Adventureland: A believable coming-of-age comedy

By Robert Frankel

Adventureland is funny without much comic embellishment and touching without the typical conventions of the genre.

The characters feel more like real human beings instead of exaggerated caricatures. There are no stand-in representatives of group stereotypes, but rather unique individuals who act as if they are living a life of their own and not obeying the rules of a Hollywood screenplay.

The film centers around Jesse Eisenberg (James Brennan), an uptight college graduate who comes home to find that his parents will not be able to pay for graduate school. Abandoning plans for a trip across Europe, he grudgingly accepts a position at Adventureland, the local amusement park.

But Adventureland isn’t quite the place Jesse thinks it is, and before the summer ends, his life will be changed forever.

Writer/director Greg Mottola, who also directed Superbad, has created a complex comedy that finds its laughs in dry, subtle dialogue and situational irony instead of over-the-top conversation and heightened antics. The film is mellow and even contemplative. Lacking the frenetic adolescent energy of Superbad, it is a more mature picture. Adventureland is the movie that Zach Braff’s Garden State wishes it was. Funnier and more profound, Adventureland tackles a similar subject with greater wit and less pretense, making it more enjoyable and rewarding as a result.

Mottola’s script deserves as much credit as his direction; both the script and direction treat the characters and events on the screen less like artificial devices to be amused by and more like organic creations that also happen to be funny. This may be due to the fact that Mottola based much of the script on his own experiences working at the real Adventureland in Farmingdale, N.Y.

However, the actors in the film do a fantastic job themselves of portraying the diverse assortment of workers who run the park.  Brennan’s Eisenberg is believable from his very first lines; he reacts with a fine display of disbelief and open-mindedness as his dreams grind to a halt.

Ryan Reynolds is surprisingly good as maintenance worker Mike Connell, and Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader are hilarious as park managers Paulette and Bobby.

The film is not without its flaws; some scenes meander for too long, and the drug-induced segment toward the end seems to appear for no other reason than the strange fact that it is requisite for comedies of this type to have.

However, the film sports an excellent soundtrack and is a joy to experience. It is not so much a movie about growing up, but one about realizing the responsibilities that come with doing so. Forget the “young adult” label — Adventureland is one of the best comedies of the new year.

Reach reporter Robert Frankel at

arts@dailyuw.com.

Alien Trespass: 1950s sci-fi tribute

By Robert Frankel

Science-fiction films from the 1950s are notable for both their variety and outrageousness. It was the era of Cat-Women of the Moon (1953), Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) and Giant Gila Monster (1959).

Alien Trespass does not take its cues from the better science fiction of the decade. Instead, the film recreates the look and feel of a campy sci-fi film from the 1950s, appearing as if it were rushed into production to cash in on the success of some other low-budget film. It is complete with a lackluster script, B-list actors and second-rate special effects.

When a UFO crashes in the Mojave Desert, it brings together a colorful cast of characters, from the generic all-American couple Penny (Sarah Smyth) and Dick (Andrew Dunbar) to Chief Dawson (Dan Lauria). After crashing, the alien Urp (Roy Campsall), also the spacecraft’s pilot, realizes that his monstrous cargo, the Ghota (pronounced “goat-ah”), has escaped.

Taking over the body of noted astronomer Dr. Ted Lewis (Eric McCormack), Urp enlists the aid of the resourceful Tammy (Jenni Baird) to prevent the creature from multiplying and turning the entire human race into a puddle of sludge.

Directed by R.W. Goodwin, one of the producers of The X-Files, the film takes very good care of the source material. Alien Trespass could have become a mockery of the genre, but is instead restrained enough in execution, so the film is simply playful and not ridiculing.

This is in large part thanks to the film’s acting. McCormack and his supporting cast are not B-list actors, but are successful at acting like B-list actors playing such characters. Refraining from excessive exaggeration, the cast manages to pull off moments of unintentional hilarity quite intentionally.

All the classic signs of ’50s cinema are here. From the set pieces to the fashion to the slang, everything is indicative of 1950s America.

The film looks glorious with supersaturated color photography, and the music is fitting, ranging from string-filled melodrama to the typical staccato of horror soundtracks. Even the minute details, such as poorly fashioned backdrops or subtle discontinuities in the chromatic scale between cuts, are on display.

Alien Trespass more honestly satirizes 1950s science fiction than other similar films, while simultaneously working well as an adoring homage to the terrible movies of yesteryear.

Reach reporter Robert Frankel at arts@dailyuw.com.

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