“Accepted” is the latest movie to portray college lifestyle on the big screen, like “National Lampoon’s Van Wilder” and “Animal House,” but there is one thing this movie does different than other movies of its kind.It has heart and a truly genuine message about not making judgments based on appearances and not accepting rejection.
As the movie begins, you see Bartleby “B” Gaines (Justin Long) using his wit and charm to get through high school. But while most kids are receiving their acceptance letters to prestigious schools, Gaines receives multiple rejection letters.
He ultimately decides to create the faÂade of a real university (South Harmon Institute of Technology) to fool his parents.
Gaines needs the help of his intelligent best friend Schrader (Jonah Hill) who was accepted to the ‘prestigious’ Harmon University, to build a Web site, which is supposed to look functional, but not actually work.
Gaines also sees his closest friends Rory, played by Maria Thayer, Glen (Adam Herschman) and Hands (Colombus Short) all get denied from colleges, so Gaines accepts them to South Harmon.
The group proceeds to rent an old abandoned psychiatric ward, clean it up and make it look like a real university.
After cleaning and successfully fooling their parents into believing it is an actual university, the gang is lounging in the “main lobby” when they are greeted by hundreds of kids who received acceptance letters to South Harmon.
Schrader made the Web site fully functional in an effort to fool Gaines’ father, but he did not anticipate students actually wanting to enroll in the university.
This movie is uplifting and can teach a great lesson to everyone. The young cast portrays what college can be like if you make the best of it.
The cast acts out their roles well and gives spectacular performances that combine funny, sexy and heartfelt emotions. The cast benifits from veteran actor and comedian Lewis Black, who plays the dean of South Harmon.
The soundtrack for the movie is also great and includes: Weezer, The Pixies, Modest Mouse and The Hives.
“Accepted” combines all of the fun of a movie for college students, and is a movie that you can enjoy if you like stupid comedies with more substance.
