2006, Universal Pictures, Dir. Steve Pink - Starring Justin Long, Jonah Hill, Adam Herschman, Blake Lively, Lewis Black, Mark Derwin, Columbus Short, Kellan Lutz, Maria Thayer, Anthony Heald, Travis Van Winkle, Robin Taylor, Skyler Stone, Hannah Marks, Carla Jimenez

College comedies have been on a downward spiral in the past two decades, after it had reached its peak when National Lampoon produced Animal House in 1978. Despite the whirlwind of copycats - the overly-raunchy Porkys, the ignorable PCU, and the revolting Van Wilder - it’s good to see Hollywood screwing around with the college process for a change. For some people, it’s tough to even experience college life, so director Steve Pink and his set of funnymen screenwriters have presented us Accepted. Despite its flailing implausibility, the movie remains faithful to the audience and delivers plenty of laughs. The film houses a lot of intelligent, humorous kids - but there are times I just wanted to chide the screenwriters for writing off lousy excuses for bad love interests and weak villains. Don’t get me wrong - for those looking to joke around and gawk at bikini girls, this is a prime excuse. But when it comes to making the right college flick, Accepted ain’t perfect. Still, the performances by Justin Long and Jonah Hill are simply worth the price of admission.

Bartleby Gaines (Long) has been rejected from every college he applied to, much to his parent’s dismay. But Bartleby - better known as B to friends - is smarter than you’d imagine. Rather than letting his parents down, he feels the need to find an alternative method. Gathering his artistic friend Hands (Short), Yale-rejectee Rory (Thayer), idiot savant Glen (Herschman), and the brains of college-accepted friend Sherm Schrader (Hill), B is going to invent his own college to appease his family. Forging an acceptance letter, website, and then leasing an abandoned psychiatric ward, B is on his way to living a life of total freedom. ‘South Harmon Institute of Technology’ - yes, you can guess its acronym - is a fresh sister school of Harmon University in Ohio, according to its website. But when B’s dad (Derwin) wants to meet with the non-existent dean, Sherman’s uncle Ben (Black) fills in the vacant spot. And when a truckload of kids who were “accepted” to South Harmon arrive on campus, B finds himself actually operating a real-life college. But the Harmon University dean wants to buy their land, so he may have his frat friends do some work for him…

Justin Long, fresh from the success of Dodgeball (note that I ignored his work in Herbie: Fully Loaded), struck some real gold as Bartleby Gaines in Accepted. Long graces the screen with some sort of teenager eloquence, dodging questions and complaints with a simple touch of sarcasm. A king of spin, B isn’t your average student. He’s a bit awkward, occasionally shy, but always willing to take a chance. And with the circumstances that Accepted brings for actor Long, there’s a lot that can be done with the character. Imagine a sauve Louis Skolnick from Revenge of the Nerds. Some day I can imagine him playing a fantastic cynic. Also, Jonah Hill is downright unbeatable as Sherman Schrader, a pessimistic geek with a penchant for joining a frat. The earliest scenes with his character are the foundations of genius comic delivery. Adam Herschman makes his acting debut as the slobbish Glen, a culinary genius with very little brain. Every college has to have its Belushi tribute, and I suppose Herschman does it with some indie-inspired zeal. Blake Lively looks gorgeous, but her skills are wasted on the conditions of an awful screen relationship. But when has there ever been a worthwhile love story in a college comedy? And thank god the screenwriters let Lewis Black free to rant - the movie would be nothing without his stand-up bits on society.

The jokes are fresh, but Accepted’s structure is not. The story is simply unbelievable, to the point where it tends to aggravate me. How could parents be so oblivious to Bartleby’s flimsy claims? How could a college survive that long? Ok, ok - this argument goes against my movie mantra - “in film, logic does not have to exist.” But Accepted recognizes logic already, so how come it can’t take its most dire circumstances seriously? Perhaps this can be forgiven by the film’s final scene, taking place in front of the Ohio State Education Board. To be honest, I have yet to hear such a rousing speech in any recent comedy - discounting Amy Adams’ mindless rant in Talladega Nights - but what the characters are saying actually do make sense, and builds itself a heart. If only the screenwriters had a stronger structure to support this, Accepted would have been perfect - but the fact is unignorable. As for the comedy, it’s tip-top for its time. You’d never expect such wit seeing the advertisements, but maybe I’m a sucker for comedies this year. I beg to differ, but really - at least you’ll enjoy it.

Accepted is a worthwhile time at the movie theater, no doubt. I enjoyed myself, that’s for sure, if not for the little annoyances here and there. It’s a celebration of beer, love, pimped-out dorm rooms, and rock-and-roll. But just to note: don’t try creating your own college. It probably won’t work out.