“There’s an honesty about this film that’s at times painful, but mainly it’s just funny and very sweet.” AT THE MOVIES (AUSTRALIA)

Capturing all at once the wistful emotions of early adulthood, the chaotic freedom of youth, and that uniquely wonderful boredom of summer, Greg Mottola’s coming-of-age comedy, Adventureland, splits the difference between his commercial breakthrough, Superbad, and his underrated debut, The Day Trippers.

A comedy set in the summer of 1987, Adventureland follows recent college graduate James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg) as he slogs his way through summer as a games attendant at a local amusement park, where he learns about the shady goings-on of the carny’s world and is introduced to an assortment of weirdos, stoners, goons, and other lost souls. Among that last group is the angsty Em (Kristen Stewart), who captures James’s heart despite her involvement with the park bad-boy, a rocker-turned-maintenance-man (Ryan Reynolds) who seduces women with a dubious story about jamming with Lou Reed.