Adventureland
The most fascinating thing about Kristen Stewart is how incredibly good she looks in kiss scenes. Besides having a very beautiful profile, she got that “I am really into you and I am the hottest woman in the world even though I am just looking naturally myself” look down perfectly. Maybe it’s because she’s just that young and essentially playing herself here, but unlike most others, she simply can do it. (Just compare her to Natalie Portman, who is a fabulous actress but utterly fails at “sexy”.) I can’t even describe what it is, but to me, she looks right when she does it, and it gives her a stronger identification potential than any actress I have ever seen. (No, I don’t identify with her beauty, but certainly with that “I am so troubled but I can’t help but kiss you” look.) I think she got the Twilight part because she looks so amazing in kiss scenes.
A big part of “Adventureland” actually survives on Kristen Stewart being that kind of girl. Since Jesse Eisenberg’s character is basically just a tumbling idiot in the story (albeit a likable one), she is the truly interesting character of the story, even though she isn’t all that messed up if you think about it (but she surely feels very, very confused about herself). Of course they are all teenagers with teenage problems, but Stewart made it relatable and go beyond the teenage movie fun. She turns the film from teenage comedy to coming of age drama.
With that said, the movie works amazingly as teenage comedy too. Lisa P! Everybody in the story is lovable, to be honest I even liked Frigo (who ended up being an actual friend) and Connell who was able to respond with sympathy and understanding when Emily breaks up with him. Perhaps only James’s parents were unbearable but they had no big part in the story besides setting the premise, thank God.
I am not sure I can admit it so easily, but I am in love with “Adventureland”. So many aspects of its youthful plot just spoke to me, and I want to pick up Kristen Stewart’s skill of sexily going through her hair.