Adventureland (film)

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Adventureland
Adventurelandposter.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Greg Mottola
Produced by Sidney Kimmel
Anne Carey
Ted Hope
Written by Greg Mottola
Starring Jesse Eisenberg
Kristen Stewart
Ryan Reynolds
Martin Starr
Bill Hader
Kristen Wiig
Music by Yo La Tengo
Cinematography Terry Stacey
Editing by Anne McCabe
Studio Sidney Kimmel Entertainment
Distributed by Miramax Films
Release date(s)
  • April 3, 2009 (2009-04-03)
Running time 107 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Box office $17,164,377

Adventureland is a 2009 American period piece comedy-drama film written and directed by Greg Mottola starring Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Margarita Levieva, Ryan Reynolds, Martin Starr, Bill Hader, and Kristen Wiig.

Contents

Plot [edit]

Summer 1987: James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg) has graduated with a degree in comparative literature from Oberlin College. He is looking forward to touring Europe for the summer and going to Columbia University for graduate school in journalism when his parents (Wendie Malick and Jack Gilpin) announce they won't be able to help him financially.

James finds an unappealing job at Adventureland, a local amusement park in his hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where his childhood friend Tommy Frigo (Matt Bush) works. Assistant manager Bobby (Bill Hader) assigns James to the games area. He meets his co-workers: sarcastic Joel (Martin Starr); Bobby's wife and park manager Paulette (Kristen Wiig); Sue O'Malley (Paige Howard); Mark (Mark Miller); the alluring Lisa P. (Margarita Levieva); and the park's technician, Mike Connell (Ryan Reynolds), a part-time musician. Another games worker, Emily "Em" Lewin (Kristen Stewart), saves James from being stabbed by a disgruntled customer.

With her father and stepmother away, Em has a party and gets to know James. Connell, who has been having an affair with Em, comes over to further pursue it. Later that week, James goes for a drink with Em and she is surprised to learn James has never had sex. They share a first kiss. The following day, James tells Connell about his strong feelings for Em, which Connell reports to her. Em tells James she wants to take things slow due to problems in her life, leaving James confused and upset. Sue drunkenly makes out with Joel, but rejects him the next day, saying her Catholic parents would not allow her to date a Jew; outraged, Em calls her an anti-Semite in front of the entire staff. Lisa P. asks James on a date, but he has mixed feelings because of his relationship with Em. After Connell talks him into going, he accept Lisa P.'s offer to go out.

After the date, during which Lisa and James kiss, James learns Em had called to say she regrets having rejected his feelings. Joel later sees James and Em walking together and, irritated by the chain of events, quits. James unsuccessfully tries to talk him out of it, and Joel reveals he's angry at James for dating Lisa P. when James is already in love with Em. James tells Em about going out with Lisa P. After hearing of this, Em goes to Connell's mother's home to end their affair. The park's mentally challenged parking person, prompted by Tommy, tells James he saw Em and Connell doing "pushups without any pants on" in the back of Connell's car.

James goes to Connell's mother's house, which is where Lisa P. told him Connell takes girls to have sex, and sees Em leaving. Shocked to see James, Em becomes tongue-tied. James leaves angrily, and Em cries. James tells Lisa P. about the affair and asks her not to tell anyone, but she tells her friend Kelly. Upon noticing that all the park employees know, Em quits and moves back to New York. A heartbroken James drunkenly crashes his father's car into a tree and passes out. The next morning, his mother angrily wakes him up and tells him he has to repair it using his summer earnings.

Now, without enough money for graduate school, James nonetheless he heads to New York City with his parents' blessing, and waits outside Em's apartment. She is reluctant to talk to him, feeling she has ruined everything. James tells her he sees her in a different way than she sees herself. Touched, Em brings James up to her apartment. James reveals he is not going to Columbia this year, and considers next year. He gets out of his wet clothes and finds Em still has an Adventureland shirt. They kiss and begin to take their clothes off. James asks, "Are we really doing this?", and Em says, "I think so."

