When I saw trailers for Adventureland last year I was interested as soon as I saw that it was filmed at Kennywood. The amusement park in the movie is referred to by the fictional name “Adventureland”, but long shots with Phantom’s Revenge looming in the background are dead giveaways. I got my wife to buy in when I told her that her favorite actor Ryan Reynolds was in it. It looked like a quirky coming of age comedy about a memorable summer working at an amusement park in the 80’s. Unfortunately, it wasn’t funny and I didn’t care about the characters at all.
It was a waste of 90 minutes that dragged on and on as a 20-something love story that took place at an amusement park and the surrounding Pittsburgh area. Most of the scenes focused on the games area where the main characters worked. I haven’t been to Kennywood in years so I’m not sure if those are real parts of the park or if they were built for the movie. There are quick glimpses of the park’s classic woodies like Thunderbolt, Racer, and Jack Rabbit. But sadly, they were all quick shots and no scenes took place on any roller coasters or 
even in any stations.
I would have been okay with the lack of coaster appearances if the movie were any good. I wouldn’t reccommend Adventureland for coaster enthusiasts or even just for anyone interested in a good movie. I don’t know how it recieved an 88% fresh on RottenTomatoes. The only redeeming quality was the 80’s music used in some of the scenes. Next up, Wild Adventures in Zombieland!
What’s Your Take?
Have you seen Adventureland? What’d you think? Leave a comment below.