Film Review: Adventureland
Off the top of my head I only have a few entries into the “movies shot in Pittsburgh” category. Sudden Death and Houseguest would be the first two that come to my mind.
Of course there are others, perhaps most notably the use of Monroeville Mall for the classic horror film Dawn of the Dead. As one who grew up in the great city of Pittsburgh, I appreciate this history. Similarly I became excited when I found out that the film Adventureland was being filmed at Kennywood Park.
It is hard to estimate how many times I have been to Kennywood, but I can safely say that I have ridden the visible attractions in Adventureland. The Jack Rabbit, the swings, the old track cars…nearly every location seen at the amusement park was also a spot I visited as a child. That kind of “inside information” made the film interesting as I tried to identify park spots and city areas that the film contained.
Unfortunately, that is where the achievement ends. Had I not personally grew up visiting the mythical Adventureland as Kennywood, there would have been very little to engage me as I sat in the theater. Though the trailer markets Adventureland as a crazy comedy, there is very little humor. Even what is there is a slight chuckle at best. Perhaps the only funny character in my opinion was the Adventureland owner played by Bill Hader.
With few attempts at laughter, the film is more of a teenage coming-of-age story. Adventureland is heavy on the drinking, drugs, and drama, but it is missing a key ingredient: depth. The completely flat story is basically laid out within the first fifteen minutes at a feverish pace. Everything then comes to a grinding halt for the remainder of the two hours while the audience hopes for it to pick up.
It does not help that the story of love and lust is being led by a Michael Cera impersonator. The main character, James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg), attempts the exact same quick-witted, soft-spoken delivery of Cera. The problem is that the dialogue is not amusing, nor is the story touching. Either of these qualities could have made his performance and Adventureland as a whole more enjoyable. What is presented instead is not humorous, not dramatic, not surprising; it is just there.
Adventureland approached a fork in the road of success and plowed straight down the center. By doing so it made itself nothing more than a poor man’s Garden State. Not even shots of the Racers or mentions of Route 30 could save it. I wanted to like this movie, but it was just as boring as the line for Phantom’s Revenge.
5/10
7 Comments
@ Justin: I heard it was being filmed at Kennywood, and was immediately attracted and thought about going to see it. I have heard from a few people (including you) it was not very good. That aside, was it good enough to see just because it was filmed in Pittsburgh? Or should I not waste my time and money?
Sidenote: Last Pens home game tonight, and then one more on the road against the Canadiens on Saturday. Then playoffs, huge. Let’s go Pens.
@Putt I would say that for those who grew up in Pittsburgh going to Kennywood it holds more value than for others. I did enjoy seeing all the classic Kennywood rides, so I guess I would say that part was interesting. I would recommend either catching it at a matinee/dollar theater or on DVD just to see the sights, but do not expect much story-wise.
Expecting hilarity, I was not (Yoda). Adventureland was not a laugh out loud movie, and just not that funny period. However, it had its moments that were subtly funny. The whole Michael Cera impersonation really got the best of me. I couldn’t get over the fact they were trying to duplicate the way he acts. Not to take anything away from Jesse Eisenberg, but to me it was just too replicated of a performance. It was cool to see Kennywood and different parts of Pittsburgh, but like you said I feel like they should have shown some more rides. Bill Hader was the funniest. I love Kristen Bell, so that made me happy. I also thought they were in highschool at first, not going for graduate school.
Personally, I think it was a feel good story, because the ending made me happy how things worked out, and I wanted that to happen the whole movie.
As a whole, it was just decent, probably a 6-6.5/10. Maaaybe 7/10 because of Kristen Stewart and Pittsburgh.
Let’s go Pens.
Also, I just reread my post, and I call Kristen Stewart “Kristen Bell” the first time, and by her right name the second time. Just stupid, but ironic because I do love both of them.
Don’t forget Inspector Gadget.
I was going to mention Inspector Gadget. PPG place as an evil hideout was simply phenomenal.
As a whole, I liked this movie, but I feel that if it wasn’t filmed in Pittsburgh I wouldn’t have liked it as much. I complete agree with Luke when it comes to the duplication of Michael Cera. It was no where close to being as funny as I thought it would be.
It turned out to be much more serious than I thought as well. Ryan Reynolds’ character was not funny at all, but this is no surprise, considering that he’s a terrible actor (in my opinion).
I gave this movie a 7.0, but I think without the Pittsburgh relation it’s only a 6.0 or 6.5. I caught myself paying more attention to trying to figure out where in Pittsburgh each scene was being filmed instead of the actual movie itself, which either shows that it wasn’t a good movie or my poor attention skills. Probably both…
@Luke Naming confusions aside, I agree they should have showed more rides. The ending was happy….but after so much destruction to get there I am not sure it is a feel-good story.
@Josh The Pittsburgh factor is key to enjoying this movie. Had I not grown up in the city I would have rated it even lower. Still it seems that you and others did like it more than I did, so perhaps I was harsh because it misused the city of my youth.
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