| Overall Grade: |
B- |
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| Story: |
C+ |
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| Acting: |
B- |
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| Direction: |
C+ |
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| Visuals: |
B |
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"Accepted" Is Merely Acceptable Entertainment
by M.E.H (movies profile)
Apr 1, 2007
52
of
88 people found this review helpful
Forget that the premise behind "Accepted" is way too preposterous to accept. Put aside the fact that none of the parents have an inkling to check whether or not South Harmon Institute of Technology is accredited (which would clearly put a damper on the story and its climax.) Pretend that logic isn't of a great deal of importance here. (Just think of what "South Harmon Institute of Technology" makes up when it's abbreviated.) "Accepted," in spite of (or because of) its flaws, does what it's intended to do: Entertain and make you laugh.
The plot is as follows: Bartleby Gaines faces the prospect of being rejected from every single university he has applied to. He knows that this is not going to go over well with his parents, so he attempts to persuade them that he should take other routes besides college, only to have his instincts proven correct. Instead of being marked as the "screw-up," Bartleby takes a novel approach: He creates the "South Harmon Institute of Technology" by scanning in a rejection letter from the prestigious Harmon University (a takeoff on Harvard.) B's parents are initially skeptical, just not skeptical enough, and his father asks to check out the website, which B's best friend created. The cover-up then has to extend to finding a building to serve as a college. Then, it turns out that others have received their acceptance letters to S.H. Institute of Technology. I could go on and on, but I don't have all month.
The story is worth about a C+ because it's a bit predictable, but has enough of a sense of humor about itself to make up for it. Those who are giving this part of the story a higher score probably are the ones who are surprised by the ending. The feeling of the movie is that of a script full of ideas with a bunch of people giving it their best shot at improv (most of which involves potty humor.) My grade would have been higher if the movie had been just a smidgen less crude.
The acting abilities of the cast vary. The majority of the S.H. Institute students are fun to watch (I especially like the flaky culinary student Glenn.) Since they're the ones seen most frequently in the movie, it's not a problem. It's only the Harmon U students and all of the adults who bring down the movie, particularly Blake Lively (as the love interest) and Uncle Ben, S.H. Institute's only adult. The former is a generic blonde whose sole purpose is to attract male teenagers to buy tickets; the latter is played by a comedian whose lectures sound strangely like those of a comedian. The parents and the dean of Harmon U are portrayed mostly as unsympathetic buffoons for a large majority of their screen time. While it isn't unusual to marginalize those who are antagonists in teen comedies, "Accepted" takes it to another level. Thankfully, they're more like a minor case of brain freeze than prolonged Chinese water torture when present on screen.
My grade for the acting is a B- because of the disparities between the adults and Harmon U students when juxtaposed with those from S.H. Institute. Besides that, there's no explanation, given or implied, for Bartleby's clumsiness throughout the movie (tripping and falling a zillion times in an hour and a half isn't exactly slapstick.)
The direction could have been improved, particularly with regard to how the actors delivered their lines. Jonah Hill (as Schraeder) gets some of the funniest lines in the movie, yet manages to take the humor out of more than his fair share. A bit more guidance in that department would have helped a bit. This also applies to Uncle Ben (an explanation as to how his conversation started might help.) Other than that, there aren't any major problems, but since delivery is so important, my grade for direction ended up being a C+.
As for the visuals, the costumes worn by Schraeder are easily worth a B. We see him dressed up in two different humiliating costumes in this movie. The scene when the decrepit mental institution is first shown is shot well enough.
I must say that I'm impressed by the fact that "Accepted" isn't as disappointing as I thought it would be. It's amusing enough, in spite of its crudeness and its lack of logic. The acting is passable for a movie of the gross-out comedy genre, especially because of its sense of humor. There are enough laughs in this movie to make up for its many shortcomings, which result in a B- grade. Those of you who want to see it won't be disappointed by this movie. |
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