Director:
Steve Pink
Cast:
Justin Long”¦”¦”¦.Bartleby Gaines
Jonah Hill”¦”¦”¦.Sherman Schrader
Adam Herschman”¦”¦”¦.Glen
Columbus Short”¦”¦”¦.Hands
Maria Thayer”¦”¦”¦.Rory
Lewis Black”¦”¦”¦.Uncle Ben
Blake Lively”¦”¦”¦.Monica
Robin Lord Taylor”¦”¦”¦.Abernathy (A.D.D.)
Anthony Heald”¦”¦”¦Dean Van Horne
Travis Van Winkle”¦”¦”¦.Hoyt Ambrose
Universal Pictures presents Accepted. Written by Adam Cooper & Bill Collage and Mark Perez. Rated PG-13 (for language, sexual material and drug content.) Running time: 93 minutes. Available on DVD: November 14, 2006. MSRP:$29.98.
Bartleby Gaines is like thousands of teenagers unsure about life after high school. A slacker of all trades, the seven colleges he’s applied to have all rejected him. Seven colleges. It must be karma. All those years screwing off have come to bite him in the rear. Either that or the essay he sent to those institutions, entitled “I Don’t Have a Clue”, rubbed people the wrong way. Yeah, the title alone is a clear indicator on why the schools wouldn’t want him as a student.
But the essay’s title has little to do with Bartleby as a person. He appears to be an average-looking louse, though his mischievous mind would beg to differ. When talking to his sister Bartleby gives a brief account of some of the things he’s accomplished when using his brain. Like not having to go to gym class for an entire year for claiming he was allergic to sweat, or getting the school bully expelled for two years because of sexual harassment. (So whenever a bully thrusts you against a locker tell others “you felt something”. Your milk money will remain unscathed.)
Life may give us lemons to make lemonade, but for Accepted, life gives Bartleby rejection as an attempt to give him the freedom to create his own college. The iconic character Ferris Bueller may joke of being born under a bad sign, getting a computer when he asked for a car, but Photoshop works wonders when creating fake acceptance letters to appease worrying parents. Our main character takes his rejection letter from Harmon College, copies it, and makes a few changes. The result is an acceptance letter from the South Harmon Institute of Technology. Yes, abbreviated S.H.I.T.
Enlisting the help of his best friend Sherman (Jonah Hill) and buddies from high school, they fix-up a dilapidated psychiatric ward on the campus of Harmon College. Arriving at the piss-poor building Sherman psyches himself up to get ready for an adventure into the “birthplace of crack.” The montage of renovating the building and making it livable is akin to Revenge of the Nerds but without the pop-friendly tune.
Everything seems fine. Bartleby and Co. have a big place to kick back, throw their feet up and contemplate their future. Of course, when we are most comfortable that’s when trouble arises. The first problem is hundreds of unwanted high school graduates have been accepted to South Harmon. When asked to make the school’s Web site look real, Sherman did one better and made it functional. Oops. The other problem is the Dean Van Horne of Harmon College. He wants the college to emulate the Princetons and Harvards of the world. To do so, buildings must be demolished — including the former psychiatric building — to make way for a grand walkway with fountains and other trimmings.
By laying out the conflict, what does that leave? Oh, how about the best teen comedy without tabloid starlets (yes, this means you Ms. Lohan) or a plot that requires three friends to get laid before they graduate. This comedy is Savage Steve Holland-esque but without Japanese students sounding like Howard Cosell or the star power of John Cusack.
In Cusack’s place is Justin Long. Some may remember him as the wannabee cheerleader turned dodgeballer in Dodgeball, or as the current spokesman for Apple Computers. His Bartleby Gaines character is a little neurotic at times, and he’s infatuated with a hottie from his high school, Monica (Blake Lively). She’s dating some elitist snob who becomes a small thorn in his side up at Harmon. Like most men, Bartleby lies. But his lie to her and his parents is the foundation of his own unaccredited college: the make-believe S.H.I.T.
While not exactly the Brat Pack, the supporting cast of characters is well suited for their roles. Jonah Hill and Justin Long have good chemistry as best buds since the age of five. Jonah has some nice one-liners, like when he’s asking people about his wiener while dressed up as a hot dog, or commenting on the team mascot of S.H.I.T. — it’s a sandwich. (Laugh goes here.)
