Adventureland (2009) on Netflix
James Brennan's Europe trip falls through when his parents can no longer support him, so he takes a summer job at a Pittsburgh amusement park and meets Em Lewin, a games operator.
- Netflix3.4/5
- IMDb6.8/10175,454 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes89%
Trailer
Plot summary
In the summer of 1987, James Brennan comes home to Pittsburgh after finishing his studies in comparative literature at Oberlin College, expecting a trip to Europe and then graduate school in New York. His mother tells him his father has lost his job, so the family cannot pay for any of it. With no marketable skills, he takes the only work he can find, running carnival games at Adventureland, a Pittsburgh amusement park where Tommy Frigo, a friend from his childhood, also has a job. When a cheating customer turns on him, another games operator, Em Lewin, steps in and later offers him a ride home. James is drawn to Em, and the park's married maintenance man, Mike Connell, takes the inexperienced young man under his wing.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Adventureland (2009)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Because Adventureland is set in summer but was shot in Pittsburgh in the winter months, the crew often had to hide snowfall. During indoor takes, extras were paid to stand outside the windows and doors so snow would not fall behind the actors.
- Greg Mottola based the film's run-down theme park on the real Adventureland amusement park in Farmingdale, New York, where he once worked in the 1980s.
- Earlier drafts of the script had Ryan Reynolds's musician character jam with Neil Young instead of Lou Reed, and used Young's songs "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere" and "Hey Hey, My My (Into The Black)" in key scenes.
