Accepted Blu Ray Review (Mill Creek Entertainment)
Accepted is a 2006 comedy film directed by Steve Pink (Hot Tub Time Machine 1/2, About Last Night, Cobra Kai, and Childrens Hospital). Before becoming a director, Pink was a screenwriter for Grosse Pointe Blank and High Fidelity. It was written by Adam Cooper (Exodus: Gods and Kings, Assassin’s Creed, The Transporter Refueled, and Tower Heist), Bill Collage (Exodus: Gods and Kings, Assassin’s Creed, New York Minute, and Allegiant), and Mark Perez (Game Night, The Country Bears, and Herbie Fully Loaded). It was produced by filmmaker Tom Shadyac (Patch Adams, Nutty Professor II, Bruce Almighty, and Evan Almighty). The budget was $23 million and it grossed $38.6 million worldwide at the box office!!!!
Bartleby Gaines (played by: Justin Long from Jeepers Creepers, Tusk, Live Free or Die Hard, and Waiting) is a persuasive senior from William McKinley High School. He receives rejection letters from all of the colleges to which he applies, including those with high acceptance rates. In an attempt to gain approval from his demanding father (played by: Mark Derwin from Bosch and 24), Bartleby creates a fake college, the South Harmon Institute of Technology (SHIT). His best friend, Sherman Schrader III (played by: Jonah Hill from Superbad, 21/22 Jump Street, The Wolf of Wall Street, and Knocked Up), who has been accepted into his father’s (played by: Jim O’Heir from Parks and Recreation) prestigious alma mater, Harmon College helps out Bartleby and fellow reject Rory Thayer (played by: Maria Thayer from Hitch). Others that were rejected from colleges which includes Darryl “Hands” Holloway (played by: Columbus Short from The Losers) and Glen (played by: Adam Herschman from Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay) join them in this new school. 
Bartleby convinces Sherman to create a functional website for the school and they overwhelmed with students with lots of money to spend for an education. Bartleby hires Sherman’s uncle Ben Lewis (played by: Lewis Black from Jacob’s Ladder, Man of the Year, The Hard Way, and Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated), a former Harmon College professor to be the fake dean of the college. The egoistical and power hungry dean of Harmon College, Richard Van Horne (played by: Anthony Heald from The Silence of the Lambs, Red Dragon, The Client, and 8MM) sees this new school as a threat so he sends Hoyt Ambrose (played by: Travis Van Winkle from Friday the 13th, Transformers, Bloodwork, and Asylum) to spy on them. Bartleby has a crush on Hoyt’s girlfriend Monica Moreland (played by: Blake Lively from The Shallows, The Town, The Rhythm Section, and Green Lantern) and starts hanging out with her. Richard Van Horne and Hoyt Ambrose expose South Harmon Institute of Technology for being fake and unofficial. Bartleby must defend his creation against his rivals, angry parents, and disappointed kids to prove that everything there is actually working for education. Can he win this battle? pr Will he end up in serious trouble over this fraud????
Accepted is one of the better teen or young adult comedies in the last 15 years. The script was lots of fun and it had some hilarious moments. It’s a creative and cool concept that actually delivers. Justin Long is perfect for this lead role and it’s one of his best characters. Jonah Hill has blown up since then and he was more unknown in this one but he was funny as hell as the sidekick. Blake Lively is gorgeous and this is one of her better earlier performances. Lewis Black was top notch as the fake dean and the only true adult on the campus. He had some sharp dialogue and some quality speeches in this. Anthony Heald and Travis Van Winkle probably were type-casted as the villains here but there’s a reason for that. They are both naturals when it comes to playing assholes. The supporting cast had all kinds of familiar faces like Jim O’Heir, Mark Derwin, Ann Cusack (Tank Girl), Robin Lord Taylor (Gotham), Diora Baird (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning), Kellan Lutz (The Twilight franchise), Ray Santiago (Ash vs Evil Dead), and Greg Sestero (The Room). This one has great replay value and it still holds up after all these years. Accepted is very entertaining and it’s a quality college comedy, RECOMMENDED!!!!
Let’s talk about the high definition presentation from Mill Creek Entertainment! This 1080p (2.35:1) transfer is the best looking home video release from the recent batch and from Mill Creek in a long time. This is a massive improvement over the past DVD release and Accepted has never looked better than this. The English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is also a huge upgrade compared to all the past releases. All of the dialogue is crystal clear, the campus chaos is elevated, and the music has a killer boost to it. It has English SDH subtitles.
Let’s discuss the special features from Mill Creek Entertainment! Mill Creek has carried over all of the previous extras from the original DVD home video release and they are in standard definition. “Audio Commentary” with director Steve Pink, actors Jonah Hill, Justin Long, Lewis Black, and Adam Herschman. This group has lots of fun sharing their experience on this production. They chat about the cast, characters, story, concept, and many other subjects. They all have great chemistry here and you learn more about Accepted from them. “Adam’s Accepted Chronicles” is a little over 11 minutes. This is a hilarious mini mockumentary with actor Adam Herschman plus various members of the production. “The Making of Accepted” is a little over 10 minutes. It has interviews with every major cast and crew member from Accepted here. They chat about their experience, the cast, and chemistry. They go over the concept and the crazy scenarios in it. They talk about finding and working with director Steve Pink for this project. They bring up producer Tom Shadyac’s experience and what he brought to the film. “Campus Tour” takes a look at multiple locations plus scenarios like skateboarding on campus, a pool sequence, a live concert, remodeling the hospital, and frat house mayhem. Almost 13 minutes of “Deleted Scenes”. I can see why most of this was cut but it’s still a nice little extra to have on here. A little over 8 minute “Gag Reel” featuring funny outtakes from the movie. Looking forward to more Universal catalog titles getting blu ray treatment from the great folks at Mill Creek. This is one of the better Mill Creek releases when it comes to catalog titles. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!
