Directed by Greg Mottola
Rated R
(Three stars)
Showtimes: 9 p.m. through May 14

Sisyphus, in addition to his other unhappy duties, is the patron saint of lovesick boys.

I say this because there seems to be a specific demographic of exceptionally bright yet socially awkward young men whose journey to the cusp of manhood is littered with the exhausting labors of unsuccessful courtships. For them, the film “Adventureland” offers hope. Just as “Twilight,” I suppose, offers hope to teenage girls weary of being pursued by bright yet awkward young men.

“Adventureland” opens with our hero, James (Jesse Eisenberg), being dumped by a girl who probably just wanted to hook up without having to discuss it. We soon get the impression that this wasn’t the first time. But James has a plan.

His parents have promised to fund a trip to Europe as a college graduation present. On a continent where English is a second language, James’ tendency to treat social anxiety as an invitation for lengthy confessions might not prove so self-destructive.

In the scene that triggers the film’s funniest segment, mom (Wendie Malick) and dad (Jack Gilpin) tell James that they don’t have the money for his trip and that he’s going to have do the one thing that a degree in Renaissance literature did not prepare him for: get a job. James gives it the old college try, but by the time he tries to salvage a telephone interview with the line, “No, I’ve never actually driven an asphalt mixer per se, but I did once drive my friend’s van to Wisconsin on a pretty lengthy road trip,” we know he’s on a spiral dive to the bottom rung of the economic ladder.

James ends up working at a local amusement park called Adventureland. It’s there that life gets worse and better all at the same time.

The work is humiliating and the corn dogs potentially fatal, but he also meets a crew of interesting characters, not the least of which is the beautiful Em (Kristen Stewart). James pursues her with all the consistency of a pinball. He talks too much and says too little. He stands up for her; she rescues him from bullying customers. And, along the way we get a pretty clear picture of why he is still a virgin.

The amusement park is an inspired setting for the story and the film is brilliantly cast in a way that only indie films can be: full of characters who can be both authentic and funny.

Director Greg Mottola has to make a decision: whether to throw the weight of his story behind the sentimental memories of youth or the comic potential of the carny’s life. Mottola goes with sentiment and whether this was the right choice or not depends on how invested you are in James’ romantic success.

There are bits of excellent writing in the script, the cinematography is topnotch and Kristen Stewart has once again chosen a vehicle that showcases her captivating talent for willful vulnerability. But “Adventureland” is a film that is rich in sentimentality and a little lean on magic.

Unlike other films like “Juno,” for example, it doesn’t fully embrace the quirky world it has created. As a result it leaves some of its best comic talent on the bench. Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig as the couple who own the amusement park make you smile every time they show up on screen, but Mottola can’t find his way to let them cut loose.

Wendie Malick and Jack Gilpin are similarly underused as James’ parents. You end up aching for the fun this movie could have had.

Mottola is more comfortable with the slacker limbo of lives struggling to take form. Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart serve him well in that capacity. They feel right as young lovers stumbling toward romance and you can’t help but like them for it. “

Adventureland” is a sweet, sometimes funny film. It would have had more spark if Mottola had gotten it the other way around.