College is getting more and more expensive with each passing year and the methods of entry are becoming more and more difficult as well. Some of the finest institutions though are more than happy to hand out a free ride to little Johnny who can catch a football better than anyone, but might turn away the outcast who really did have good grades but didn’t necessarily fit in anywhere. But, what if you could simply create your own institution of higher learning? That’s exactly what the idea behind Accepted is, and it tries to deliver a few laughs along the way.

Bartleby Gaines (Justin Long) is just about at the end of his high school career and ready to enter college, but there’s just one problem. Every one that he has applied to has rejected him and he’s decided that instead of going to college, he’s simply going to work, but mom and dad aren’t pleased with that answer. So, in an effort to make them happy, he creates his own college, the South Harmon Institute of Technology, and they are more than happy that he’s finally managed to find a college. There’s another problem though; his parents want to visit his future educational grounds and meet the dean. With the help of his friends, a few immigrants, and his best friend Sherman’s (Jonah Hill) uncle who used to work as a teacher (and is played brilliantly by Lewis Black) he manages to pull the wool over there eyes.

But, now there’s another problem or two.

The website that was set up for S.H.I.T was fully functional and now more misfits have come to the college looking to better themselves. So, Bartleby (or B as his friends call him) makes up his own curriculum that the students have created. The other problem though is that the “sister” college wants the grounds that the fictitious school sits on to improve their public appearance and now B must try and keep the imaginary school safe from educators discovering the it’s really not a true college at all.

I had every intention of seeing Accepted when it opened theatrically, but the stress of running a website, writing reviews, and dealing with morons on the phone every day (I work a customer service job) just didn’t allow for it. The DVD release though, since that’s what we’re all about here anyway, finally managed to find the film within my grasp. The package itself uses a bold quote, “this generations Animal House,” a very bold claim indeed, but Accepted really doesn’t come close even being in the same ballpark as the Belushi classic.

Accepted is much more like this generation’s version of Revenge of the Nerds, though not quite as funny. Don’t get me wrong, there are some great one-liners in the film, but not nearly to the same degree as what is seen in the Nerds film, Animal House, Porky’s, or a number of other films that fall into the same category. In fact, what happened to the days of R-rated films featuring a bunch of horny teenagers and a ton of nudity? There’s not so much as a nipple slip to be found in Accepted.

The plot of the movie isn’t actually quite similar to the movie Camp Nowhere, though obviously the emphasis here is on higher education. Justin Long though is perfectly cast for the film and he always manages to come across as the prefect “nerdy” and unacceptable high school, something he did quite well in Dodgeball. Having Lewis Black added to the cast is also a good move, though he isn’t nearly as over the top and obnoxious as what you might find when he shows up on The Daily Show or in his standup (which is downright hilarious.) The rest of the cast however is just sort of present in my opinion and not necessarily memorable in any way.

There are some very standard sub-plots found throughout the film as well. B has a crush on Monica (Blake Lively) and has for quite some time but is too shy to say anything, not to mention that she’s currently dating one of the members of the most popular frat houses at Harmon College. His best friend Sherman is trying to get into the same frat and is being abused during the pledge week, though his weight and nerdy exterior have a great deal to do with this. You also have the dean trying to get any and all information on the rival school that he can, especially since no one has ever heard of them. You also have wild parties (again, with no nudity) and even wilder antics.

The idea behind S.H.I.T is an interesting one though and allows the students to really come up with that they want to learn. Let me illustrate something as an example. Each and every day in my job, I deal with someone who wants to call in and make it know that they have a college degree. First, title doesn’t dictate behavior (yes, that is from Clerks) and second, just because you followed someone else’s instructions, took tests and read the required books doesn’t make you anything special. There are brilliant people who never went to college that did just fine in their lives, so, much like Blacks character says (and I’m paraphrasing here) stick that degree right up your ass.

The DVD though has A LOT of bonus features included. The Self-Guided Tour shows a map of S.H.I.T with various areas that can be selected accompanied by a clip from the film. There is a making of feature as well as the Accepted Chronicles, a rather humorous look at the vocal training for the film. There is a commentary track featuring Steve Pink, the film’s director, as well as cast members Justin Long, Lewis Black, Jonah Hill and Adam Herschaan. You will also find a gag reel and deleted and alternate scenes. There are two music videos but what I like best, and I’d love to see more companies include this, are music MP3’s. I know that studios and record labels really want to make money from soundtracks, but throwing on an option to copy MP3’s right to your computer really is a great touch.

Accepted isn’t the laugh-out-loud comedy that I had expected, and while many of the funnier bits were shown in the trailers for the film (something that has long plagued the industry) there are still a few moments here and there that are amusing. However, it isn’t necessarily anything special. Instead it’s just a rather bland and predictable comedy and is worth a single viewing and probably not much more.
 

-mike-
 

Directed by: Steve Pink   Written By: Adam Cooper, Bill Collage & Mark Perez   Cast: Justin Long Jonah Hill Adam Herschman Blake Lively Columbus Short Maria Thayer Lewis Black Mark Derwin Kellan Lutz Ann Cusack Hannah Marks Robin Taylor Diora Baird Brendan Miller Joe Hursley

DVD Features: Anamorphic Widescreen Audio:English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, French, Spanish English, French & Spanish Subtitles Commentary w/Steve Pink, Lewis Black, Justin Long, Jonah Hill & Adam Herschman Deleted Scenes Adam's Accepted Chronicles Reject Rejection: The Making of Accepted Music Videos Self Guided Campus DVD-ROM MP3s