The parents are morons too for falling for such an outlandish scheme. I guess it was a case of wishful thinking on both parts.
I seriously wonder what B’s long term plan was. Would he keep letting more people enroll each year? What would happen after his 4 years were up? Would he still be running he school? He didn’t really think his plan out much; neither did the makers of the film. The concept plays out more like a gimmick than a movie. Every thing feels sort of familiar right down the big climactic court scene in the end. The movie’s saving grace is that it keeps it short, ending before things get too painful.
Its other saving grace is Justin Long, an actor with an easy, dry humor and a knack for playing the every-teen. He’s boyish, yet has a quick wit which he joyfully uses to degrade the popular frat boys of the rival real school, shooting cool retorts with confidence. Long seems to enjoy each role he plays—from the flamboyant fruitcake he portrays in The Break Up to playing a Mac in those catchy computer commercials. He’s a genuine comedic find, well on his way to success.
Blake Lively plays B’s popular-girl crush Monica in the film. She overlooks him in high school, inviting him to mow her lawn rather than inviting him to her graduation party. But when B gives her a tour of South Harmon and she sees how respected he has become there, she’s impressed. Lively is perhaps best known for her role in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. With her cascading blonde locks and toothy grin, she looks and pretty much acts the same here.
Accepted is not the most original college-campus comedy ever made, but it does have its funny moments—albeit you may not remember them after you walk out of the theater. While Accepted may lack book smarts, it is good for some fleeting, mindless fun.
Movie Grade: C+
Synopsis:
High school senior Bartleby "B" Gaines (Justin Long) is on his way to scoring eight out of eight rejection letters from colleges--which isn't going to go over big with Mom and Dad. At least he's not alone in the exclusion. Several of his crew of outcast friends are in the same, college-less boat. So...how does a guy facing a bleak career please his parents and get noticed by dream girl Monica (Blake Lively)?
Simple. Open his own university.
B and his band of misfit freshmen take "liberal" arts literally when they fool their parents and peers and create the esteemed South Harmon Institute of Technology. They clean up an abandoned psychiatric facility, employ a buddy's brilliant?but subversive--uncle (Lewis Black) as the dean and create a fake web site as their campus calling card. Bam! South Harmon, the alternative school of higher learning, is born.
Just as they are settling in, B and company realize they've done their jobs too well. Dozens of other college rejects show up for classes at this less-than-lofty institute. Under the scornful eyes ...
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