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Adventureland DVD Review: Kristen Stewart Vamp To Vampire

By Prairie Miller

A Superbad followup by filmmaker Greg Motola that might be termed Superbored, Adventureland is anything but, as depressed post-grad burb youth do the dream deferred thing on the way to uncertain adulthood. Based on the memories of Long Island homeboy writer/director Motola and his summer drudge duty at that Farmingdale amusement park, Adventureland relocates to Kennywood Park in Pittsburgh. Ouch, a missed opportunity to capture the distinct local flava of an LI lost and found coming of age elegy in the late '80s, and settling instead for strictly generic atmospheric vibes, say it ain't so, Greg.

It's in the depths of that other recession during the Reagan period, and James (Jesse Eisenberg), a nerdy college grad who is looking forward to matriculating in the fall at Columbia School Of Journalism, gets the bad news from his parents that Dad, a closet alcoholic, has just been downsized at work. Which means that James will have to round up a summer job to pay his own tuition.

The only work James can find much to his dismay, is as a carnie at Adventureland, where the games tend to be rigged in a predictable no-win situation. It's also the sort of turf for tacky rides where word has it that you could find a Reebok in the parking lot - with a foot still in it.

But his new friends are cool, both the temps and lifers, and they help keep one another from succumbing to full blown existential despair. James is at the same time hopelessly smitten by fellow carnie and commitment challenged Em (Kristen Stewart), a temperamental teen who's involved in an emotionally self-destructive affair as strictly a side dish, with Mike (Ryan Reynolds), the park's very married flirty handyman.

Adventureland presents fairly standard youthful romance, but with an uncommon sensitivity, grit and all natural hip humor that never feels contrived. Whether it's religious differences that complicate relationships, too much booze just to get by, fractured family life, or terror of an unseen and uncertain future. Or, those nutty comical interludes like sex in a seatbelt, the goofy, budget stressed park owners (Bill Hader and Kristen Wiigand), and that mad crush on the girl who introduced you to those incomparable 'psychotropic chocolate chip cookies.'

But what infuses Adventureland with its lion's share of vivid dramatic intensity, is that promising method actress extraordinaire, Kristen Stewart. Whether aspiring vamp or vampire in whatever role (Adventureland preceded Twilight), she's got all the ingredients to claim bragging rights as the up and coming James Dean of young hotties.

Miramax Home Entertainment
Rated R
3 stars

DVD Features: Interviews With Writer/Director Greg Mottola And Actor Jesse Eisenberg; Making Of Featurette: Just My Life: The Making Of Adventuraland; Deleted Scenes With Optional Commentary.

Prairie Miller is a multimedia journalist online, in print and on radio. Contact her through NewsBlaze.