>>REVIEW
ACCEPTED
STARRING Justin Long, Jonah Hill and Lewis Black
DIRECTED BY Steve Pink
Opens Friday, August 18
Check Listings
Steve Pink’s directorial debut, Accepted, is a little bit Ferris Bueller, a touch of Animal House and a splash of Old School, along with so many easy comparisons to other school/college movies that it’ll make your head hurt. But damn if it doesn’t manage to be completely entertaining and really quite funny.
The highly implausible storyline is amusing. Multi-college reject Bartleby Gains creates a fictional college in order to appease his education-obsessed parents. Also fun is the cast of characters that inhabit the South Harmon Institute of Technology. And yes, you’re reading that acronym correctly. The filmmaker’s obvious goal was to make a light-hearted, fun summer flick.
Shining brightly with what will definitely be his breakout role, Justin Long makes Bartleby a little bit sassy, but still retains enough boyish charm and innocence to keep him from becoming obnoxious. With a quick wit and an honest feel to the character, audiences will root for his success and feel downright bummed when things don’t go exactly as planned.
Lewis Black, most recognizable from his appearances on The Daily Show, gives a laugh-out-loud performance as a burned-out educator posing as the Dean of the fictional college. Audiences will be brimming with anticipation, just waiting to hear what raw, prophetic rant will exit his mouth in each and every scene.
The supporting cast of misfits and oddballs all take their moments in the spotlight and although it would have been easy to make most of them over-the-top and stereotypical, the filmmakers have instead managed to create some uniquely hilarious personalities. With the exception of course being the stuck-up, rich jocks and rival Dean… but hey, you don’t mess with the classic college movie conventions.
Portions of the movie do border on heavy-handed preachiness with the "why do we have to conform? Why can’t we just be who we are?" message. But these moments are in total sync with the rest of the movie. They are kind of cheesy and expected, and without them this course in scholastic silliness just wouldn’t have been complete.
But most importantly, there’s a guy dressed as a hot dog saying "ask me about my wiener." You just can’t beat that. |
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