accepted

AC/AL/V 2006 92m Eng 23m

CAST: Justin Long, Jonah Hill, Blake Lively, Maria Thayer, Anthony Heald, Adam Herschman, Columbus Short & Lewis Black

CREDITS: Director: Steve Pink; Screenwriters: Adam Cooper & Bill Collage/Mark Perez (and story); Producers: Tom Shadyac/Michael Bostick; Director of Photography: Matthew F. Leonetti; Production Designer: Rusty Smith; Editor: Scott Hill; Costume Designer: Genevieve Tyrrell; Music: David Schommer

THE SYNOPSIS

After being rejected by every college that he applied to, young & crafty slacker Bartleby Gaines (Long) decides to invent a college that accepts him so that his family won’t think him a complete loser.

With the help of his other outcast friends, he sets out to pull a fast one. Along with Bartleby, there’s geeky Sherman (Hill), weirdo Glen (Herschman), best buddy Hands (Short) & pretty redhead Rory (Thayer)., Pretty soon, the fictional South Harmon Institute Of Technology (or S.H.I.T.) has a real campus--on condemned property, no less; a website; t-shirts, etc.

Oh, and hundreds of new students--who arrive thinking that the campus is real! Bartleby and company ask Sherman’s loony Uncle Ben to act as the Dean of S.H.I.T. to fool the community. It works for a while, until the snobs over at Harmon University get wind of the action.

While trying to woo pretty neighbor Monica (Lively) and staying clear of snooty H.U.’s Dean Van Horne (Heald), Bartleby learns the meaning of real hard work, teamwork and loyalty to an idea. But will S.H.I.T. stay afloat or will it be flushed down the tubes of fraudulence? Watch the movie for yourself and find out!

THE CRITIQUE

ACCEPTED is a wannabe raunch-fest mired within a PG-13 bog. Mirroring such classic college flicks as National Lampoon’s Animal House (1978) and Revenge of The Nerds (1984), this comedic grandchild lacks the wit and pomposity of the aforementioned comedy hits.

I may be sound a little mean, but I wanted to like this movie. It contains workable material, written by a bunch of scribes who have credits like New York Minute and Herbie Fully Loaded between them. Yes, I know...outstanding.

As directed with good-natured pep by tyro helmer Steve Pink, ACCEPTED moves along and is competently-produced. He gets much more mileage out of his cast than the genre material deserves (his contributions also include work on 2 John Cusack movies, Grosse Pointe Blank [1997] & High Fidelity [2000]).

At least the cast is game, with current Apple© Computers pitchman Justin Long leading the cause. Comedian Lewis Black also gets some recognition as the jaded elder statesman--though this isn’t exactly a stretch for him.

Tech credits are good--with standouts being the cheery lensing of the California locations by veteran cinematographer Matthew F. Leonetti (2004’s Dawn Of The Dead/Rush Hour 2/Commando) and peppy editing by cutter Scott Hill (Evan Almighty/Monster-In-Law/Bruce Almighty). Everything else is as it should be for a mid-budget comedy (approximately $23 million).

THE BOTTOM LINE

A goofy movie with its heart in the right place. Amusing yet, ultimately--indifferent. Still, I laughed a few times--though far less than I did in real college...all 6 years of it!