“Accepted” (Universal Pictures)
Rejection Has Never Been So Much Fun
“Accepted” is the kind of teenage movie that should be stupid, silly and dull. It doesn’t have any stars, and the plot about a made up college is ludicrous to say the least. But thanks to a solid performance by Justin Long, and the enthusiasm of a talented supporting cast, the stupid thing works! “Accepted” is actually fun to watch, and is harmlessly comedic.
Long plays Bartleby Gaines, a high school senior who has had no luck in getting accepted by a college – any college. His parents are totally disappointed in him and let him know it. Finally in desperation he gets his friend Sherman (Jonah Hill) to create a fictional website and design some stationary for a fabricated college called South Harmon Institute of Technology. He writes himself an acceptance letter and his parents are more than elated. They even present him with a check for ten thousand dollars for the first semester.
Bartleby and his friends take this money and rent a building to act as the college campus (yeah, I know it sounds stupid but watch the movie and then make a judgement). Somehow others hear about South Harmon and show up with their money in hand. Soon the school is full of students.
The actors in this movie are perfectly cast. Long is the perfect half nerd/half hunk hero. He also has some real comedic abilities. Lewis Black is cantankerous and crabby as the man hired to impersonate a Dean of Students. Blake Lively is just wholesome enough to be the dream girl every nerd seeks. And Anthony Heald is the smirky Dean of a real school who tries to bring South Harmon to its knees.
The movie is full of gags and funny situations that provide enough chuckles to keep the movie moving along. You won’t be overwhelmed in any way but you won’t be bored to death either.
The movie is rated PG-13 for profanity and adult humor.
With so many overly ambitious flops out there this summer it is nice to have a movie come along that doesn’t pretend to be any more than a mildly entertaining comedy. That describes “Accepted” to a tee. It is a good-hearted, good-natured ninety minutes of fun. It won’t solve any of the problems of the world, but it will take your mind off them for a short time.
I scored “Accepted” a college bound 5 out of 10.
