Adventureland

“Adventureland” is a comedy/drama directed by an up and coming director and writer Greg Motolla.  Motolla directed the very successful comedy movie “Superbad.”  “Adventureland” is a comedy film with a serious tone.  It has many strong points. However, the choice of Jesse Eisenberg was far too similar to an actor chosen for Motolla’s earlier film, “Superbad,” by the name of Michael Cera. 

“Adventureland” appeared in 2009 and it stared, along with Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart.  Stewart is becoming well known as the main female character in the Twilight movies.  Both the acting by Eisenberg and Stewart is well done, which makes “Adventureland” one of the better comedy films.  The strength of “Adventureland” is also in the story line.  The movie looks at what happens to people who are unable to afford to do what they want and what it means to make sacrifices along the way.  It also looks at family patterns and dysfunctions of those family patterns.  “Adventureland” is a movie that requires the reader to stop and pay attention.  More of an independent feel, “Adventureland” is a movie that can be appreciated by intelligent thinkers.  Typical with independent movies, “Adventureland” was not a block buster.  It took in less than 4 million in the box office during its second week.

One of the main problems with “Adventureland” is the choice of the main character.  Although Eisenberg matched up well with Stewart and her quality of acting, Director   Motolla created a scene for actor Michael Cera in the movie “Superbad” that was more memorable than forgettable.  The same actor should have been chosen for “Adventureland.”  Since Cera was not in the film, the character should have been created different than what appeared.  Unfortunately, the strength of Eisenberg’s character will be forgotten because it is too similar to what Cera has portrayed.