Probably the most irritating but funny-as-hell character is stand-up comedian Lewis Black as the Dean of South Harmon. His long-winded, sometimes incoherent, diatribes on the ozone layer and other world happenings are beneficial to those teenagers on the cusp of adulthood. He rambles on about the education process — giving it the proverbial finger — and health care. His opinions are scathing but informative to a degree.
And that is what sets Accepted apart from the run-of-the-mill teenage comedies. It’s funny, yes. But it also shows us what college can be like if you leave out the bureaucracy. Considering the limitations colleges place on us, cutting off our creativity, who wouldn’t want to go to South Harmon Institute of Technology and be labeled a S.H.I.T. head?
I know I would.
THE VIDEO
(Presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen)
This DVD comes with a good-looking picture. Since the movie is less than a year old, I wouldn’t expect anything less. Colors are well represented. Whether it is the browns and sky blues that adorn the walls and clothing of South Harmon, or Jona’s loud purple suit (making him look like The Grimace), everything looks clean. Facial tones are also lifelike.
THE AUDIO
(English, French, and Spanish — Dolby Digital 5.1)
With no less than three audio tracks at our disposal — four if you count the commentary track — you have a lot of options. Though many of us will never listen to Accepted in French or Spanish, it’s there if you want to. The 5.1 audio is presented crisp and clear and help highlight rock bands like Modest Mouse, The Hives and Weezer. It’s music to slack to.
SPECIAL FEATURES
While not exactly lighting the box office on fire earlier this year (hell, Borat made more money in its first weekend than Accepted did in its entire run), the DVD has some bonuses that may or may not make you want to get “higher”.
Adam’s Accepted Chronicles is a short featurette with supporting actor Adam Herschman. During these eleven minutes the man who plays Glen, the experimental chef, works with a vocal coach (would-be rocker/pizza deliver guy Joe Hersley), attempts to get more screen time by talking to producer Tom Shadyac’s agent and the screenwriters, and is told that he is an ass. His response: “On a movie set, ass means A Special Specimen”.
Reject Rejection: The Making of Accepted (10:09) is a fluff feature with the stars and creative staff glad-handing each other. Though there are some “I didn’t know that” moments. Like learning that first-time director Steve Pink worked on the scripts for Grosse Pointe Blank and High Fidelity. Also, Lewis Black educates us on the meaning of throughline — it’s the scenario against which a story takes place. Oh, and most adolescent males and Jackass fans are sure to enjoy the on-set game developed by stars Justin Long and Jonah Hill: “Who can hit each other harder in the genitals?”
Self-Guided Campus Tour is pretty much a throwaway feature as there is five selectable vignettes that spotlights a specific area of the Harmon campus. They are the Half Pipe; Pool; BKE Fraternity; the Common Room and Party Hall. Each lasts around one minute in length.
The remaining features on the first page of extras are music videos. The first is “Hangin’ on the Half Pipe” (3:12) with skateboarding stunts and maneuvers set to music. The other is “Keepin’ Your Head Up” (2:06) by The Ringers.
On the second page we get a nicer selection of bonuses. The first is a feature commentary with Steve Pink, Justin Long, Lewis Black, Jonah Hill and Adam Herschman. All five were recorded simultaneously so there’s a lot of talking over each other. You can tell they all enjoyed making Accepted as they crack jokes and make references to past teen movies. Comparisons are made between actor Travis Van Winkle’s snooty bully character and William Zabka, the premier bully in eighties teen cinema. Steve Pink even points out that John Travolta’s sister has a small role. She plays a guidance counselor of sorts who Bartleby meets to inquire about the degree plans at Harmon College.
Up next is a montage of deleted scenes (12:58). Most of the deletions are extended scenes with some alternate takes.
The gag reel (8:12) has some really fun stuff that ends with a montage of Lewis Black screwing up his lines.
Finishing the disc is Get Accepted with Movie Music MP3’s. There are six MP3’s that can be accessed by opening the folder “ACCEPTED_MP3s” located on the DVD disc.
EASTER EGG ALERT!!!
There’s an Easter egg that can be accessed on the last page of the extras. When you click on the blue stick figure with a question mark above it, you can see Jonah Hill (as Sherman) dressed up in a wiener outfit telling Bartleby and Monica about his wiener.
THE INSIDE PULSE
A movie that didn’t get much love when it was released late into the summer this year, Accepted arrives to DVD with some good audio/video and several, but paltry, extras. Who knows, maybe this college comedy will find an audience on DVD. Much like Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle. A good recommendation.
