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 Accepted is presented as a light comedy, the film has a dramatic undertone throughout its progress that makes it highly critical of the United States college system and the college ranking system.
Plot
Bartleby Gaines (Justin Long) is a persuasive high-school senior who, among other pranks, creates fake IDs. 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 even to 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. (Without telling Bartleby, Sherman takes the initiative to file for accreditation.) Concluding that an actual physical 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 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 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 South Harmon. He then contacts all the students' parents to expose the school as a fake. Soon after, the Institute is shut down, but Sherman's having taken the initiative to file for accreditation gives 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 enrolling, including Sherman and Monica. Also, Bartleby finally earns the approval of his father, who is proud that his son actually 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 |
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