The Last Days of Disco, Adventureland among new DVD reviews 

ADVENTURELAND (2009). Movie fans need another period coming-of-age flick about as much as the nation needs another Senate cop-out on health care, yet Adventureland proves to be a pleasant surprise. For that, thank the efforts of a talented ensemble and a screenplay that mostly steers clear of the usual gross-out gags that have come to define this sub-genre in modern times. Jesse Eisenberg stars as James, whose best-laid plans to attend grad school are dismantled by a sudden lack of funds. He's forced to take a minimum-wage job working the game booths at the Pittsburgh amusement park Adventureland, and what makes the gig endurable is his burgeoning relationship with a fellow employee, the pretty if often moody Em (Twilight's Kristen Stewart). Adventureland was written and directed by Superbad's Greg Mottola, and he frequently has trouble nailing the 1980s milieu in which the film is set: Some scenes are visually so nondescript that it's easy to forget the time frame and assume the movie takes place in the here and now. Other bits hammer the '80s connection home in marvelous fashion: The "Rock Me Amadeus" gag is especially inspired. Eisenberg is exemplary as the nerdy intellectual whose sensitivity and demeanor attract rather than repel women – here's that rare youth flick where it's actually believable that the brainy guy gets the girl – while Stewart again demonstrates her standing as one of our most promising young actresses by ably tackling the script's most complicated role. The supporting parts are also well-cast, offering familiar character types yet investing them with enough personality to offset any sense of deja vu.

DVD extras include audio commentary by Mottola and Eisenberg; a 16-minute making-of featurette; and three deleted scenes.

Movie: ***

Extras: **1/2

THE GOLDEN BOYS (2009). Between them, David Carradine, Rip Torn and Bruce Dern have racked up 147 years of screen time, and The Golden Boys capitalizes on that vast pool of experience by allowing these veteran performers full rein to work their movie mojo. It's impossible to recommend this piffle to anyone who doesn't possess an ounce of interest in these accomplished thespians or the filmic heritage from which they draw, but seniors and cinema buffs should derive some modest measure of pleasure from the end result. Working from a 1904 novel by Joseph C. Lincoln titled Cap'n Eri: A Story of the Coast, this centers on three septuagenerian sea captains sharing a Cape Cod home. Deciding that they need a woman to look after them – but unwilling to pay for a housekeeper – the crusty trio decides that one of them must immediately find a wife. Captain Zeb (Carradine) and Captain Perez (Dern) are let off the hook when Captain Jerry (Torn) loses the coin toss, but once the chosen woman – the sensible, middle-aged Martha (Mariel Hemingway) – enters their lives, the other two men find themselves captivated by her charm and intelligence. Charles Durning, looking shockingly frail at 86, turns up as a God-fearing man who believes actions speak louder than words, while John Savage, the spring chicken among the males at the age of 59, appears as a city slicker who wants to introduce (gasp!) rum to this quiet community. Other characters flutter in and out of the story, but really, all that matters here is the triumvirate heading the cast. These three vets are a delight to watch (especially Carradine, who died less than two months after this film's stateside bow), even if the movie around them remains soggy.

DVD extras include a 40-minute piece billed as a David Carradine retrospective but which plays as much as a making-of featurette; and the theatrical trailer.

Movie: **1/2

Extras: *1/2

GOODBYE SOLO (2009). Set in writer-director Ramin Bahrani's hometown of Winston-Salem, this film festival favorite has drawn easy comparisons to last year's The Visitor but actually feels more similar in structure and tone to Abbas Kiarostami's A Taste of Cherry. Newcomer Souleymane Sy Savane plays Solo, a Senegalese immigrant who makes his living as a cab driver. His latest fare is William (Red West), a crusty old codger who wants to hire Solo to drive him to Blowing Rock, where he plans to kill himself. Solo is rocked by this confession and spends the days leading up to William's planned suicide trying to talk the septuagenarian out of going through with it. One of the greatest compliments that can be paid to any motion picture is to state that its characters are so richly defined, you can easily imagining them having lives outside the parameters of what's shown on screen. That's certainly the case here. West makes William a man of mystery and regret, a tired soul who can no longer grapple with the demons haunting his every move. Yet the real treat is the title character. As marvelously portrayed by Savane, Solo is the eternal optimistic, but not in any sort of grating, happy-go-lucky manner. We're privy to his fears and doubts, yet what we take away most from him is the sense that no matter how tough things become, he makes us believe that we can always find something positive or pleasant to keep us going. He's a wonderful movie character, although we find ourselves wishing he was something more concrete. I imagine all of us could use some quality Solo time in our lives.

DVD extras include audio commentary by Bahrani and cinematographer Michael Simmonds; and the theatrical trailer.

