Two years ago Greg Mottola got his big break by directing Superbad. A film that many people fell in love with. A film that can be watched over and over and only become funnier. Believe me, I know, and so does my father. At my house, Superbad is probably played at least once a month, if not once a week, usually in the depths of the night. It is easy for me to feel a strong connection with the characters; it is an accurate representation of my generation and what it’s like to be a senior in high school these days. However, I don’t feel that it is necessary to be young in order to find the film humorous. Mottola does this exact thing with his new film Adventureland. 

Set in 1987, Brennan has just graduated from college and his summer dreams are smashed when his father is de-promoted, and his fund to europe disappears. He is forced into getting a job in order to save for Columbia graduate school. The only position he can find is as game guider at the amusement park, Adventureland. The job becomes the smack-in-the-face Brennan needs in order to prepare himself for the real world.

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Greg Mottola got his start at the Slamdance Film Festival in 1996, when he won their Grand Jury Prize for his debut film Daytrippers.  Since then, he stuck with television for several years and got to know Judd Apatow during his 3 episode stint as a director for Arrested Development.  He made it big behind the wheels of the Apatow-produced and critically acclaimed raunchy teen-sex comedy blockbuster Superbad.

Now he’s back at the festival that snubbed his first flick, with one of the most anticipated premieres of Sundance 2009: Adventureland, a semi-autobiographical 80’s nostalgia piece about a recent college grad who lands a lame summer job and has the best time of his life.  The film will have its world premiere in Sundance’s massive Eccles theater, January 19th.  At least one of us is sure to see it and let you know what we think — it probably won’t be me, since I usually try to avoid seeing films at Sundance that I know I could see a few months later in the local theaters, and this one definitely fits that bill.  For those who can’t wait, or who want to whet their appetite for our review, take a look at a few of the following clips of the film, freshly picked from the web: (more…)