Cast [edit]

  • Jesse Eisenberg as James Brennan, a recent college graduate who majored in Comparative Literature and Renaissance Studies. He is an aspiring journalist who has to get a summer job so he can afford to go to Columbia University in New York. The only job he can get is in the games at the Adventureland theme park. He is a virgin and occasional marijuana smoker. Throughout his summer working in Adventureland, Brennan develops a relationship with his co-worker, Emily "Em" Lewin.
  • Kristen Stewart as Emily "Em" Lewin, one of James' Adventureland co-workers and love interest. She has a troubled home life, she hates her stepmother and resents her father for remarrying so soon after her mother's death from cancer. She is a student at NYU but her father is a rich lawyer and she works in the games at the theme park even though she doesn't need to, mostly as a reason to get out of the house. She is secretly having an affair with the park's maintenance man, Mike Connell, but eventually calls it off, and quits Adventureland after her affair becomes public knowledge.
  • Ryan Reynolds as Mike Connell, the park's maintenance man, married to a woman named Ronnie. He is also a part time musician who claims to have jammed with Lou Reed. Through slips in his musical knowledge, it becomes apparent to James that this is not true. He has cheated on his wife with different girls and, by the beginning of the story, with Em.
  • Martin Starr as Joel, one of James' co-workers at the games in Adventureland and James' friend in the summer. A college graduate in Russian literature and Slavic languages, a degree which he claims will get him a job as a "cabbie, hot dog vendor," or "marijuana delivery guy." He eventually quits the park after being attacked by a disgruntled customer and leaves Pittsburgh to head for an undisclosed location. He enjoys smoking a pipe, although he calls it a "revolting affectation."
  • Matt Bush as Tommy Frigo, James' childhood best friend; though they aren't good friends any more, James still manages to tolerate Frigo's immaturity and cruelty. Frigo constantly teases James and hits him in the testicles, repeatedly, often bringing him to his knees in pain. He even goes so far as to blackmail James about his date with Lisa P. At the end of the film, James hits Frigo in the testicles first for once before heading off to New York, finally getting his revenge.
  • Margarita Levieva as Lisa P., one of the rides operators at the Adventureland park. A seductive girl to whom all the park's employees are attracted. Her father was injured and is now unable to work, and she bonds with James after he shows some sympathy for her. She invites James out on a date, but he leaves her to go back with Em. She eventually tells her friends at the park that Em is having an affair with Connell, a secret she told James she would not reveal.
  • Bill Hader as Bobby, the eccentric assistant manager of Adventureland. He is extremely intolerant of people who litter but is very supportive of his employees and caring for his wife.
  • Kristen Wiig as Paulette, Bobby's wife and manager of Adventureland. She is often as eccentric as her husband but is much more quiet.
  • Mary Birdsong as Francy, Em's stepmother. She married Em's father shortly after the death of Em's mother. After her first divorce, she lost her hair from the stress of a nervous breakdown and wears a wig. Em says that if she were not a "status-obsessed witch", she might feel bad for her.
  • Josh Pais as Mr. Lewin, Em's father and Francy's husband. He met Francy at temple while his first wife was slowly dying in the hospital. He married Francy, soon after Em's mother died.
  • Jack Gilpin as Mr. Brennan, James' father. He loses his job and transfers to a different office. He is an alcoholic, but he tries to hide his drinking from his family. James finds a bottle of scotch underneath his dad's car seat, and he drinks the bottle while driving and crashes into his neighbor's tree. He doesn't tell his mother that the bottle belonged to his father.
  • Wendie Malick as Mrs. Brennan, James' mother. She is the one that lets James know they can't help them pay for his trip or graduate school. She supplies the discipline of the two parents. However at the end of the film, she decides to let James go off to New York City.

Production [edit]

Adventureland was filmed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from December 2007 to January 2008, with most scenes shot in Kennywood, a historic amusement park in nearby West Mifflin, Pennsylvania.[1] The theme park from the film is based on the Farmingdale, New York amusement park Adventureland where Mottola once worked in the 1980s. The scenes of the family home were filmed in a neighborhood named Fox Ridge located in the town of McCandless, a suburb still within Allegheny County and approximately 12 miles north of the city of Pittsburgh. Other scenes were shot in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, and the airport area of Moon Township such as the Stardust Lounge.