Movie: ***1/2

Extras: **

THE LAST DAYS OF DISCO (1998). Whatever else one may think of the disco era, it's hard to deny its boundless energy, its sheer joyousness and its "anything goes" irreverence. Two decades removed from the period, writer-director Whit Stillman took a look back with an easygoing comedy that proves to be as witty and wordy as his previous works Metropolitan and Barcelona, even if it doesn't overall quite match those earlier pieces. The Last Days of Disco centers on two recent college grads who thrust themselves into the New York nightlife of the early 1980s: Alice (Chloe Sevigny) is the shy and insecure one, while Charlotte (Kate Beckinsale) is sexy, socially savvy and about as subtle as a jackhammer. Together, they frequent a popular nightclub, hang out with various potential boyfriends, and engage in lengthy discussions regarding both their professional and personal aspirations. The film loses steam toward the end, and a climactic speech about the future of disco is unbearably phony. Yet while Stillman may not exactly capture the era – 1997's Boogie Nights, for one, did a better job of nailing the milieu – he demonstrates that he hasn't lost his wonderful way with words: Yuppies, Lady and the Tramp and the sexiness of Scrooge McDuck are just a few of the topics covered here. Chris Eigeman, the memorable smart-aleck from Metropolitan and Barcelona, steals scenes as Des, a cynical womanizer convinced that he can become a better man.

DVD extras include audio commentary by Stillman, Sevigny and Eigeman; a behind-the-scenes featurette; four deleted scenes; audio recording of Stillman reading from his book The Last Days of Disco, with Cocktails at Petrossian Afterwards; and a stills gallery including highly informative captions by Stillman.

Movie: ***

Extras: ***

SUNSHINE CLEANING (2009). Sunshine Cleaning's ads trumpeted that it's "from the producers of Little Miss Sunshine," and like that hit, it often belies its cheery title by exploring the darkness that descends on the lives of ordinary people just trying to get ahead. Yet while it may not be as sharply written, it contains enough fine moments – to say nothing of a strong performance by Amy Adams – to make it a worthwhile endeavor. Adams stars as Rose Lorkowski, once a popular high school cheerleader, now a struggling maid-for-hire with a troublesome son (Jason Spevack). When her married lover (Steve Zahn) suggests that she can make more money by providing cleanup services at crime scenes, she jumps at the suggestion, convincing her reluctant sister Norah (Emily Blunt) to join her in this new endeavor. Obtaining the proper license proves to be almost as challenging as the actual cleanup duties, but Rose is determined to carve out a better existence for her family. First-time scripter Megan Holley relies on too many familiar character types to flesh out her story: Here's yet another indie effort in which Mom is involved with a married man, Junior is a social outcast, and Grandpa is crusty yet kind (Alan Arkin virtually reprises his Little Miss Sunshine role). Yet other aspects of her screenplay are refreshing: The relationship between the sisters feels natural, the cleanup service angle is inspired, and the character of a one-armed janitorial store proprietor (nicely played by Clifton Collins Jr.) emerges as an original. Sunshine Cleaning's positives don't completely eclipse the tired material, but they do suggest that Holley might have a bright future ahead of her.

DVD extras include audio commentary by Holley and producer Glenn Williamson; and an interesting 11-minute short in which two real-life cleanup specialists discuss their profession and how it's portrayed in the movie.

Movie: **1/2

Extras: **

TYSON (2009). As far as documentaries go, Tyson is a crock. Director James Toback is an acknowledged friend of former boxing great Mike Tyson, so for 90 minutes, he turns on his camera and allows the man to speak at length about his troubled life, both in and out of the ring. There are no other participants, no other voices to support or oppose whatever Tyson says – even Toback himself refuses to ask any pressing questions. So when Tyson claims that he was innocent of the rape charge that sent him to jail, well, he must be telling the truth. And when he states that first wife Robin Givens said false things about his mental condition during a Barbara Walters interview, we should take him at his word (even though the footage itself reveals that Givens was probably accurate). Sorry, but no. If there's one thing that this film makes crystal clear, it's that, after all these decades, the ex-pugilist has barely developed as a human being. Tyson discusses how his jail stint turned him into a more spiritual person, but next we see vintage footage of him going psychotic on a reporter. He accuses promoter Don King of being the type of man who would "sell his own mother for a dollar" (a funny line), but he reveals himself to be equally beholden to high finance (when discussing an out-of-court settlement, he cluelessly notes, "It wasn't much money – 20, 30 million"). This documentary would matter more if Tyson came clean about his past or showed any genuine remorse for his choices, but instead, it merely functions as a disingenuous attempt to make him palatable to the mainstream (see also his role in The Hangover). Certainly, Mike Tyson has a place in the annals of boxing, but in terms of cinema, his picture is no Raging Bull. It's more like Raging Bullshit.

DVD extras include audio commentary by Toback; two pieces in which Toback discusses Tyson; and the theatrical trailer.

Movie: *1/2

Extras: **