The Last Movie I Saw

My all-time favorite book is Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. I probably first read it when I was about 12, when I really got into the adventure fo the raft trip down the Mississippi River; I've probably read the book five or six times since, and each time more fo the depth of the novel is revealed in themes and ideas that transcend, but sturdily supported by the foundation of the plot. The key scene in the book is when Huck, after battling his conscience over his role in helping the runaway slave Jim escape to freedom, comes down squarely on the side of humanity (as opposed to society) and commits himself to his friend with the statement "All right, I'll go to hell."

What does this have to do with the last movie I saw? The film was Adventureland, directed by Greg Mottola and starring Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart and Martin Starr (the first two seen in the picture above). It's an example of the "coming-of-age" genre, which is why it made me think of Huck Finn (perhaps the quintessential American coming-of-age story), though the two have virtually nothing in common beyond their mutual residence in that broad category. I should mention that I found Adventureland fairly entertaining, even pretty good, not too cutesy with fine performances, plenty of nice comic touches, and a soundtrack riddled with classic Replacements and Lou Reed. Plus, I have to admit a mild fascination with low-budget amusement parks and carny shows, which is the summer-job setting of the film; and, I can also identify with the main characters desire to move to New York City, which is what I did right out of college. So, the following comments, though sparked by the film, are not intended as an argument against seeing it.

The point I wanted to make is that Hollywood seems to equate coming of age almost completely with romance (finding that one true love who will make everything alright). No doubt, that is a major part of entering adulthood, but I wonder if we'll ever see a mainstream movie that addresses the kind of tensions faced by Huck Finn (or Holden Caulfield in Catcher in the Rye), and expresses a perspective of society that challenges the hypocrisy and shortsightedness of conventional wisdom about core values or social conformity in any kind of meaningful way. Since many of these kinds of stories posit the hero as something of a misfit (Huck is the son of the town drunk; Eisenberg plays an intellectual among Babbits), the issue of conformity is inherent in the narrative structure; but whereas Twain challenges conventions through his antagonist, a film like Adventureland merely allows its hero to find a niche (defined by romantic love) where accommodation is made with the expectations of others-- that is, he actually becomes less of a misfit. I guess in a way, my thoughts on this movie are also shaped somewhat by continuing to think about Revolutionary Road, which offers a much more powerful critique of the compromises that come with fitting in. Partly because I think that movies can and should aspire to the same intellectual heft of literature (and of course, many films achieve that goal), I'm always a little disappointed when one suggests that potential, but ends up falling short. And I do think it's possible to instill such meaning even in a comedy aimed at young people-- just think of National Lampoon's Animal House (and no, I don't mean that as a joke).