Accepted
| Accepted | |
|---|---|
 Film poster |
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| Directed by | Steve Pink |
| Produced by | Michael Bostick |
| Written by | Adam Cooper Bill Collage Mark Perez |
| Starring | Justin Long Jonah Hill Blake Lively Anthony Heald Lewis Black |
| Music by | David Schommer |
| Cinematography | Matthew F. Leonetti |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
| Release date(s) | August 18, 2006 |
| Running time | 92 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $23 million |
| Gross revenue | $38,505,009 |
Accepted is a 2006 comedy film centered on 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.[1] 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 to which he applies. In an attempt to seek approval from his strict father (Mark Derwin), Bartleby creates a fake college, the South Harmon Institute of Technology (S.H.I.T.). 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 to create a fully functional Web site for the school. Concluding that a campus is required to continue the ruse, Bartleby leases an abandoned psychiatric hospital adjacent to Harmon College and renovates it to look like a college campus. When his father insists on meeting the dean, Bartleby hires Schrader's uncle, Ben Lewis (Lewis Black), to play that role.
The seemingly innocent ploy quickly spins out of control when the Web site, which automatically accepts any applicant, enrolls hundreds of other rejected students. Bartleby realizes that these people have nowhere else to go, so he 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: students write down what they want to learn on a giant whiteboard.
Meanwhile, the dean of 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, but 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 subplot, 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 institution through Sherman, who is attempting to join Hoyt's fraternity. After having Sherman beaten up, Hoyt forces him to hand over all the files he has created for S.H.I.T. He then contacts all the students' parents to expose the school as a fake. Soon after, the Institute is shut down, but Sherman had previously taken the initiative to file for accreditation, 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 reopens, with more students are enrolling including Sherman and Monica. He also has finally earned the approval of his father, proud that his son owns a college.
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Justin Long | Bartleby Gaines |
| Jonah Hill | Sherman Schrader III |
| Blake Lively | Monica Moreland |
| Lewis Black | Ben Lewis |
| Maria Thayer | Rory Thayer |
| Adam Herschman | Glen |
| Columbus Short | Daryl "Hands" Holloway |
| Anthony Heald | Dean Richard Van Horne |
| Travis Van Winkle | Hoyt Ambrose |
| Mark Derwin | Jack Gaines |
| Ann Cusack | Diane Gaines |
| Hannah Marks | Lizzie Gaines |
| Diora Baird | Kiki |
| Joe Hursley | Maurice |
| Jeremy Howard | Freaky student |
| Robin Lord Taylor | Abernathy Darwin Dunlap |
| Kaitlin Doubleday | Gwynn |
| Kellan Lutz | Dwayne |
| Brendan Miller | Wayne |
| Artie Baxter | Mike Chambers |
| Ross Patterson | Mike McNaughton |
| Sam Horrigan | Mike Welsh |
| Ned Schmidtke | Dr. J. Alexander |
| John Nicholson | Jane Player |
Reception
Accepted was released to mostly negative reviews with an average score of 36 from Rotten Tomatoes[2]. It received 3 out of 5 stars from Allmovie[3] and a 47 from Metacritic[4]. 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[5].
Home release
The movie was released on VHS and DVD on November 14, 2006, in both widescreen and fullscreen.
Soundtrack
| Accepted (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Soundtrack by Various | |
| Released | August 8, 2006 |
| Label | Shout Factory |
- "U-Mass" by Pixies
- "Gravity Rides Everything" by Modest Mouse
- "The Hives Declare Guerre Nucleaire" by The Hives
- "Bole 2 Harlem" by Bole 2 Harlem
- "Eleanor Rigby" by David Schommer featuring David Jensen (originally by The Beatles)
- "TKO" by Le Tigre
- "Where Do I Begin" by The Chemical Brothers feat. Beth Orton
- "Sherman's Way" by David Schommer
- "Keepin' Your Head Up" by The Ringers
- "Don't You (Forget About Me)" by David Schommer (Originally by Simple Minds)
- "Holiday" by Weezer[6]
- "Let The Drummer Kick" by Citizen Cope
- "To Be Young (Is To Be Sad, Is To Be High)" by Ryan Adams
- "You Think We Suck" by Ape Fight
Other songs not included on the soundtrack:
- "Close to Me" by The Cure plays in Bartleby's room whenever the disco ball comes down
- "Holiday" by Green Day. There has been some confusion over the fact that Weezer and Green Day each have a song by the title "Holiday" in the movie, but only the Weezer song is on the official soundtrack.
- "Blitzkrieg Bop" by The Ramones is played at a party held at South Harmon, and Bartleby sings the majority of it on stage. The DVD also features a music video of the song featuring the cast and crew.
- "Blitzkrieg Bop" by Justin Long with The Ringers
- "Don't Stop" by Fleetwood Mac is played during the high school graduation party.
- "I'm Better" by Scott Thomas
- "Sweet Confusion" by Divine Right (band)
- "Spotlight" by The Ringers
- "Walkin' the Walk" by The Daniel May Quartet
- "String Quartet in G, Opus 18" by FLUX Quartet
References
- ^ IMDb - Parental Guide
- ^ "Rotten Tomatoes' page on Accepted". www.rottentomatoes.com. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/accepted/.
- ^ "Allmovie's review of Accepted". www.allmovie.com. http://www.allmovie.com/work/329132.
- ^ "Metacritic's page on Accepted". www.metacritic.com. http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/accepted.
- ^ "Box Office Mojo". www.boxofficemojo.com. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=accepted.htm.
- ^ "Accepted soundtrack tracklisting". http://www.soundtrackinfo.com/title/tracks.asp?accepted. Retrieved 2008-12-22.