Way Close to Home

There seems to be a peculiar trend in cute little indie comedies these days, especially those that deal with teenagers, college students, or those who have just stepped into the scary world of adulthood. Some of these aren't so indie ("Superbad"), cute ("The Wackness") or even really late teen college-y (arguably "Juno"), but they all deal with similar themes: love and the eternal teenage condition. Protagonists invariably end up confusing love, sex, meaningful relationships, and all those desires associated with the growing up. Then they get frustrated and have to deal and, depending on the feel-good levels of the movie, live happily or bitterly ever after. Arguably the coming of age love-sex drama has been around for years, as in "The Graduate," but there's a greater sense of... nostalgia? Wistfulness? It's something a little deeper than angst. The indie coming of love comedy deals with this deeply romantic notion of love, in the literary 18th century way, and how it fits in with the modern hyper-sexed world of popular culture. And it is in this context that we have this peculiar generation of young people, coming into adulthood, who clash with these harsh expectations as the harsh realities fall into place. "The Graduate" was more about the banality of that society (plastics) and rebellion within the system. Ultimately the dude in that movie realized that he wanted the daughter, not Mrs. Robinson (rebelling more in her own right than he was) and did the right thing for love. But now we move on to movies like "Adventureland" (today's film! Finally), where the rebellion is all gone; the bitter reality of these dark times leaves no room for rebellion, only adaptation. The trick, as the protagonists of the indie coming of love comedy know, is to adapt while remaining true to that sensitive spark of romanticism. This is the plight of our generation. Some, like Luke in "The Wackness," get beaten down by the realities and learn a hard lesson. (Arguably, "The Wackness" is definitely not an indie coming of love comedy. It's way more about '94 and coming of age, but the relationship element is still somewhat relevant to this discussion. It just lacks the whimsy and sensitivity to fall into the ICOL category; Luke is jaded to the point that his sensitivity is less important than the need for a friend. That movie is far more complicated though, and I'd argue that the sensitivity element, if it were filmed alone, could have been the core of a solid, if bleaker ICOL movie. Hooray for parentheticals). Others, like our boys in "Superbad," realize that they don't actually want to fulfill their cultural obligation and have lots of sex. They want love, and the film, while resolving their friendship-love, sets things up nicely for wholesome relationships with their respective women as Curtis Mayfield plays in the background. So to sum up all of these thoughts, the ICOL comedy is definitely a phenomenon of our generation. There's a little nostalgia for the past, which is why so many of them either take place in past decades or have strong overtones of years past (the 70's vibe of "Superbad," or the 80's setting of "Adventureland"), and that nostalgia is arguably a representation of the sensitivity and romanticism at the core of these movies. We want to live in simpler times, when we would have been free to drive from Berkeley to Santa Barbara to Los Angeles and back again in the course of an afternoon in pursuit of love while Simon and Garfunkel play in the background. There is none of that freedom now (even though Ben wasn't exactly free to do so back then either). Or so it seems. While the world seems less open, and relationships seem more bleak, the spirit that caused that dude to drive up and down the coast in pursuit of a girl still exists in all the young people with their buried and suppressed sensitivities today. We are nostalgic, but the romantic notion lives on. Thus the ICOL movie. It's a phenomenon, but it's also a healthy expression of eternal human decency of spirit. I wonder how the spirit will manifest as times get darker or potentially better.

Wow, that was kind of a discourse on cultural phenomena. So now let's get down to the business of reviewing a product of said phenomenon. "Adventureland" is a pretty good movie, with a "Superbad" meets "Juno" kind of vibe, but an aesthetic closer to "Little Miss Sunshine." In other words, firmly indie. Our boy James, recent college grad with a degree of a literary bent, finds himself on the job hunt, and of course ends up at the only place that will hire him: an amusement park, Adventureland. It's a disappointment, shattering all the post-collegiate illusions of grandeur James had in mind. But he quickly makes friends: Joel, a Russian Lit major, seems to be a dire warning of what could happen should the job get to James. Frigo, an asshole, is a nasty reminder of James' friends and life growing up, and is also an asshole (there's a great running joke involving the back of Frigo's fist and James' balls). And probably most importantly, there's the woman of his dreams, Em. And here the movie gains meaning: James is, like so many brave young men in film these days, a capital-v Virgin. However, and here is where "Adventureland" earns its heart, this isn't due to any awkwardness or inability, despite a penchant for Michael Cera behavior. James is a hopeless romantic, and only wants to loose it to a girl he really and truly loves. So that's the subtext. The real meat of the movie is the courtship that springs up almost immediately between the two, and all those wonderfully painful difficulties that arise along the way. For everything, of course, can't run smoothly: Em is boning a late-twenties/early-thirties dude who works as a handyman at the park and is vastly cooler (seemingly) than everyone else. Yeah, shit kinda blows for James. But he handles his challenges with good grace and style, and in doing so, as the cliches have it, grows into his adulthood. Only not so much. More of a coming to terms with the way the non-cozy world of adulthood immediately post college than anything.

But don't worry, it's actually pretty funny along the way. Bill Hader shows up as the park manager to provide some much needed comic relief, and does it with great style and a great moustache. I don't remember his wife's name, or the name of the actress who played her, but she complements him well. The jokes take a kind of awkward tone, or audaciously lowbrow in the dick jokes Frigo makes, but the humor is genuinely warm and loving. Warm is probably the one-word review for this movie: the humor, the visuals, and the characters. Joel is a wonderfully weary and nerdy guy with a deep Russian soul to complement the literature he loves so. Frigo is an asshole and immature, but at the same time strangely earnest and loyal. Ryan Renolds (that cool-ish handyman dude) may be kind of sketchy and morally distasteful, but deep down he's still trying to be cool even though his life has lead him down the path to local nightlife, seducing younger girls, and working at an amusement park. Em is startlingly enigmatic and almost falls prey to becoming a Manic Pixie Dream Girl, except for the fact that she's a.) the most underdeveloped of all the characters, b.) too moody and sarcastic, and c.) really just a girl, kind of messed up after a life of being the socially cool girl, who just wants to end up with the right guy. And that right guy, James, does his best to jump the Micheal Cera mold. He may be awkward, but in the end he finds his balls, and he broods a bit more, and all of his interpersonal relationships seem to be initially centered around his possession of lots of marijuana.

I'm starting to wax poetic and read far to into the movie, and this review has taken over a week to write, a significant chunk done at two in the morning, so I should wrap up. Basically, "Adventureland" has that annoying indie self-acknowledging style, but it also has a warmth of character and sentiment to make up for its derivative elements. (The soundtrack is also quite fine, with the Velvet Underground featured prominently, and a lot of other late 80's post-punk/alternative/whatever genre that would be to really set the mood). But what sets this apart from all other indie relationship comedies/dramas is that this is a courtship that actually glorifies the hopelessly romantic dudes out there. "Adventureland" glorifies their struggle, and ultimately shows that there are few things out there that can resist the romantic impulse. The good dudes win out in the end, and forgive me for taking that message positively instead of cynically this time around. Just goes to show that even a slightly derivative premise can earn distinction with an earnest message.