Blu-ray Specs
Video: 1080p HD
Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD/ French 5.1 Dolby Digital
Written and Directed by Greg Mottola, the Director of “Superbad”, comes another tale from the pages of youth and inexperience. The basis for the film comes from the story of Greg in the 80’s where he had the worst summer job ever, working at an amusement park. The Director originally want to film at the real Adventureland on Long Island, NY but due to upgrades and changes over the years he wanted to find a location that would more give a feel for the time period at hand, the 80’s. With the challenge of finding a historical park that suited his needs, it was settled to shoot at one of only two parks in the country that stay true to the old school feel, Kennywood in West Mifflin, Pa.
Ah the 80’s. With the graduation of James Brennan ( Jesse Eisenberg) from college and his mind set on a summer of travel around the world with his good friend, all of his hopes and dreams come crashing down as his parents dump bad news on his lap as his family is forced to move back to Pittsburg, PA. With the looming economy, his parents deliver blow after blow of disheartening news with the end result of James needing to get a job. After much searching, the only opportunity comes from his childhood friend Frigo who works at Adventureland. Injected into the crazy life of a game carnie, James is quickly brought to the grips of reality as he struggles thru the worst job ever. Along the way, he finds a love interest in a coworker, Em (Kristen Stewart), and befriends a host of quirky losers that are just trying to make it by.
There are a good bit of extras with some of them exclusive to the Blu-ray version such as commercials for the park, training videos and some ever painful juvenile pranks. There are also deleted scenes and the music soundtrack included in the extras. If that’s not enough, the Blu-ray contains a digital copy to transfer this movie to your digital device.
The audio mix was very slanted in favor of the music which is ok, but it really lacks in the substance of dialogue that is to drive the story along. The visual aspect of the film is brilliant with all the color that was the 80’s and can be truly appreciated when the extras are played as they are in standard definition.
For a movie that was hyped up as a funny and hysterical piece really fell flat. I’m sure with the Writer/Director in charge of the feel and concept of the film, this is the best story he could come up with. I was anxiously awaiting my first laugh and was very disappointed as the credits rolled and I didn’t crack a smile. This is a very dry movie and even casting Ryan Reynolds didn’t give any jump to the comedy promise. The only possible redeeming feature comes in the soundtrack if you like that style of musical compellation.
Reviewed by Michael Albaugh
