Accepted (2006)

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0384793/

Official Trailer: https://youtu.be/MZkurgJOP4c

BEFORE THE VIEWING

I'm honestly pretty excited to start off with "Accepted". If my memory serves correctly, this film is a really fun time. Justin Long plays a graduating senior who's struggling to get into college...so he invents one of his own, which his friends (and eventually some strangers) turn into a legitimate institute of unconventional learning.

The high schoolers in this movie graduated in 2006 - just a year after myself. Not knowing of any films featuring the class of 2005, I've embraced this film as a close-enough depiction of my own generation. I've always been pleased with the depiction, too; the kids in this movie are a little stressed, a little crazy, very brave, and delightfully creative.

A quick review of the official trailer has also reminded me of two phenomenal casting decisions: a pre-"Superbad" Jonah Hill, and the seemingly-timeless curmudgeon Lewis Black. I'm already pumped to slide this DVD into my PS3 and let the hilarity ensue!

AFTER THE VIEWING

Nobody at my school got so excited about their acceptance that they screamed about it in our school's courtyard. Was that just my school? I feel like people kept that to themselves and their closest friends.

I love the inclusion of Hands, a jock who lost a lot of opportunity because of a football injury. I think a lot of writers would set up a strong dichotomy of oddballs vs. standards in this kind of movie, like "Animal House" did; the standards are all absolutely wrong and oddballs are absolutely worthy of praise. This film doesn't bash any group of people, just acknowledges that different groups exist. At the end Bartleby asks, "Why can't we both exist?", referring to the established and the unconventional methods. That's such a healthy quest; not wanting to squash what is "other" than oneself...just to coexist.

Although Justin Long is an adorable protagonist (and I've always struggled not to crush on him in this role), I spent a lot of time during this viewing appreciating the supporting characters:

The hyper-active redhead, Rory, is the only reason this whole thing happens. She shows the boys the mental hospital that they convert into the school, she brings "students" from her English-as-a-second-language class to complete the illusion for the parents, and she's extremely organized! Even though she mellows considerably by the end of the film, I'm really glad she was in the mix.

And there are so many one-liners by Jonah Hill! I forgot how funny he was. It's interesting that, for a big person, there was never any humor or cruelty attached to his weight. This movie went out of its way to respect Schrader as a dude, while simultaneously giving us room to laugh at his antics.

Finally, I realized during this viewing that Glen, the idiot-savant cooking whiz, is just about as funny and random as Brick Tamland in "Anchorman". Practically every line he has makes me giggle. I can only think of a handful of performances that have pulled that off!

One character who did not retain my interest is Blake Lively as Monica, Bartleby's love interest. Ironically, I find her just about the least-lively part of this flick. Although I've always thought of her as pretty, I think she's an idiot for overlooking a character like Bartleby for even a second. Maybe I'm biased.

Another fun aspect of "Accepted" was that it had an excellent soundtrack. Grinding rock, high energy, kick ass. There's a great montage set to Green Day's "Holiday", Justin Long covering a Ramones classic in front of hundreds of people, and the final credits roll to a techno song full of quotes from the movie. It's like spending just 2 more minutes reveling in the fun you just had.

"Accepted" is aging pretty well, I think. While the characters do have smart-ish phones, they aren't glued to them. The characters are varied, but not stark stereotypes (for the most part). Writing is solid, plot and pace are tight, and there's enough comedic talent here to guess that some of the funniest lines aren't scripted, but come from a genuinely humorous moment of filming.

Watching it as an adult, it's a little harder for me to suspend my disbelief and have a mindless good time. However, I did spend a good chunk of my viewing with a grin on my face, and you probably would, too.

Overall rating: 4 out of 5

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