Accepted

Rating: PG-13

Starring:
Justin Long as Bartleby Gaines
Jonah Hill as Sherman Schrader
Adam Herschman as Glen
Blake Lively as Monica
Columbus Short as Hands
Maria Thayer as Rory
Lewis Black as Uncle Ben
Mark Derwin as Jack Gaines
Kellan Lutz as Dwayne
Ann Cusack as Diane Gaines
Hannah Marks as Lizzie Gaines
Robin Taylor as Abernathy
Diora Baird as Kiki
Brendan Miller as Wayne
Joe Hursley as Maurice

Special Features:
Commentary by director Steve Pink and actors Lewis Black, Justin Long, Jonah Hill and Adam Herschman

“Reject Rejection: The Making of Accepted” featurette

“Adam’s Accepted Chronicles” featurette

Deleted Scenes

Gag Reel

Self-Guided Campus Tour

Music videos

Other Info:
Widescreen (2.35:1)
English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
French and Spanish Language
French and Spanish Subtitles
Running Time: 1 Hour 33 Minutes

Synopsis:
The following is from the DVD cover:

“From the producer of ‘Bruce Almighty’ and ‘Liar Liar’ comes a whole new school of thought: ‘Accepted.’ When every college turns him down, Bartleby ‘B’ Gaines decides to make one up. Welcome to the South Harmon Institute of Technology, where the students teach the classes, the dean lives in a trailer in the back, and Bartleby’s on the way to scoring with the girl of his dreams. It’s a raunchy, rowdy, flat-out funny college comedy.”

“Accepted” is rated PG-13 for language, sexual material and drug content.

The Movie:
Bartleby (Justin Long) is that perennial class slacker of so many teen comedies – streetwise and intelligent but completely lacking in ambition – who has discovered to his, and more importantly his parents’, horror that he has failed to get into any colleges. In a last ditch, and extremely short-term, attempt to appease his parents until he can figure out his next move, Bartleby invents his own school, the South Harmon Institute of Technology. His plan comes crashing down around him, however, when several hundred other academic rejects show up at the school’s door hoping for an education.

“Accepted” is the latest in a long and unoriginal line of comedies about teen and twenty-something social misfits trying to build a personal sense of self-worth despite what the rest of the world keeps telling them. It couldn’t be more of an “Animal House” rip-off if it were actually called “Animal House Rip-Off,” just with less titillation. Bartleby and friends suddenly find themselves having to run their own school resulting in self-directed classes where students study “whatever it is that they’re interested in.” For instance, watching girls sunbathe for credit.

Naturally, it’s not long before they find themselves in conflict with the evil Ivy League wannabe school next door that covets their land and looks down their noses at South Harmon’s teaching methods.

It has a few funny bits here and there, but they’re deeply mired in the seen-it-all-beforeness of the film. Director Steve Pink has written some sharp and witty scripts before; unfortunately he didn’t work on this one and the result is overall flat. Lewis Black as the lone “faculty” member has some moments of almost insight about the nature of education in America and its role in the increasing gap between classes, but these moments are few and far between and often as not are given up on in favor of platitudes about rejection and acceptance that don’t really take into account the realities of everyday life.

It probably plays well to young people still struggling to find their own identity, but it’s oh so empty.

The Extras:
Most of the bonus features are your standard DVD fare. There’s a commentary with the director and cast members, deleted scenes, a gag reel, music videos, and a ‘making of’ video. Also included is a “Self-Guided Campus Tour” which aloows you to see featurettes involving various portions of the set. Rounding things out is the “Adam’s Accepted Chronicles” featurette. In it, Adam Herschman goofs around on the set pretending to do acting exercises, lobbying for an expanded role, and more. Overall, it’s what you’d expect to see on this kind of DVD.

The Bottom Line:
If you’re into dumb high school/college comedies, “Accepted’ is for you.