Accepted: Why I Believe It Is One Of The More Unfairly Underrated College Comedies

SPOILER WARNING: The following article gives away crucial details about Accepted, so unless you have done your homework and seen the 2006 comedy already, proceed with caution.

I will never forget how, on my 13th birthday, out of the decent handful of options I had for movies to see that day, I ended up going with the Nicolas Cage-led remake of the cult horror classic, The Wicker Man, which I did not care much for at all. Months later, I saw the movie that I wish I had picked to see that day instead: Accepted, which has since become one of my favorite comedies and, especially, a personal choice of mine for one of the best college movies ever made. However, for a while, I felt like I was the only one.

That was until I discovered that this comedy from director Steve Pink — and starring rising stars Justin Long, Jonah Hill, and Blake Lively — has proven to be one of the most popular great movies on Netflix as of late. Thus, I decided to revisit the film about a fake college that unexpectedly becomes a little too real for the slacker who created it, and reexamine why I believe its lack of attention on par with something like Animal House is simply unjustified. I explain that and more in the following collection of thoughts I had during my latest re-watch of Accepted.

No One Plays A Charming Con Artist Like Justin Long

While he’s best known these days as the victim of some really harsh stuff in some great horror movies like Tusk and Barbarian, and “Mac” from those iconic Apple ads, the first character I picture when I think of Justin Long is Bartleby “B” Gaines in Accepted, which is a role that I think he was born to play. I mean, this guy is constantly getting himself in and out of trouble with despicable schemes that are way above his purview — the worst being creating a fictional college to fool his disappointed parents, of course. Yet, we cannot help but root for him no matter how bad things get because of Long’s irresistible likability that, if absent, might have put the movie at risk of falling apart.

Lewis Black Steals The Show

That being said, while Long may be the MVP of the Accepted cast, Lewis Black completely runs away with every single scene he is in. His character — a former educator asked to pose as the dean of the South Harmon Institute of Technology — may be named “Ben Lewis,” but he’s essentially playing a slightly fictionalized version of the same guy we have seen hilariously voice his boisterous complaints about the world in some of the best stand-up specials on Max and as a Daily Show correspondent. The loud and proud and cleverly cranky comedian’s casting in this movie is one of its most ingenious decisions, which our own review of Accepted agrees with.

I'm Surprised Adam Herschman Never Became A Bigger Deal

On the other hand, if we really want to talk about scene-stealers in Accepted, we have to talk about Adam Herschman as S.H.I.T.’s culinary “expert,” Glen. You would not know this was the actor’s feature film debut from how he almost masterfully makes what could have been just another one-note performance as the resident dumb guy surprisingly funny and memorably compelling. While it is certainly a great role to have as your most iconic, I can’t help but wonder why, even to this day, Herschman — who has worked steadily since and recently played a security guard in the Hulu original movie, It’s a Wonderful Binge — never quite landed the lead role I believe he earned with his work here.

It’s So Fun Watching Blake Lively And Jonah Hill In Some Of Their Earliest Roles

A pair of Accepted alumni who certainly would reach A-list, leading star status are the aforementioned two-time Academy Award nominee Jonah Hill and Gossip Girl cast member Blake Lively. I actually first discovered both of them from this movie and I immediately had a feeling they were headed for greatness in the way Hill makes awkwardness into an art form as Sherman Schrader and Lively brightens the room with her 1,000-watt smile and infectious personality as Bartleby’s love interest, Monica. Still, knowing their work as I do now makes watching them in this little raunchy comedy even more fun.

A Curriculum Based Entirely On Students' Personal Interests Is Brilliant

So, let’s talk, for a minute, about the faux college at the center of Accepted: the South Harmon Institute of Technology for which Bartleby comes up with the truly fascinating idea to -- instead of giving students options for classes -- make forming the curriculum a collaborative effort. I do not know if any academic facility has ever tried an idea quite like this before, but I think it might be worth a shot and, in fact, I recall wishing my alma mater was just a little more like S.H.I.T. However, I am not sure I am totally behind the whole “students are the teachers thing” and, come to think of it, there is not much learning about technology at this school, is there?

I Think Accepted Influenced My Choice To Avoid Greek Life

One key elements of Accepted that I believe makes it a special kind of college movie is its depiction of fraternities through the cruelty that Schrader endures as a pledge for Harmon’s BKE. Unlike other films that make greek life look cool, fun, and even aspirational like Animal House and Old School, this film uses BKE as a symbol for conformity and diminishing self-esteem. I realize that is not always true in reality -- one of my best friends' own positive experience in a fraternity being a prime example -- but an effective reflection of a traditional college experience’s potential downside, nonetheless.

I Could Listen To This Soundtrack All Day

I have actually been listening to the Accepted soundtrack on repeat as I write this and, even without the film’s accompaniment, nearly every single track — from Modest Mouse’s “Gravity Rides Everything,” to Citizen Cope’s “Let the Drummer Kick,” and even that metal “Eleanor Rigby” cover — is a banger. But, outside of those individual songs, I genuinely recognize most of David Schommer’s composition as one of my favorite movie scores. It is so uplifting in a punk rock sort of way that fits in with the movie’s tone and themes perfectly, especially during my favorite scene.

Bartleby's Accreditation Board Address Is One Of Cinema's All-Time Greatest Climactic Speeches

For me, the moment when Accepted crosses the line from low-brow comedy to thought-provoking, inspirational social satire is Bartleby’s winning final speech at South Harmon’s accreditation hearing. He pours his heart and soul into his plea that real learning took place at his fake college and, in the process, beautifully exposes the conformist oppression and humiliation that students face at elite academic institutions like Harmon. It may be a bit of a stretch that even a monologue that powerful would earn a school as experimental as S.H.I.T. a probationary period, but it certainly earned my approval and, to this day, genuinely moves me to tears every time I watch it.

I know that it is probably sacrilegious for someone call anything other than the pervasively raunchy, R-rated classic, Animal House, their favorite college movie. However, for all the reasons I have listed above and plenty more, I cannot help but admit that I prefer Accepted. I might just stream Accepted on Netflix again as soon as I am done writing this because it already put this S.H.I.T.-head in the mood for another re-watch.