I’m positive “Adventureland” had a breathtaking original screenplay. The finished product hints at the magnificence of a layered, nuanced piece of writing that captures the bewildered minimum-wage happenings a cluster of young people encounter on their way to the finality of adulthood; however, very little of that character shading and dramatic ambition survived the brutal journey to the screen. It’s fantastic to observe “Adventureland” reach out and seek a timeless youthful uprising feel, but the film’s eventual realization is a crushing disappointment.
BRIAN ORNDORF 