Aug 11: Accepted

"A high school slacker who's rejected by every school he applies to opts to create his own institution of higher learning, the South Harmon Institute of Technology, on a rundown piece of property near his hometown."

Directed by: Steve Pink, Rated: PG-13, 90 minutes

Accepted is a stupid, but very fun comedy that's saved by it's incredibly likable cast. The plot is ridiculous, never even trying to be anything smart and cops out with an even more ridiculous ending. Even then, though, Accepted is very fun and has too much likability, one-liners, and smart improvisation to hate. It also creates one hell of a fake college that would be so fun to attend, even though every bit of it screams "illegal". 

The film also features dozens upon dozens of Apple product placement. Because you know...  

Bartleby (Justin "I'm a Mac" Long) is a slacker who "just got by" in high school. After several attempts at applying for colleges that all resulted in rejection, he decides to create a fake college in an attempt to fool his parents and buy more time until he can get into a real school. Unfortunately, his friend, Schroder (Jonah "I Once Was Huuuge" Hill), makes the fake website all too real, and Bartleby and his friends have hundreds of prospective students showing up to their fake campus. They decide to just go with it and try to make the school something worthwhile, turning the curriculum into a student-driven idea and having classes such as "Rocking Your Face Off 101" and "Walking Around and Thinking About Stuff". Of course, nothing gold can stay and Bartleby and his friends find themselves in hot water as their lies are exposed. Accepted throws in a couple of subplots to the mix, but its still lacking any substance. Schroder does whatever it takes to join a prestigious fraternity at a "rival school", even going about dressing in a hot dog costume and telling people to "Ask me about my weiner!". And Bartleby tries his hardest to win the affection of Monica (Blake "I Can't Stop Pouting" Lively), a life-long crush, even if it means only earning the affection after spending thousands on a camera so she can "find her artistic self".

Even when she's surprised (or angry), Blake manages to pout it up. 

As was previously mentioned, Accepted is good because of the cast. Long and Hill, especially, steal many of their scenes with bits of genius improvisation you can tell were made up on the fly. A large portion of the film was actually unscripted and while it creates some hilarious moments, you can't help but wonder how bad the story suffers because of this fact. The film tries very hard to channel its inner Animal House but when you walk away with just a PG-13 rating, there's a lot that's left desired. It's an interesting thought wondering how good Accepted could have been if it "embraced the raunch" and pushed the limits. 

PG-13 Rating: Disappointing teenage hormones since 1984. 

Even with it's flaws (there are plenty), Accepted is fun and worth a watch. It's nothing you need to track down, as it's on TV all the time, but worth watching on a rainy day or when you're looking for some easy, stupid laughs. Accepted can be looked back on one of the first starring vehicles for Long and Hill, and without it, we probably wouldn't be seeing Long popping up everywhere or even have the 2nd half of Superbad. If anything, you can remember Accepted as the movie review I used the most (and most "unnecessary") quotation marks and parentheses. 

The Good:

Justin Long and Jonah Hill doing their best at improvising and trying their hardest to save an otherwise flat film

The Bad:

a script that lacks any shape or destination and simply chugs along and ends with ridiculous laziness

The Ugly:

some people like him, but I cannot stand Lewis Black and his presence in the film is too irritating to enjoy

Overall: 6.8/10

Trailer: