In 1987, college grad is getting in Pennsylvania summer job. With Ryan Reynolds, Kristen Stewart, Jesse Eisenberg. Director is Greg Mottola.
“Adventureland” it’s structured by Tilt-a-Whirl ride: It’s going where you are expecting, you will be filled with dread.

But wait: This charming, laid-back, set-in-the-’80s movie has appreciation for smaller life-changing moment and it is so predictability that is making up.
Director-writer Greg Mottola’s semi-autobiographical story is wearing its lightly 1987-ness, still movie is firmly rooted enough in place and time that will feel at home anyone near the hero’s age.

More importantly, “Adventureland” has earned sweetness of edge-of-adulthood and they have characters with hearts that are real under those goofy T-shirts.
After James (Jesse Eisenberg) finishes his college, he is set in with his buddy roam Europe when James parents deliver some crushing news: He won’t get the money that was supposed to be graduation present and they will move to Pittsburgh.

To save money for grad school that is in New York, James takes job in Adventureland, theme park of mom-and-pop. Drawn into social life of place, James and his oddball befriend Joel (Martin Starr), get life lessons by guy Connell (Ryan Reynolds) suave maintenance and falls for Emily (Kristen Stewart) hard.

Meanwhile, corn-dog smells wafts through animal prizes, lights of Centipede game beckon and “Rock Me Amadeus” are blasted endlessly over the night. And that’s all.

To say James’ and Em’ romance is stop-and-start, or that he had learned the park owners (“SNL’s” Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader) are much more cooler than he thought, while the Connell is also much more pathetic, it’s obvious.

At times, some things are much too obvious: Underdog-as-champ sensibility has been pushed into implausibility when park hottie (Margarita Levieva) is asking James out, and there is no surprise that Emily has secret.