omnipresent as all these writer/director love letters would have it seem. Agree with Charlie Allnut that it seemed incomplete, as if there were a lot of cuts to get this down to a studio mandated "comedy running time." Still, good movie--I actually liked it a bit more than SuperBad.
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Superbad was funnier, Adventureland a much better movie, by far. If you want yuks, see "I Love you Man". This is more real, save the 'happy' ending.
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end of message.
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