Accepted (Widescreen Edition)

Accepted (Widescreen Edition)

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Editorial Reviews

From the producer of Bruce Almighty and Liar Liar comes a whole new school of thought: Accepted. When every college turns him down, Bartleby "B" Gaines decides to make one up. Welcome to the South Harmon Institute of Technology, where the students teach the classes, the dean lives in a trailer in the back, and Bartleby's on the way to scoring with the girl of his dreams. It's a raunchy, rowdy, flat-out funny college comedy that critics are calling "freakin' hilarious" (Steven Chupnick, MovieWeb.com)!

Justin Long has been hovering on the edges of movies like The Break-Up and Dodgeball, providing little comic bursts that are often funnier than the rest of the movie. In Accepted, Long plays Bartleby Gaines, a fast-talking slacker who, when he gets rejected by every college he applied to, invents a phony college to get his parents off his back. Unfortunately, the website his best friend creates is too effective--hundreds of other rejects apply and are accepted. Instead of revealing the hoax, Gaines decides to forge ahead and let the students create their own curriculum, little suspecting that their school is obstructing the expansion plans of the nearby snobbish college. Accepted is much better than you might expect, given the low bar set by most campus comedies; it aims for, and sometimes achieves, the blend of slapstick and social satire that Animal House embodied. Long proves to be a charming leading man without losing his quirky comic sense and the supporting cast is consistently entertaining, particularly stand-up comedian Lewis Black, who delivers a variety of sardonic rants about society. Accepted's critique of conformism is glib--you wish they'd given it a little more bite--but it's still valid and a pleasant sliver of substance in an otherwise vapid genre. --Bret Fetzer

Customer Reviews

Flat movie

Reviewed by Patrick C. Pleter, 2009-10-25

I won't waste my time reiterating what the other low reviews have covered; this is an uncreative movie to which one might psychologically masturbate if they were too incompetent to get into a decent university, and are now grumbling whilst flipping over the latest burger on the fryer -- in short, aimed at a moronic audience. Y'know, something Comedy Central would (and does) air over and over and over, well into 2020 (I just saw it on now, inspiring me to make this review).

Funny and clever take on college

Reviewed by Caitlin D. Neely, 2009-10-23

Accepted (directed by Steve Pink) is a humorous, thoughtful and smart take on college and what it truly means to achieve in life.

Bartleby Gaines (Justin Long) is a smooth talking, intelligent but lazy high school graduate that finds himself in a bad predicament; he is rejected from every college he applies to. To keep himself from becoming a failure in the eyes of his overly demanding parents (Mark Derwin and Ann Cusack) he creates The South Harmon Institute of Technology, a fake college. To the dismay of his best friend Sherman Schrader (Jonah Hill), he accepts himself into the college along with his friends (Maria Thayer, Adam Herschman and Columbus Short).

But when more than 100 students show up on the first day Bartleby must go to far greater lengths than he imagined to keep the charade up.

The movie's opinion on college and academics is refreshing. The college application process is brutal. Qualified students get turned down. Then there are students who slack in high school but are searching for a second chance. Bartleby's `fake' college shows that there are students who can succeed and discover themselves in college regardless of their past performances. It's good to know that there are colleges out there that accept even those that didn't get straight A's in high school or a perfect ACT score. In the process his college that was essentially fake at the beginning becomes more real and turns into more than merely a scheme to fool his parents.

One of my favorite characters in the movie is Glen played by Adam Herschman. His one liners and ability to snag pretty college co-eds is hilarious. He is a suave man that doesn't appear to be one. He proves that looks don't count half as much as personality.

Bartleby is another surprise. He is lazy but any audience member will be able to spot the genius bubbling under the surface. He also has witty and clever one liners that bite through the stereotypical Harmon students and the restrictions colleges place on students.

The only problem with Accepted that bugs me is the concept. It's unrealistic that they are able to start a college no matter how much money they have in their possession. The accreditation is also far-fetched. But it is a movie and I am willing to suspend reality. Movies are allowed to push the limits. The social commentary on colleges shows that reality was tested for a reason; to illustrate that while the movie's concept doesn't always make sense, neither does real life.

Love this movie!

Reviewed by Amy Thomas, 2009-08-28

I got this video for my boyfriend and he just loves this movie. he is very happy with it!

Acceptable - C+

Reviewed by Loyd E. Eskildson, 2009-08-10

Watchable comedy about high school senior Bartleby Gaines (Justin Long) who has been rejected by every university he applied to. He does not want to disappoint his family and wants to help his friends in same situation.

Bartleby uses computer tricks to create a letter saying he has been accepted at a pretend university "South Harmon Institute of Technology" (S.H.I.T.) Bartleby's friends help him create this from scratch as he realizes he can rent a building with tuition money his father hands him. The premise takes a leap of faith, but somehow it works.

The fun the kids have at the school is contagious. They love school and the fun is featured in many scenes of skateboarding, rock concerts, and general goofing off.

The movie gets cheesy and silly, and the ending is ridiculous but you will enjoy overall.

GREAT

Reviewed by M. Niehl, 2009-06-27

Love the movie. Could be the most underrated comedy I have ever watched. If you are a recent high school grad you know someone going threw this and it is a must watch.