Not to sound like a fan girl,but “Adventureland” was nearly pitch perfect in my eyes. As a Long Island girl who grew up in the 80′s,there couldn’t have been a more perfect resemblance of the place I spent many a summer night with friends and family when there was nothing else to do.

The film,written and directed by Greg Mottola of “Superbad” fame,follows the life of James Brennan,a college graduate who is forced to take a thankless job at a local amusement park over the summer to scrounge up money for his future plans after his father is demoted at work. Brennan already had to cancel his epic journey to Europe with friends when the family hit hard times,so his borderline carnie position is the nail on the head of what he anticipates to be one long ass summer. Jesse Eisenberg,from “The Squid and the Whale”,has his “breakthrough” role with this film. He was able to do a similar thing that John Cusack did in “Say Anything”. Eisenberg was able to convince the audience that his sensitivity came from a true and caring place and that even when he gets his heart broken,he will not be the sap. Kristen Stewart plays Em,the heart breaker. She is a rich girl running away from the troubles at home and using her shitty job at a local amusement park to further divide herself from her family. To not give too much of the plot away,Em and Brennan battle what is an undeniable awkward attraction from the get-go,her looking for something stable and him looking for something real. Stewart plays Em flawlessly and actually allows me to like her character after all the messed up stuff she does in her need to continuously hurt herself and no she ain’t a cutter. Stewart is undeniably a star on the rise and her ability to make herself feel familiar to the audience is a wonderful quality for an actress. The support cast is Ryan Reynolds,as Connell the ultra hot and mysterious maintenance man,Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig,the quirky married couple who owns and manages the park,Margarita Levieva,as Lisa P. the too good to be true coworker and Martin Starr,as he always is,the best supporting character in the movie. Starr plays Joel,a lonely soul searching for girl who gets him and way out of his small town,whose friendship with Brennan and bizarre honesty is the glue that holds the movie together. The other glue is the wonderful soundtrack,filled with modern rock gems and roller skating dance hits that really remind how awesome the late 80′s were. The soundtrack is nearly perfect here and again rivals song placements and overall tone with that of a Crowe film.

As I said earlier,the movie in my mind was pitch perfect. The development of the two leads,James and Em,allowed the audience to view the plot from two different narratives. It’s reminiscent of the glory days of old Cameron Crowe films,with its depth,humor and skilled soundtrack. It felt authentic,which is such a nice change from the teen dramadies of recent past. There was no gimmick,it wasn’t 80’s to be kitschy and it wasn’t filled with over the top pop culture references to hit you over the head that this does in fact take place in 1987. The young adults,who were just coming into their own,were battling similar crisis that we all do when we get to that point when we understand we need to begin to find ourselves. I loved how religion and politics were discussed within the context and how even in their early 20’s,these kids were still battling their parents’ ideals or lack of. It was al so refreshing to watch a movie where there was NO technology,just calls to the home,drop bys at your house and the rumor mill of mouth to mouth gossip. This movie did what a lot of other movies have tried and failed to do,it allowed you to understand why people mess up in relationships and life. It’s more Paul Feig than Judd Apatow,and as a fan of “Freaks and Geeks” I love it! It’s a return to a more intelligent YA film. Its not in your face and I wont be able to quote it for the next few years drunk at a party (except Starr’s ode to Mr. Haverchuck and nut allergies),but it’s a wonderful representation of a very important time in one’s life. If you are looking for a film that is a raunchy and side splitting comedy,then I say rent “Superbad”. But if you are looking for a smarter,coming of age tale where the humor isn’t forced,the jokes aren’t broad and the story feels very real,then I highly recommend checking out “Adventureland” when it opens nationwide on April 3rd.

I want to thank Emily and the rest of the Miramax Films team for inviting me to the screening of “Adventureland” and letting me get some face time in with Greg Mottola and costar Margarita Levieva. Mottola,as always,was insightful and interested in what we took away from the film. It was very obvious where the authentic storyline came from on this movie. And Levieva is definitely another star on the rise and I wish her all the best of luck in her first Broadway performance along side with Joan Allen and Jeremy Irons in ”Impressionism”. I am very excited to see Mottola’s next directing effort,a cross country road trip following Sci-Fi fans.