MESSAGE IN THE MOVIES

Adventureland Rated R

Directed by Alex Proyas.  Starring Nicolas Cage, Chandler Canterbury



Photo © Miramax Films
Movie Review by Rev. Bruce Batchelor Glader

Adventureland is set in the summer of 1987, where James (Eisenberg), a virginal college graduate, is forced to work a season at a nearby amusement park. 

Will he find love with Em (Stewart), a pretty girl who works alongside of him at the games booths?  Will he ever be rid of the neighborhood kid (Matt Bush) who continues to punch him in the groin?  Will he learn life lessons from the park’s married maintenance man (Ryan Reynolds) who may also be cheating with some of the girls at Adventureland?  And – because this is always a familiar plot point in these kinds of films – will he lose his virginity to a woman up to his standards? 

The biggest question I kept asking myself as I watched this film was “Why should I care?”  I never did.  Everything in Adventureland  is overstated and obvious; the film is an oppressive viewing experience. 

All of the parents are distant (or absent) from their grown children, and the young adults in this film are selfish and self-absorbed.  Sure, there are a lot of people like that, but I always tried my best to avoid them when I was a college student, since I was selfish enough to want to keep my distance. 

This film is being marketed as a comedy; it is actually a drama with a few laughs (and you’ve seen them all in the trailer).  I really wanted to connect with this film, since I worked a summer at Cedar Point once upon a time.  I started my summer as a (relatively) innocent college student and stayed that way all summer long.  I also had a lot of fun and made friends with a bunch of other immature kids who could care less about growing up.   What’s the message in this movie? “Coming of age” is overrated and boring.  May you stay forever young.

Pitchfork Rating:
One halo An earnest, but underwritten and uninvolving story of coming-of-age in the ‘80s. . Three pitchforks Lots of swearing, talk about sex, some discreet scenes of sexual activity, with a lot of pot smoking and alcohol consumption.

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