The story takes place during the summer, but since it was shot in the winter months in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, crews had to often hide snowfall. In some instances, during indoor takes, extras were paid to stand outside surrounding the windows and doors to block the snow falling behind the actors. Internet star Justine Ezarik makes an uncredited cameo appearance as she was already in Kennywood when filming started.

Release [edit]

The film premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival[2] and went on general release on April 3, 2009. The film was also screened at the 2009 Edinburgh International Film Festival. [3]

Critical response [edit]

Adventureland opened to largely positive reviews with an 89% based on 206 reviews and considered "Certified Fresh" on the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes.[4]

Metacritic gave the film an aggregate rating of 76 based on 34 select critics.[5]

Box office [edit]

In its first week at the box office, Adventureland opened moderately wide in only 1,862 screens grossing $5.7 million ranking #6 at the box office. Despite opening up in fourteen more screens in its second week Adventureland only took in $3.4 million, falling to #9 at the box office. The film concluded its U.S. domestic run on May 28, 2009 with a gross of $16,044,025 and a total international gross of $17,164,377[6][7]

Awards and nominations [edit]

The film was nominated for the Gotham Independent Film Awards "Best Ensemble Cast", scheduled in New York City on November 30, 2009.[8]

Adventureland was the winner of High Times magazine's 2009 Stoner Movie of the Year Award. Kristen Stewart also received High Times' 2009 Stonette of the Year Award, due in part to her performance in the film.[9]

Jesse Eisenberg was nominated for Favorite Male Breakthrough Performance at the Teen Choice Awards for his performance and also for his work in Zombieland.

Home media [edit]

The film was released August 25, 2009 on DVD and Blu-ray with unrated bonus features.[10]

Soundtrack [edit]

A total of 41 songs were licensed for use in the film.[11] The soundtrack includes 14 songs and was released on April 1, 2009. The songs included are mostly from the 1980s, to fit with the setting of the film, with several tracks from the late 1960s and early 1970s, most notably by The Velvet Underground, Lou Reed, the New York Dolls and cult darlings Big Star. The 80s bands represent a cross section of alternative bands from the time including Hüsker Dü, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Nick Lowe, The Cure, The Replacements, and Crowded House.

The film maintains a notable reverence for Lou Reed, who is idolized by the main character, featured on t-shirts and posters of other cast members and has likewise elevated the status of the playground mechanic stemming from a rumored jam session with the artist. Earlier versions of the script replaced Lou Reed with singer-songwriter Neil Young as the musician Ryan Reynold's character had played with, and used Young's songs "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere" and "Hey Hey, My My (Into The Black)" in key scenes.

Additional songs

A selection of the songs not included on the soundtrack album:

References [edit]

  1. ^ Kaleem Aftab (December 21, 2007). "Adventureland News". IGN Entertainment. Archived from the original on 28 September 2008. Retrieved October 29, 2008. 
  2. ^ "Adventureland 2009 Sundance Film Festival Premiere". List of films at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. Retrieved November 17, 2009. [dead link]
  3. ^ Robey, Tim (June 26, 2009). "Edinburgh Film Festival: The Hurt Locker, Adventureland, Moon". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved March 23, 2013. 
  4. ^ "Adventureland (2009)". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Archived from the original on 20 April 2010. Retrieved 2010-04-10. 
  5. ^ "Adventureland Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic.com. 2008-11-25. Archived from the original on 13 October 2010. Retrieved 2010-09-14. 
  6. ^ Adventureland at Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2010-04-10.
  7. ^ "Adventureland - Box Office Data, Movie News, Cast Information". The Numbers. Retrieved 2010-09-14. 
  8. ^ "Adventureland Gotham Awards Nomination". Gotham Independent Film Awards 2009. Archived from the original on 11 November 2009. Retrieved November 17, 2009. 
  9. ^ "> The 2009 HIGH TIMES Stony Awards". Hightimes.Com. Retrieved 2010-09-14. 
  10. ^ Adventureland on Blu-ray and DVD on Miramax.com
  11. ^ "DVD Release - Adventureland". PopMatters. September 2, 2009. Archived from the original on 31 October 2010. Retrieved November 29, 2010. 
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External links [edit]

Films directed by Greg Mottola
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