Product Details

• Actors: Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Ryan Reynolds, Kelsey Ford, Michael Zegen
• Directors: Greg Mottola
• Writers: Greg Mottola
• Producers: Anne Carey, Bruce Toll, Declan Baldwin, Scott Ferguson, Sidney Kimmel
• Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English, French
• Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Miramax
• DVD Release Date: August 25, 2009
• Run Time: 107 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (93 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B002BFBAUG
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #42,242 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Adventureland [Blu-ray]" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

A sweet and slap-happy mix of indie coming-of-age drama and Judd Apatow’s scatological but heartfelt manchild comedies, Greg Mottola’s Adventureland is a winning look at the pleasures and frustrations of dead-end jobs and teenage kicks as viewed through a filter of mid-‘80s pop culture. The underutilized and always watchable Jesse Eisenberg (The Squid and the Whale) is a sheltered, introspective New York college grad who discovers that his parents’ financial woes will not only quash his dream of a summer in Europe (to enjoy its more “sexually permissive” nations) but require a move to Pittsburgh, where he lands a job at a dilapidated amusement park. There, he’s thrown in with a motley crew of eccentrics, small-town types and a few genuine free spirits, most notably co-worker Em (Kristen Stewart), whose complicated past proves irresistible to his repressed psyche. Mottola, who directed Superbad and episodes of the well-loved Freaks and Geeks, and who once worked in a similar park as a teen, doesn’t shy from the crude laughs that make Apatow’s features so popular, but he tempers it with a wistful tone and layered characters that hew closer to his earliest work, The Daytrippers. Though ill-matched at first, Eisenberg and Stewart make a likable on-screen couple, and they’re well-supported by a terrific cast that includes such die-hard scene-stealers as Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig as the park’s offbeat owners, Martin Starr as a Russian lit aficionado, and Ryan Reynolds as a former town tamer, now reduced to working as the park’s handyman. A soundtrack performed by underground faves Yo La Tengo and filled with a smart mix of hip cuts (Hüsker Dü, the New York Dolls, the Replacements) and period faves (Falco’s “Rock Me Amadeus”) underscores the film’s blend of tentative emotions and broad laughs. -- Paul Gaita

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Product Description

ADVENTURELAND - Blu-Ray Movie

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars magical - a more mature Mottola, October 4, 2009

By 

barry (Boston, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Adventureland [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)

ADVENTURELAND is magical, a film of honesty, innocence and real life all centered around the coming of age of teen James played by the very impressive Jesse Eisenberg. Many viewers may at first be surprised by this film and find it slow and lacking in the expected hilarity. When the promotion work was done on this film it was a marketing travesty. This film is directed by Greg Mottola of SUPERBAD fame, a film which redefined the comedy genre. When one thinks of SUPERBAD it is associated with KNOCKED UP, PINEAPPLE EXPRESS and ROLE MODELS. These films were tender tales told with over the top, in your face hilarity. I adore these films and own them all. They are classics. But ADVENTURELAND was promoted as if it was in this genre and it totally is not. The tender story of James is the center and there is heartfelt drama and emotion wrapped around this unique blend of honest characters and low scored humor. The humor is underplayed and always there but not in an over the top way.

James has his life all planned out, just graduated from high school and finds out that his college fund no longer exists so he must get a summer job. The only work available is at the tacky amusement park ADVENTURELAND. The cast is amazing and the story is told intimately in the vein of a small indie film. James falls for Em, the ever talented Kristen Stuart. Ryan Reynolds effectivelty underplays his role of the park gigolo. Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader from SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE are hilarious as the owners of the park but for me most of the laughts come from the very underrated Wendie Malick who plays James mother.

This film is a gentle coming of age story with very real characters. It is not an over the top laughfest but instead a tender drama filled with charmed laughs. If you find this movie to not be what you expected don't give up on it and give it a second viewing. I guarantee it will grow on you. It grew on me so much I had to purchase it.

This film takes place in the mid 80s and is true to the time preriod. There is a classic soundtrack and everything else from scenery to props are right on point. The blu ray version has a very impressive 1080p high def transfer that show colors with immense clarity and treats darks with class. Audio is also superb. This film has a story to tell and with each viewing you will grow fonder and fonder of the characters and its humor and grace will become a huge part of the films charm. This is a coming of age tale that is a must see.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mismarketed gem, February 17, 2010

By 

Joel D. Harding "Acebojangles" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Adventureland (DVD)

As soon as I finished this movie a few feelings ran through me: I pined for young love, wished to be young(er) again and wanted to watch Adventureland again. I can't remember the last time I wanted to watch a movie a second time.

This story rang true to me, the acting was great and there was enough comedy to keep things interesting. Make no mistake, though, this isn't the Superbadesque comedy it was marketed as. It's an extremely well done coming of age love story with likable charachters with an 80's twist.

(Edited for atrocious English)

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A solid 5 star movie with real substance, November 29, 2009

By 

Mark "a longtime record buyer" (Santa Monica, CA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Adventureland (DVD)

This is the film Kristen Stewart was shooting when first approached about "Twilight."

Those expecting a comedy may feel short changed. Comic elements surround a bittersweet but ultimately satisfying core story and prevent it from getting too dark.

This is writer/director Greg Mottolo's reminiscence about a summer job in 1985.

Jesse Eisenberg ("James") and Kristen Stewart ("Em") have a lot in common. Both are out of high school and attending college in the fall. They meet as summer employees at an amusement park and are drawn to each other, but things are not all that they appear. He's a virgin, and she's not ... and there's a car crash there waiting to happen.

Roger Ebert wrote: "What surprised me was how much I admired Kristen Stewart, who in "Twilight," was playing below her grade level. Here is an actress ready to do important things. Together [with Eisenberg] and with the others, they make "Adventureland" more real and more touching than it may sound."

Take his word for it.

Kristen Stewart's "Em" comes alive as a real person you won't soon forget.

Don't expect laughs -- expect to be deeply moved.

This movie is honest and sincere, with real substance.