1 / 7
ERA
Did you know
Released 17 years ago.
MoodPlayr · trivia#01
Adventureland
"It was the worst job they ever imagined… and the best time of their lives."
2009 1h 47m EN
😐
6.4
MID
🍅
89%
FRESH
👌
76
METACRITIC
⭐
6.8
IMDB
★6.4TMDB · 2,430🍅89%Rotten Tomatoes●76Metacritic★6.8IMDB · 174,167
ComedyDramaRomance
Synopsis
Spoiler shield
It's the summer of 1987, and recent college grad James Brennan can't wait to begin his long-anticipated dream trip to Europe. Unfortunately, James' plans come to a screeching halt when his parents announce that they are unable to subsidize his trip. Forced to take a job at the local amusement park, James prepares for the worst summer ever, until he finds love with a captivating co-worker named Em.
“It was the worst job they ever imagined… and the best time of their lives.”
Cast
Jesse Eisenberg
James Brennan
Kristen Stewart
Em Lewin
Martin Starr
Joel
Kristen Wiig
Paulette
Bill Hader
Bobby
Margarita Levieva
Lisa P.
Jack Gilpin
Mr. Brennan
Josh Pais
Mr. Lewin
Credits
Behind the camera
- Director
- Greg Mottola
- Writers
- Greg Mottola
- Languages
- English
- Countries
- United States of America
Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.
Did you know?
Fun facts 🍿
2 / 7
DIRECTOR
Did you know
Directed by Greg Mottola, shot by Terry Stacey. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
MoodPlayr · trivia#02
3 / 7
DIRECTOR
Did you know
Original score by Ira Kaplan. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
MoodPlayr · trivia#03
4 / 7
DIRECTOR
Did you know
Editor Anne McCabe shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
MoodPlayr · trivia#04
5 / 7
CAST
Did you know
Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart and Martin Starr carry the top of the cast.
MoodPlayr · trivia#05
6 / 7
FACT
Did you know
Marketing tagline: "It was the worst job they ever imagined… and the best time of their lives.".
MoodPlayr · trivia#06
7 / 7
WILD
Did you know
IMDB entry: tt1091722 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
MoodPlayr · trivia#07
Cinephile deep dive
The take
Greg Mottola directs. Terry Stacey behind the camera. Ira Kaplan scores. Anne McCabe cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.
Trivia
Things worth knowing
- 1Released 17 years ago.
- 2Directed by Greg Mottola, shot by Terry Stacey. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
- 3Original score by Ira Kaplan. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
- 4Editor Anne McCabe shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
- 5Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart and Martin Starr carry the top of the cast.
- 6Marketing tagline: "It was the worst job they ever imagined… and the best time of their lives.".
- 7IMDB entry: tt1091722 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
- 8Classified under 14 themes, including "infidelity", "amusement park", "summer job", "carny".
The technical file
- Cinematography
- Terry Stacey
- Original score
- Ira Kaplan
- Editing
- Anne McCabe
- Production design
- Stephen Beatrice
- Costume design
- Melissa Toth
- Makeup / hair
- Gianna Sparacino
- Stunt coordinator
- Jason Silvis
- Runtime
- 107 min · 1h 47m
- Aspect ratio (typical)
- 1.37:1 (Academy)
- Status
- Released
- Budget
- $9,800,000
- Box office
- $17,200,000
- Return
- 176% of budget
- Original language
- EN
- Certification (US)
- R
- Rotten Tomatoes
- 89% 🍅 Fresh
- Metacritic
- 76/100
- IMDB rating
- 6.8/10 · 174,167 votes
- MPAA
- R
Awards
1 win & 4 nominations total
Also by
Greg Mottola
Stills · wallpapers
Selected frames
Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.
Trailers & featurettes
Watch the pieces
Community reviews
What people are saying
- John Chard★ 8/10
Mottola strikes one from the heart. It's 1987 and James Brennan is home for the summer after earning himself a degree in Renaissance Studies. Which unsurprisingly isn't any use to him when trying to gain employment in this part of Pittsburg. Which is now a problem since his planned trip to Europe has fell by the wayside due to his father's enforced unemployment. So thus he finds himself working at Adventureland, a rusting time warp amusement park where only odd balls and idiots appear to frequent. But here James will make friends, learn life lessons and maybe just find true love?. Be under no illusions, Adventureland is no teen sex comedy reliant on crude jokes and cringe slap-stick moments to get its humour. Which as it's brought to us by the director of Superbad may come as something of a surprise. Greg Mottola is the said director, who here has crafted an ode to his own teenage strife's concerning first jobs and first loves. Though not really offering anything new as such, I mean the old "summer I came of age" film is hardly new is it? Mottola has however managed to blend youthful spirits with a serious kink and nicely cloak it in a bittersweet 80s haze. Some parts are clearly aimed at the guffaw teen viewers, awkward erections and friends who punch you in the testicles - tee hee hee, Adventureland feels, and is, a subtle film made by someone who clearly lived it. The care and thought that Mottola has put into it benefits the cast as much as it does the viewers. Jesse Eisenberg (James) is a splendid bit of casting, almost poetically slow, he nicely plays it to have the upcoming tribulations totally believable. Enter Kristen Stewart as Em, pretty and smartly essaying a girl, soon to be woman, trying to make sense in her off kilter world. Her scenes with both Eisenberg and the buff Ryan Reynolds, in a role that takes some skill to get as right as he does, are the highlights of the piece. While Martin Starr is the other performance of note as the pipe smoking intellectual, Joel. What youngsters that I know who have seen the film have had less than favourable reactions to it. This can probably be put down to two things. One is that the expectation of another Superbad-a-like comedy has not been met. Two is that, you know what folks? Mottola hasn't made this for kids, he's made it for those who were once kids themselves in a decade not so very long ago... 8/10
Production companies
Who made it
Miramax
US
This is that
US
Sidney Kimmel Entertainment
US
Key crew
- Costume DesignMelissa Toth
- EditorAnne McCabe
- Set DecorationCristina Casanas
- Production DesignStephen Beatrice
- Art DirectionMatthew Munn
- CastingAnn Goulder
- Script SupervisorKirsten Kearse
- Music SupervisorTracy McKnight
- Music EditorAnnette Kudrak
- Unit Production ManagerDeclan Baldwin
- Hair Department HeadGianna Sparacino
- Co-ProducerDeclan Baldwin
- Camera OperatorOliver Cary
- Stunt CoordinatorJason Silvis
- ProducerSidney Kimmel
- ProducerAnne Carey
- Executive ProducerWilliam Horberg
- Still PhotographerAbbot Genser
- Executive ProducerBruce Toll
- ProducerTed Hope
- Dolly GripBrian 'Buzz' Buzzelli
Themes & keywords
What it's about, really
- infidelity
- amusement park
- summer job
- carny
- marijuana joint
- reconciliation
- ticket booth
- job seeking
- leaving home
- duringcreditsstinger
- young adult
- 1980s
- sympathetic
- aimless youth
Release history · US
When it landed
- Premiere2009-01-19· Sundance Film Festival
- Theatrical2009-04-03R
- Physical2009-08-25R· DVD / Blu-ray
Also known as
International titles
- Парк культуры и отдыхаRU
- Adventureland - KalandparkHU
