Adventureland

UK Release: 11th September 2009

Watched on iPlayer: Monday 9th January 2012

Rating: 15

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance

Runtime: 1hr 47mins

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

IMDb Plot Synopsis: A comedy set in the summer of 1987 and centered around a recent high school grad 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.

My Review: Something in this movie touched me in an odd-ball, adolescent way that I haven’t experienced in a while. It was sweet. A drama that deals with so many issues in a moving, genuinely funny way. 

I loved how it was set in the late 80’s in a rural town, and so it had a sort of depressing nostalgic feel to it; an itching to get out and be bigger and better which encrusted the entire film. 

Kristen Stewart was much better than expected, Jesse Eisenberg was on top form as ever and Kristen Wiig the surprising stand-out of the supporting cast. The film really went to much darker and unexpected places than I had anticipated and I love being surprised as in films these days it can get so very predictable. 

However, Ryan Reynolds was terribly miscast and let down the rest of them in my opinion as he attempted to play a cheating husband. 

Being set in the 80s it obviously had a fantastic soundtrack and so this combined with the fact that it had the perfect ending meant I absolutely loved it!

Score: 8.5/10