2009 (Greg Mottola) 14A, 107 min
Starring: Bill Hader, Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Kristen Wiig, Martin Starr

Ah, the summers of our ill-gotten youth, when we found admittance into adulthood through our poignant insights into the mysteries of life. Okay, it was never like that, it was more like Adventureland, circa 1987, where you would be a bored, minimum-wage slave working as the games operator at a decrepit Pittsburgh amusement park, dealing with hordes of pathological customers and misfit friends while mooning over an alluring, sharp-tongued, unobtainable girl who works the arcades. That would suggest the usual coming-of-age comedy fuelled with alcohol, drugs and rampaging hormones. Correct on every count – that Greg Mottola (Superbad) balances it in a funky, understated, savagely funny and yet very tender romance film that delivers as a sweet, out-of-the-blue sleeper hit. The casting of Jesse Eisenberg (The Squid and the Whale) as serious James who finds the courage to battle for his love, Em, (Twilight star Kirsten Stewart) sparkles alongside a kick-ass soundtrack of Crowded House, Judas Priest, Velvet Underground, The Cure and others to effortlessly capture the vibe of the late 1980s. Perfectly written, cast and directed, it is a magical film ride to hop on to.