'Adventureland' - film review (redux)

Global teenage purgatory Grade: A- Drawing upon said demographics’ sensibilities, one can plainly realize that an admission to Adventureland is a solemn, deprived, cynical encounter with the post-teenager, pre-Gen-X counter-culture that would burgeon into the oh-so invigorating 1990’s. Sorrowfully, we begin in 1987 – with an assortment of prototypical, featureless youths brandishing frowns, with slight to zero pretext… this until the much-welcomed entrance of Kristen Stewart. As silly as it may sound, that there is something much too comforting to Stewart presence. Em, as her character is niftily named is the stimulus behind every characters thin objective - Stewart is thoughtful beyond what is required from her character. A foreseer of pain - Em balances tenderness and displacement, while anxiously awaiting disappointment at every turn (with urgency for its conclusion) - simply, “healthier” circumstances. The role is claimed with a vigorous committal to pestilence and discomfort - while treasuring those scant moments of pure glee. Not once is there anything less than pure, unadulterated sincerity. Without Stewart's explicit influence on the setting, and what would be utterly baseless supporting characters, the movie's somewhat hackneyed construct would be all too invisible. As for the movie’s much-anticipated soundtrack, it barely skims the surface of American underground/ alternative music – with R.E.M. tragically omitted. With the exception of The Cure and Hüsker Dü, there is an otherwise heavy rotation of Lou Reed and the Replacements. Said screenwriter/director, Greg Mottola is well into his 40's - which makes this more than a laudable stab at a very appropriate subject for the mild 2000's - the recurring 80's (with more than a hint of sweet spirited nostalgia). Bottom line: A cued-in gem, with an "accelerated" awareness - with its share of flaws displaced "casually" (in consideration of rigid film goers apt to following undemanding storytelling.) Such is the ending, which panders to every steeped in testosterone male anticipating sexual defilement, wretchedly aimed at Kristen Stewart, no less. Not completely insulting, at least...