I didn't fall head over heels for this like many colleagues and friends did. The main reason I don't think I went for it is that I paid too much attention to the advertising. The movie itself is more of a self-discovery thing than the hilarious vintage romp the commercials and trailers made it look like. It's more introspective than slapstick by a long shot, and that could be why general audiences texted friends to avoid it after feeling mislead. The thing is, the more time that passes, the higher it ticks up in regard for me.
Eisenberg and Starr sounds like a law firm
The movie was born out of director Greg Mottola's "worst summer of [his] life," which turned out to be one of the most definitive stretches of time in his life. There are contemplative stretches and bits that are intellectually hilarious, which is probably where the misdirection marketing killed them. I've loved so many movies like this one in spirit that it was difficult for me to really feel moved by it, but it very well might work differently on me over time. I'm dead certain that it's only going to grow in estimation on home video for people who were in their early 20's in the 1980's as well as kids everywhere from high school through their undergrad years.
The performances are really solid all around, and I particularly enjoyed Martin Starr as the unique (some may say eccentric) guy who probably went on to be a multi-millionaire with a mansion in the Hamptons. He gave in to authentic impulses, and Mottola didn't push him into Revenge of the Nerds-style, cartoonish geek-isms. Kristen Stewart also does good work, and I'm glad she has the outlook that she does on her Twilight franchise exposure, using that leverage to help get interesting indies made and exposed to audiences.
Extras found on both the DVD & Blu-ray include: Digital Copy, 3 Deleted Scenes [2:27], Just My Life: The Making of Adventureland [16:30], a Song Selection, and a Feature Commentary with Mottola and lead actor Jesse Eisenberg.
The Blu-ray also includes Frigo's Ball Taps [HD 2:34], where the actor playing Frigo is featured nailing countless people in the balls; Lisa P's Guide to Style [HD 2:08], which the actress playing the dance-aholic idiot amusingly plays in-character. My favorite Blu-ray exclusive by far is Welcome to Adventureland, which includes two in-character commercials (Fun-tastic Time [0:39] and Fireworks [0:49]), an Employee Orientation video [HD 3:31], and a Drug Policy training video [HD 0:44]