Accepted

Accepted:

Let me just say that I am SO glad to be reviewing this movie for the blog! If Benchwarmers was you lowbrow schoolyard humor film, Accepted is its witty and sarcastic cousin. Accepted is by far one of my favorite comedies of all time. There is SO much to love about this movie and it really doesn’t get the kind of attention, to say the least of praise, that it deserves.

Accepted is the story of a group of friends who get passed over by the colleges that they apply to and have to come up with a backup plan quick in order to satisfy the expectations of their parents and save face with their peers. That’s the nutshell synopsis, but the movie is so much more than that so let’s take a hard look at an under appreciated comedy masterpiece.

There’s a lot to cover with this movie and I’m going to try and keep it somewhat brief, but let’s start with the actors chosen for this film. The cast reads like a who’s who of today’s brightest upcoming stars. You’ve got Justin Long, Jonah Hill, Blake Lively, Robin Lord Taylor, and Hannah Marks, just to name a few whose stars have been on the rise in the last decade. And their performances are all brilliant! Down to the extras in the background, every actor on this film gives an A+ performance throughout. Never is a line phoned in, or delivered half way. There’s an energy level that the movie sets for itself and that level is carried out all the way through to the end. Every last character has a focused backstory, even when it’s not thoroughly explored and that gives each one a concrete and grounded place within the narrative.

The story itself is brilliant as well! It’s one of only a handful of movies that I can scrutinize and not find any glaring plot holes with. Nothing is wasted either. Every second that was committed to the running time serves the story and the humor of the picture. It’s fantastic! The movie knows what it wants to be and the focus on maintaining that identity is unreal. What exactly does the movie want to be? Well, mostly it just wants to be goofy, and sarcastic, and entertaining, but below the surface, it also has a few things to say. There’s a lot of commentary going on in this movie. There’s satirical, sometimes scathing, anti-establishment themes throughout, especially as pertains to the shortcomings of the system of higher education. But there’s a little anti-consumerism, a dash of keeping creativity and passions alive, and poignant thoughts on the monetization of knowledge, and finally, some useful insight into the differences between baby boomers philosophies and millennials philosophies on life.

Currently, the movie holds a 37% freshness rating with critics and a 72% freshness rating with audiences on Rotten Tomatoes so obviously, a few people are getting it. But what aren’t we getting with this movie? The comedy is, dare I say, perfect almost throughout. Every gag is timed amazingly, every character is used to their maximum effectiveness, and every situation just up the ante even more as the film progresses. One can’t help, but bust a gut whenever Lewis Black is on the screen. There are minute details hidden throughout that just layer the humor more and more each time the movie is watched. There are even some very forward thinking gags. For example, the name of the fictional college in the film is South Harmon Institute of Technology, or S.H.I.T. The gag works on its own, but it’s enriched even more by recent George Mason University Antonin Scalia School of Law scandal (cut it out A.S.S.o.L.s!). Even when the humor is in the gutter, the use of double entendre is genius. I can’t think of a comedy that uses its humor better than this movie. The content is just smart all around!

I apologize if this particular review lacks the usual flare that you’ve come to expect, but I really feel for this movie. See, the biggest irony is that the film does what it sets out to do so well, that it leaves no room for much of anything to be said. It’s an extremely well executed and competent film. There are definitely moments of over-the-top hilarity and for those moments alone, I really recommend watching this movie, but in its competence, it just comes across as average. That’s really ironic considering that one of the reasons that the main protagonist keeps getting rejected by colleges is that he’s too average. But, he engineered that life of mediocrity to a point and he uses that facade to hide the truly amazing things about him. In much the same way, Accepted as a film hides real brilliance behind reliable competence. The parallels are uncanny and a little sad. The movie really is laugh out loud funny, it just pulls it off too well for anyone to buzz about it. And the ideas that it’s trying to get across are both enlightening and inspiring. Who hasn’t felt like there was more that they wanted out of life at some point? Or that the word fails to appreciate us for the value that we really offer? And who hasn’t dreamed of finding that something that we’re so impassioned about that we don’t just do it everyday, but we live it everyday of our lives?

There are a lot of complexities that could be covered with this movie and perhaps when the day finally comes that I’m doing these via video instead, I can really delve into them, but there’s an inspiring film that is encouraging everyone everywhere to dream huge and to follow their passions; to not worry so much about what’s considered the convention and to definitely not take the safe road simply for the comfort it offers. This movie challenges viewers to let go of complacency and go after the best things in life. It really is an amazing film with a lot to say that says it all in a way that is explosively hilarious and refreshingly witty and original. Grab some corn, grab a friend, grab yourself… And give Accepted a watch! I guarantee, you won’t be sorry that you did.