Directed by:
Steve PinkCinematography:
Matthew F. LeonettiComposer:
David SchommerCast:
Justin Long, Jonah Hill, Adam Herschman, Columbus Short, Maria Thayer, Lewis Black, Blake Lively, Diora Baird, Ann Cusack, Hannah Marks, Anthony Heald (more)Plots(1)
What happens when you want to go to college but no school accepts you? If you're Bartleby Gaines (Justin Long), you invent a fictitious university and create your own destiny. ACCEPTED follows the Ferris Bueller-esque Bartleby as he and his assembled crew of college rejects dupe the world by building the South Harmon Institute of Technology from scratch. There's his nerdy friend Sherman Schrader (Jonah Hill), who is actually enrolled in the well-established Harmon College across the way but who helps Bartleby with the logistics; the hyper-smart Rory (Maria Thayer), who put all her eggs into one basket and got rejected by her dream Ivy League school; Hands (Columbus Short), a football player who lost his scholarship when he blew out his knee; Glen (Adam Herschman), a former quickie-mart employee who is about as dumb as they come; and, finally, Uncle Ben (Lewis Black), a former academic who gets talked into become the makeshift school's dean when he gets fired from his latest job selling sneakers at the mall. What begins as an innocent ploy to make his parents happy quickly spirals out of control when Bartleby realizes that several hundred kids have shown up for orientation. As he digs himself into a deeper and more irrevocable hole, something strange happens: Bartleby realizes that he's actually on to something. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Reviews (1)
The spirit in which teenage comedies are starting to take place already begins to smell of awkwardness. As long as the genre is only about basic biological desires, or the school dance, winning a match, the crown of the beauty queen, fitting in with the group or scoring the biggest crush, a lot can be forgiven. But when I realized what the whole plot would be based on after a few minutes, I didn't want to believe it. I have never seen such a weak and yet absurd story. When the heroes, instead of studying for exams and looking for lecture content, observe female students in the pool, it's still amusing, but the ending buries that pleasant exaggeration many meters underground. Touching music, moved judges, indulgent parents, and enthusiastic patting on the back. And I, mature enough for a loud mockery of the creators. It's a shame because Justin Long has been in several questionable comedies already, but despite his undeniable talent, he just can't seem to get a break with an A-list opportunity.
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