Adventureland
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Saw it last Saturday and thought it was rubbish! 
As mentioned before, it's not a comedy, but it's not a drama either as the storyline and the characters are not developed enough for us to fully understand their circumstances and relate to them in any significant way (I've got so many unanswered questions!! We never find out why people are the way they are or why they behave the way they do - they are so one-dimensional it's unreal!).
Lightweight, half-baked, totally unconvincing. A waste of two hours! The only positive was how pretty the two leading ladies were. Otherwise ... cack!!
As mentioned before, it's not a comedy, but it's not a drama either as the storyline and the characters are not developed enough for us to fully understand their circumstances and relate to them in any significant way (I've got so many unanswered questions!! We never find out why people are the way they are or why they behave the way they do - they are so one-dimensional it's unreal!).Lightweight, half-baked, totally unconvincing. A waste of two hours! The only positive was how pretty the two leading ladies were. Otherwise ... cack!!
I think you were perhaps expecting maybe too much from it?! It was a film about a group of youngsters who had to work at an amusement park during the summer hols. Do you really need to know any more than that?!!! 
I'm not sure the director was out to create something quite as esoteric as you were wanting. Did you expect as much from his previous film Superbad??!!!
I'm not sure the director was out to create something quite as esoteric as you were wanting. Did you expect as much from his previous film Superbad??!!!
AVIKANT DEEPAK DUTT
New member
I hated it. It wasnt funny, it wasnt deep (not that I expected it to be, but you seem to think it was), it was just annoyingly crap and full of annoying teens being stupid.
The only remotely redeemable factor of it was when showing people working at the amusement park and being crap at their job and uninterested in it, I remembered how Clerks II was originally going to have Dante and Randall working in such a setting, before they changed it to a fast food joint, which would have been fun.
The only remotely redeemable factor of it was when showing people working at the amusement park and being crap at their job and uninterested in it, I remembered how Clerks II was originally going to have Dante and Randall working in such a setting, before they changed it to a fast food joint, which would have been fun.
I haven't seen Superbad, so I went into on the basis of the trailer and good reviews from the papers, and I knew the premise. The trailer makes it sound like a comedy, so I expected something funny. It wasn't. Once I realised it was a "coming of age" story, then I expected the characters to have some depth (however young they are) and develop over the film. But they didn't. Check out Dead Poets' Society to understand what I mean. Then it could also have been a satire about working in those theme park places, but it wasn't. I'm open minded about films - whatever the topic, they could have made it far more interesting. Even the potential 1980s nostalgia opportunity was completely missed. It was weirdly funny though to see youngsters without mobile phones!!
I have to disagree with you on a few points there. I actually did think it was funny. But i guess its humour struck a chord with me and probably not as much with you!
Also, i found that the characters did have depth (with the exception of Bill Hader's character who was simply a comedy foil). It captured that feeling of awkwardness around the opposite sex perfectly for me.
And the term 'coming of age' is a fairly broad umbrella. Comparing Dead Poets (which i personally feel is generally overrated and not one of Weir's best)with this is in no way like for like. If anything Adventureland has more in common with say John Hughes' The Breakfast Club for instance. I think that would be a fairer comparison in terms of a 'coming of age' tale.
But it's just a difference of opinion at the end of the day. I preferred this to (500) Days Of Summer, which many thought was a great film...
Also, i found that the characters did have depth (with the exception of Bill Hader's character who was simply a comedy foil). It captured that feeling of awkwardness around the opposite sex perfectly for me.
And the term 'coming of age' is a fairly broad umbrella. Comparing Dead Poets (which i personally feel is generally overrated and not one of Weir's best)with this is in no way like for like. If anything Adventureland has more in common with say John Hughes' The Breakfast Club for instance. I think that would be a fairer comparison in terms of a 'coming of age' tale.
But it's just a difference of opinion at the end of the day. I preferred this to (500) Days Of Summer, which many thought was a great film...
WinterWillow
New member
I agree with you that it's all a matter of opinion, Moe, and you made your point very eloquently. 
Maybe my frustration with this film comes from the fact that whilst "it captured that feeling of awkwardness around the opposite sex perfectly" to quote you (and I agree with that), I could see a number of sub-plots which could have been exploited to give the main leaRAB' a much deeper experience - a coming of age, not just in terms of relationship with the opposite sex , but also in their relationship with the adult world - relationship with their parents/step-parents (the daRAB, both his and hers, were atrociously under-used), the world of work (not just their own job, but again, that of the adults in their lives), grown-up relationships (and why they work or fail), the world of illness and addiction - just typing this makes me think of "The Wonder Years" and how Kevin grows up through the series in such a profound way.
Adventureland could have been such a great film if it had dared explore all of these themes (or even half of them) but chose instead to skim the surface and turn into a film that whilst no doubt enjoyable to a section of the audience, will be quickly forgotten... in my opinion..
Maybe my frustration with this film comes from the fact that whilst "it captured that feeling of awkwardness around the opposite sex perfectly" to quote you (and I agree with that), I could see a number of sub-plots which could have been exploited to give the main leaRAB' a much deeper experience - a coming of age, not just in terms of relationship with the opposite sex , but also in their relationship with the adult world - relationship with their parents/step-parents (the daRAB, both his and hers, were atrociously under-used), the world of work (not just their own job, but again, that of the adults in their lives), grown-up relationships (and why they work or fail), the world of illness and addiction - just typing this makes me think of "The Wonder Years" and how Kevin grows up through the series in such a profound way.
Adventureland could have been such a great film if it had dared explore all of these themes (or even half of them) but chose instead to skim the surface and turn into a film that whilst no doubt enjoyable to a section of the audience, will be quickly forgotten... in my opinion..