adventureland

While I don't talk about movies all that much on here at JPP, I do enjoy watching films very much. In my fantasy life I get to go to the movies to see a good film at least once a week in an art theater with real popcorn and red zinger tea. And after the movie ends, I sit quietly in my seat until the final credits have shown - processing and letting the film take hold.

For now, though, in the "busy life," I see movies in the theater very infrequently, and if I am lucky, I have time to watch a movie, uninterrupted, on Netflix. Netflix recently changed its selection of films, and on scanning last evening, I found one that I remembered I had wanted to see when it came out back in 2009. The good news is, the film is set in the summer of 1987 for a recent college grad -- so the five year delay mattered little, and the movie had me at "1987" (I graduated from college in 1987, so this movie had special appeal).

Adventureland is a smart comedy with an excellent original score (hat/tip to Yo La Tengo) and sprinkled in homage to '80s music. It was a perfect movie to watch on Valentine's Day. Themes: life will break your heart and you will survive; it is tough being smart when you are economically disadvantaged; and real love is possible with an understanding that we are all flawed by our circumstances and by being human. Sometimes we figure out what matters most within a surreal and bizarre outward situation. I loved it, even if I was late to the party.