Adventureland Review

If you need a few laughs this weekend, there’s a new comedy out in theaters!
In ‘Adventureland’, writer-director Greg Mottola’s autobiographical movie, Jesse Eisenberg opening in his second film in consecutive weeks stars.

He plays a Columbia grad school bound student in the summer of 1987.

But instead of his promised trip to Europe as a graduation present, his family sudden financial difficulties have forced him to work at a dreary Pittsburgh amusement park instead.

But he finds love there in the person of Kristin Stewart - she of ‘Twilight’ fame.

Now since director Mottola made ‘Superbad’, you’d think this would be funny stuff.

But it’s just not there funny enough, long enough.

Saturday night live stars Kristin Wiig and Bill Heder run Adventureland.

But their roles aren’t big enough to contribute enough yucks.

And his dream girl’s affair with an older married man played by Ryan Reynolds diverts the film’s comedic intentions.
“Adventureland’ looks like it will be a funny movie, but at best it’s occasionally an amusing one.

There is an Adventureland on Long Island.

Jesse Eisenberg is an excellent everyman sort of actor, sort of a Woody Allen guy without the humor.

Perhaps the writer-director’s story was too literal, too close to what really happened, and afraid to embellish a bit.

That would have helped.