ACCEPTED - DVD review

Bartleby Gaines (Justin Long) isn't a particularly bad student, but he isn't a great one either. He hasn't done much to distinguish himself during his high school education. He never partook in extra-curricular activities, other than making fake IDs for his classmates. Much to the dismay of Bartleby's parents, he has failed to gain entrance into every college he applied to. Meanwhile, Bartleby's best friend, the overweight and nerdy Sherman (Jonah Hill), gets into the prestigious Harmon College and hopes to follow in his father's footsteps as a member of the BKE fraternity.

Desperate to get his parents off his back, Bartleby uses forgery skills to create a phony acceptance letter for the nonexistent South Harmon Institute of Technology. He then enlists Sherman in creating a website for the imaginary university to fool his parents. Even though they've never heard of South Harmon, Bartleby's mom and dad are more than pleased their son finally got into college. They're so happy, they want to drop him off at the campus.

Now, Bartleby has to lease an abandoned building, which was once a mental asylum, to stand in for the fake school. He is joined by a group of friends who also find themselves without college options. They are Hands (Columbus Short), who has lost out on a football scholarship due to a knee injury; Rory (Maria Thayer), who only applied to Yale and didn't get in; and the not-so-bright Glen, who can't even hold a job at a convenience store. Together, they fix up the place, fool their parents, and it seems they all have it made. That is, until real students show up for orientation.

Bartleby just doesn't have the heart to tell these people to get lost, so he decides to run the school legit. South Harmon becomes the home for a student body full of misfits, dullards, and weirdoes. He even allows them to choose their own classes and uses their tuition money to improve the facilities. Using Bartleby's methods, everyone finds their true calling for the first time. For example, Glen becomes a master chef.

But, what is a college film without an evil dean? At Harmon College, Dean Van Horne (Anthony Heald) hopes to expand his campus by buying up all the rundown buildings that surround the area. Of course, he is dismayed that another school sprung up out of nowhere. Van Horne appoints snooty BKE member, Hoyt Ambrose (Travis Van Winkle), to investigate. Ambrose also happens to be dating Monica (Blake Lively), a sweet girl who Bartleby has a crush on. What follows is the classic battle between the fun-loving partiers vs. the rich, stuck-up preppies.

"Accepted" tries to follow in the footsteps of films like "Animal House" and falls flat on its face. It doesn't even rate along the lines of "Revenge of the Nerds", let alone "Old School." South Harmon Institute of Technology being an acronym for a certain four-letter word is about as witty as the jokes get in this film. I guess they liked the joke so well, they did it again. One of the students is named Abernathy Darwin Dunlap who suffers from Attention Deficit Disorder. Get it? His initials are A.D.D. and he has A.D.D. Give me a moment while I hold in the unbearable laughter.

Part of the movie's problem is that the filmmakers decided to go for a soft PG-13, rather than a hard R. Sometimes you just crave for a good old-fashioned raunch-fest. Where are the dirty jokes? Where are the obscene sexual situations? Where's the fun? There's not even any nudity. If you're gonna go lowbrow, then go lowbrow. This middle of the road stuff just doesn't cut it for this type of film. Of course, the premise is completely ludicrous. As many other reviewers wrote, "Why can't they just go to community college?" Then again, it is community college...

Still, if there are any redeeming qualities to be found in "Accepted", one can look at the film's leading man and one of its supporting characters. Justin Long has made a modest career out of playing the nerdy nebbish-type. If you enjoyed his performances in "Galaxy Quest" and "Dodgeball", you'll probably find some charm in his Bartleby. I'm sure he'll provide more of the same in the upcoming "Die Hard" sequel. Also bringing the funny, is Lewis Black as the fake dean for the fake school. Anyone who's seen his rants on "The Daily Show" will likely have an idea of what his character is like.

VIDEO:
The video is presented in anamorphic widescreen with an aspect ratio of 2.35:1. The picture quality is clean and the colors are bright. It's not particularly spectacular, but it is the standard, good-looking transfer you'd expect from a release this new.

AUDIO:
The audio is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 with Spanish and French dubbed tracks in 5.1 as well. The movie is heavy on dialogue and everything comes in crisp and clear.

EXTRAS:
First up is an audio commentary track with director Steve Pink and actors Justin Long, Jonah Hill, Lewis Black, and Adam Heschman. It's the typical track you usually get with a large group of participants. They crack jokes and reminisce about shooting the film.

Adam's Accepted Chronicles is a tongue-in-cheek video diary of Adam Herschman's exploits while making the film.

Reject Rejection: The Making of Accepted is the typical EPK-style behind-the-scenes featurette
Self-Guided Campus Tour is an interactive map which leads to several short featurettes about the various sections of South Harmon.

Rounding out the extras are a collection of deleted scenes, a gag reel, and downloadable MP3s of movie quotes that are accessible via DVD-ROM. There are also two music videos, "Hangin' on the Half-Pipe" featuring footage of the film's skateboarding stunts, and "Keep Your Head Up" from South Harmon grads, The Ringers.

FILM VALUE:
I'm no stuffed shirt, I enjoy a raunchy party animal/stoner comedy as much as the next guy. However, "Accepted" isn't a raunchy party animal/stoner comedy, it's just a pale imitation. The fact that the jokes won't even raise a snicker gels well with the overall blandness of the film.