Commentary, Just My Life, Welcome To Adventureland, Frigo’s Ball Taps, Deleted Scenes, Lisa P’s Guide To Style, Song Selection, Digital Cop

Adventureland is directed by Greg Mottola and stars Jesse Eisenberg, Ryan Reynolds, Kristen Stewart, Martin Starr, Bill Hader, and Kristen Wiig. ***

Adventureland is a comedy/drama set in the summer of 1987. The story revolves around a young man who recently graduated from college. After graduation he takes a dead-end job at his local amusement park. Surprisingly, he finds out that this job could be the best way to become prepared for the real world that lies beyond on the journey of life. ***

Adventureland is sure to get a mixed reception for the mere fact that it is being marketed incorrectly. The commercials and promotional material implies that this is an outrageous teen sex film not unlike Superbad, director Mottola’s other recent hit. In actuality, this is more of a genuine teen romance film – and a pretty good one too, aside from some flaws. It’s just a shame the marketing is so off. ***

The film makes an effort to recapture the feeling of the era in which it is set, and in this regard, it’s at least half a success. It definitely looks like the 80s, but the atmosphere, dialogue and20the like all feel like that of a modern-day film. Likewise, the writing tends to be hit-and-miss, and features too many little subplots that go nowhere. Fortunately it’s a movie that has more than a few saving graces, not the least of which are the performances given by its young stars. And unlike other comedies of a similar nature, this one actually has a heart. It isn’t perfect, but it’s still a fresh film and worth checking out. ---

Image and Sound:

This is one of those transfers that is difficult to review, because it’s difficult to tell if the picture quality is due to transfer issues or if it is a result of the intended filming style. Considering its nature, the picture is surprisingly grainy, and the darker scenes tend to lose some detail in the shadows. Those issues aside though, detail is fairly strong. The audio is pretty standard fare with front-heavy dialogue occupying most of the movie – though it does tend to come to life to a greater extent during scenes when music plays. This is a middle-of-the-road transfer – it’s not one of the best-looking Blu-Ray new releases, but it’s still solid. Though again, it’s tough to rate because it’s hard to tell what is intentional in the image quality and what is deliberate by the filming style.

We get a pretty standard assortment of supplements in this package. The commentary track on the disc, featuring the director and one of the film’s stars is hilarious and informative alike – easily one of the best commentaries I’ve ever sat through for a comedy. Most of the featurettes consist of behind-the-scenes info and clips, and these are a worthy view for any fan of the movie. Also included are deleted scenes and fictional commercials for the Adventureland Park. Rounding out the package is a digital copy of the film.

Final Words: