Greg Mottola’s Adventureland Is the Most Metal Movie of 2009 so Far

Greg Mottola’s one of those filmmakers you know even if you don’t know you know him: he’s directed episodes of Freaks and Geeks and Arrested Development, and his feature film credits include Superbad and, now, the coming of age dramedy Adventureland.

In all seriousness: I think Adventureland is the only movie I’ve seen this year that hasn’t made me wanna tear my eyes out and carpet bomb Hollywood. Maybe it just hit that right sentimental spot for me, but it feels like such an honest, hilarious, and heartbreaking portrayal of that age when you think you have it all figured out, and you quickly realize you don’t know jack shit about jack shit.

It also has a fantastic soundtrack. In addition to some awesome non-metal acts (The Replacements, The New York Dolls, Lou Reed, etc.), it has a chase scene set to Judas Priest’s “Breaking the Law” which is pretty much the best possible cinematic use of that song I could ever imagine. Couple with Mottola’s superb exploitation of “Panama” in Superbad, I have reached the conclusion that he would be a really, really awesome dude to hang with.

Here’s Priest doing “Breaking the Law” in 1982: