Accepted is a
comedy film centered around would-be college
freshmen, who after being rejected from all the
colleges and
universities to which they had applied, proceed to "create" their own "college".
Though presented as a light comedy, the film's dramatic undertone throughout is highly critical of the United States college system and the college ranking system.
Unlike most
PG-13 films,
Accepted has frequent use of the word
shit - 62 times.
[IMDb - Parental Guide] The term is frequently referred to as the
acronym of South Harmon Institute of Technology (S.H.I.T.). It is one of few theatrically released films to bleep out a word - in this case the word "fuck" is literally bleeped out on its second usage, presumably to avoid an "R" rating for language.
Plot
Bartleby Gaines (
Justin Long) is a persuasive high-school senior who, among other pranks, creates
fake ID's. His gifts do not extend to grades, however, and he receives rejection letters from all of the universities and colleges he applies to. In an attempt to seek approval from his strict father (
Mark Derwin), Bartleby creates a fake college, the South Harmon Institute of Technology. He is aided by his friend Sherman Schrader III (
Jonah Hill), who has been accepted into the prestigious Harmon College, and fellow rejects Rory (
Maria Thayer), who was rejected from Yale University, the only school she applied to, Hands (
Columbus Short), who lost his athletic scholarship after an injury, and Glen (
Adam Herschman), who got a '0' on the
SAT when he neglected to even sign his name.
To make the "college" seem legitimate, Bartleby convinces his best friend Sherman create a fully-functional website. Arriving at the conclusion that a campus is required to continue the ruse, Bartleby leases an abandoned
psychiatric hospital adjacent to the campus of Harmon College and renovates it to look like a college campus. When his father insists on meeting the Dean, he hires Schrader's uncle, Ben Lewis (
Lewis Black), to play that role.
The seemingly innocent ploy quickly spins out of control when the website, which automatically accepts any applicant, enrolls hundreds of other rejected students. Bartleby realizes that these people have nowhere else to go, so lets them believe that the school is real. After a visit to Harmon disenchants him with traditional college life, he has the students make up their own classes and be their own teachers. A giant whiteboard is put up in which students write down what they want to learn.
Meanwhile, the Dean of the nearby Harmon College, Richard Van Horne (
Anthony Heald), makes plans to construct the Van Horne Gateway, an adjacent park-like "verdant buffer zone to keep knowledge in--and ignorance out." He dispatches Hoyt Ambrose (
Travis Van Winkle) to free up the nearby properties in preparation. When Bartleby refuses to relinquish the lease for the South Harmon Institute of Technology property, Hoyt sets to work trying to reveal the college as a fake. In a sub-plot, Bartleby also vies with Hoyt for the affections of Harmon College student — and Hoyt's girlfriend — Monica (
Blake Lively).
Hoyt exposes South Harmon Institute of Technology as a fake school through Sherman, who is attempting to join his
fraternity. After having Sherman beaten up, Hoyt forces him to hand over all the files he has created for the Institute. He then contacts all the students' parents to expose the school as a fake. The Institute is quickly shut down, but Sherman had taken the initiative to file for accreditation beforehand, giving Bartleby a chance to make his school legitimate.
At the State of Ohio
educational accreditation hearing, Bartleby makes an impassioned speech about the failures of conventional education, convincing the board to grant his school a one-year probation to test his new system. The Institute is started up once again, with Sherman and Monica now attending.
Cast
Reception
Accepted was released to mostly negative reviews with an average score of 36 from
Rotten Tomatoes. It received 3 out of 5 stars from
Allmovie and a 47 from
Metacritic. Despite the negative reviews, the film made an estimated $10,023,835 during its opening and $36,323,505 by its time of closing on October 19, 2006
.
Home release
The movie was released on VHS and DVD on November 14, 2006, in both widescreen and fullscreen.
Soundtrack
Other songs
not included on the soundtrack:
