Out of all the movies we could have gone to yesterday, Accepted[imdb] was the one that wasn’t at the top of my list. I still had some interest in seeing it though. I think it’s that part in the preview with the guy in a hot dog suit screaming for some one to “ask me about my wiener” that captured my attention. And you can go ahead and insert your joke or pun here. Moving on…
When a high school burnout discovers he’s been rejected from every college he’s applied to, he creates a fake university in order to fool his overzealous parents. [imdb]
I laughed a lot at this flick. The jokes flowed for me, even though it really is one of those stereotypical movies about college where you have one group of not-so-cool kids going against the “cool kids”. Toss in something to do with the dean, and you kind of get the idea.
The humor is subtle. Well, at least until Lewis Black[imdb] shows up. To say that he makes the movie might be going a little far, but he produces some great lines. And when I say subtle, I imply that as the film not being predictable. Sure, some of it stretches the imagination, but this is a movie we’re talking about. You want real life, go watch TLC or something.
I will also add that one element that isn’t subtle is the product placement. Apple computers are everywhere, and everyone loves Mt. Dew. I will go even further and say that colleges like Princeton and Yale even fall into the product placement category here. I’m not sure how licensing rights work in movies when it comes to mentioning educational institutions, but it is blatant promotion of those schools, no matter how you argue it. They are real schools, unlike the two colleges at the center of the story in the movie.
I’ve found myself often comparing seeing movies like this with my thoughts about Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle[imdb]. It works in either two ways. One, I liked it, it was funny, I saw it once, and it won’t break my heart if I never see it again. Or two, all of what I just said, but I actually wouldn’t mind owning that on DVD. You know, those mid-DVD-section impulse buys? That’s where Accepted would land for me.
I find myself wanting to watch a lot of films in the comedy genre lately. I’m not so much into the Snakes on a Plane hype, WTC does have me curious, and horror flicks alway seem like a good idea until it comes down to actually spending money at the box office. I just like being entertained. When movies surprise me and exceed expectations, that’s even better. Accepted did that.
I saw a free preview of this a few weeks ago and I have to agree with you, mostly. The “ask me about my weiner” clip in the ads really turned me off. The only things that made me see it were Lewis Black and the fact that it was free. I was expecting to be disappointed.
And I wasn’t. The movie was really charming. I would even say the movie isn’t about the cool kids vs. the burnouts. To say it’s about a group of people falling into a state of grace is a little too hyperbolic, but it is a low-key version of that plot. The movie isn’t about the dean or the frat boy trying to shut the school down, it’s about characters creating a place for themselves. It’s got heart, it’s got a bit of a plot and, above all, it’s not sadistic. And it’s sad to say, but that makes it stand out from a lot of movies I’ve seen lately.
BTW, Snakes on a Plane is bad in the way you’d expect, but funny in its badness. It’s too late to see it in theaters now unless you’re going with a group of about a dozen people because it’s hard to laugh at something when you’re alone. This is begging for a MST3K/Rocky Horror treatment though. I was doubled over in my seat at one point in the movie I was laughing so hard. It was stupid but one of the most enjoyable times I’ve spent at the movies.
Yeah, I’d have to agree with Don. This wasn’t a cool vs. non-cool kids movie. Don’t get me wrong. There was some element of that, especially in the Frat House scene, but it wasn’t the main theme of the movie. I would probably categorize it more as a screwup doing something right without planning to. The movie was less stupid than I thought it would be but definitely funnier than I expected it to be. I was pleasantly surprised. Heck! I even snorted at one point in the movie and we all know what that means! 😉
Ah the beauty of the internet. You guys clear up what I really wanted to say.
*snort!*