IMDb > Adventureland (2009)
Adventureland
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Adventureland (2009) More at IMDbPro »

Photos (see all 49 | slideshow) Videos (see all 29 NEW)
Adventureland (2009) -- During the summer of 1987, recent college grad James Brennan (Eisenberg) takes what he thinks is a going-nowhere job at his local amusement park, only to discover it's a perfect opportunity to prepare himself for the real world.
Adventureland (2009) -- Clip: New Yorker
Adventureland (2009) -- Featurette: Jesse
Adventureland (2009) -- During the summer of 1987, recent college grad James Brennan (Eisenberg) takes what he thinks is a going-nowhere job at his local amusement park, only to discover it's a perfect opportunity to prepare himself for the real world.
Adventureland (2009) -- Home video trailer for this comedy set in an amusement park

Overview

User Rating:
7.3/10   21,146 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?

Down 13% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.

Director:

Greg Mottola

Writer (WGA):

Greg Mottola (written by)

Contact:

View company contact information for Adventureland on IMDbPro.

Release Date:

3 April 2009 (USA) more

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance more

Tagline:

It was the worst job they ever imagined... and the best time of their lives. more

Plot:

A comedy set in the summer of 1987 and centered around a recent college grad (Eisenberg) who takes a nowhere job at his local amusement park, only to find it's the perfect course to get him prepared for the real world. full summary | full synopsis

Awards:

1 nomination more

NewsDesk:
(886 articles)

Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart Holding Hands
 (From toxicshock. 11 November 2009, 6:44 AM, PST)

E Online Interview with Robert Pattinson
 (From toxicshock. 11 November 2009, 4:43 AM, PST)

User Comments:

Complex and Moving more (130 total)


Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Jesse Eisenberg ... James Brennan

Kelsey Ford ... Arlene

Michael Zegen ... Eric
Ryan McFarland ... Brad
Jack Gilpin ... Mr. Brennan

Wendie Malick ... Mrs. Brennan

Matt Bush ... Tommy Frigo
Todd Cioppa ... Velvet Touch Manager
Stephen Mast ... Rich

Kristen Wiig ... Paulette

Bill Hader ... Bobby

Martin Starr ... Joel

Adam Kroloff ... Adult Contestant

Kristen Stewart ... Em Lewin

Kevin Breznahan ... Molly Hatchet T-Shirt Guy
more
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

MPAA:

Rated R for language, drug use and sexual references.

Runtime:

Argentina:107 min | USA:107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1 more

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS


Fun Stuff

Trivia:

During Em and James' first ride together in Em's car, they pass the nighttime-illuminated sign of Monroeville Mall, the location from Romero's Dawn of the Dead (1978). more

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The man that throws the piece of trash at Bobby is wearing Zubaz. Zubaz weren't invented until 1991. more

Quotes:

Bobby: Hey, litterbug! In the clown mouth! more

Movie Connections:

References Space Invaders (1978) (VG) more

Soundtrack:

Pale Blue Eyes more


FAQ

How much sex, violence, and profanity are in this movie?
A Note Regarding Spoilers
Is "Adventureland" based on a book?
more
6 out of 7 people found the following comment useful.
Complex and Moving, 1 September 2009
8/10
Author: drosent111 from Chicago

'Adventureland' is a melancholy voyage into the grey zone between adolescence and adulthood, school and career, lust and relationships, frivolity and responsibility. That is to say it is not 'Superbad' and that's supergood.

Upon graduating, comparative literature major James Brennan is informed that due to his father's recent demotion (alcoholism is an implied cause), the parents will not be funding his planned and hopefully transformative European vacation. James returns to his parents' Pittsburgh home with virginity and intellectual pretensions intact.

Still planning on attending Columbia Journalism School and needing funds, James seeks summer employment and settles for a job as a game both operator at Adventureland, a local amusement park that has seen better days. He is after all a comp lit major and not even qualified for manual labor.

Of course Adventureland is more than meets the eye. We're introduced to the interior lives of park employees. Extremely powerful performances are provided by Jesse Eisenberg, Martin Starr, Margarita Levieva, Ryan McFarland, and especially Kristen Stewart as James's sort of girlfriend Em.

These are not stock characters (with the exception of the ballbusting Frigo character, put here for childish laughs). The characters are emotionally and behaviorally complex. They wrestle with what it means to be young (or not so young) what it is to be in a relationship, the meaning of sex, employment, violence, drug use, fidelity, intellectualism, relationships with parents and their new spouses, the value of education. In short, what it means to be a person.

To enhance its verisimilitude, the film is mostly set to mid eighties tunes (Expose, The Mary Jane Girls, etc.). These songs are of the mid-eighties, but the film is set in 1987. It's a slight jab at the less than cutting edge nature of Pittsburghian society circa 1987. No matter, the film does not ridicule the zeitgeist. Rather, it takes seriously the emotional resonance of the sex, the music, the clothes, the hair, the ganja, the drinking, and the want to all involved (it was serious) and in so doing achieves poignancy.

The film touched me and not just because I was almost James's age living not too far from Pittsburgh in 1987, but because it addresses what it means to be on the shaky cusp of adulthood in such an honest way. A must see.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Adventureland (2009)
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Can the jealous twilight cows who live to obsessively hate Stewart leave drea_b1
I'm sorry but this film sucked. feekly
Kristen's acting style BroadwayJoseph
Movies similar to Adventureland? Norris-15
I was 18 in 1987... makeuplover69
Please suggest some similar movies... laya_garfield
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