The stale scent of buttery popcorn and cooking sugary churros fill the air with an aroma all too familiar. Combine that with the cacophony of arcade game sounds and whirling rides, and you’ve got an amusement park. The nostalgia of those sights, sounds and smells proliferates Greg Mottola’s latest film, “Adventureland.”

Fresh off the success of 2007’s teen comedy “Superbad,” Mottola decided to try his hand at writing a screenplay for the second time — the first being in 1996 for “The Daytrippers.” Mottola was smart in sticking to what he knows. By writing about his own experiences as an amusement park employee, “Adventureland” oozes with stories that only those who’ve ever worked at such a place can tell, and does so in a way that’s vastly entertaining and engaging.

“Adventureland” — which premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival — is set at the fictitious Adventureland amusement park just outside Pittsburgh, Pa. It was filmed at Kennywood Amusement Park, which happens to be located around 15 miles from where I used to live. As a child, I went to Kennywood with my family. Both of my parents wanted to watch “Adventureland,” not necessarily for any cinematic reasons, but for the sake of nostalgia. Parts of the story even rang true for my dad, who spent college summers working as a “carnie” at Conneaut Lake Park in Conneaut Lake, Pa.

This movie is very character-driven, especially by leading man Jesse Eisenberg. He’s reminiscent of an older, slightly more polished version of Michael Cera (“Superbad,” “Juno”). Eisenberg is funny in an awkward and bumbling sort of way that’s perfect in a film of this nature. Likewise, Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader and Martin Starr all have their own way of giving life to hilarious characters. Kristen Stewart was a perfect choice as the internally dark and twisted Em. Even Ryan Reynolds, who’s normally boisterous about everything, was more subdued, showing off a different side I didn’t know he had — which was nice for a change.

It’s 1987 and James Brennan (Eisenberg) has just graduated college and is setting his sights on a summer vacation in Europe followed by graduate school at Columbia. Then his parents deliver him some bad news: they can no longer afford to help him go to Europe or Columbia. James returns to his hometown, a suburb of Pittsburgh, and gets a job at the Adventureland amusement park as a game operator.

James’ childhood best friend Tommy Frigo (Matt Bush) also works at the park along with socially awkward Joel (Starr), darkly mysterious Em (Stewart) and peppy Lisa P. (Margarita Levieva). Park owners Paulette (Wiig) and Bobby (Hader) try to make the lazy, boring days of being a carnie better — something their workers also attempt to accomplish by smoking marijuana. Each of the employees has their own problems to overcome while attempting to become happier.

James becomes immediately drawn to screwed-up Em, who only works at the park to escape the reaches of her father and evil stepmother. Her secret: Having an affair with married maintenance worker Mike Connell (Reynolds). As their friendship grows, James wants that closeness to grow into a relationship. This tears Em apart as she struggles to find what she truly wants. Mixed signals drive James toward Lisa P. and strain his friendship with Joel. As the summer comes to a close, the Adventureland carnies have used the worst job in the world to help figure out what they want in life.

In many ways, “Adventureland” is similar to “Superbad.” However, the two films differ greatly in tone. “Adventureland” is a lot darker in both comedic and plot aspects, which actually makes “Adventureland” a better, more intriguing movie. Yes, it has the whole clichéd subplot of a guy wanting to hook up with a girl — the romantic comedy aspect — and references to drinking and drug use. Yet, the way in which Mottola utilizes these aspects, like in “Superbad,” is what makes “Adventureland” so good.

Missy Thompson: missy@tooeletranscript.com