ACCEPTED

Year: 2006
USA: Universal Studios
UK: UIP (UK)
Cast: Justin Long, Jonah Hill, Blake Lively, Maria Thayer, Anthony Heald, Adam Herschman, Columbus Short, Lewis Black, Mark Derwin, Ann Cusack, Hannah Marks, Robin Lord Taylor, Diora Baird, Brendan Miller, Joe Hursley, Jeremy Howard, Travis Van Winkle, Kaitlin Doubleday, Sam Horrigan, Ross Patterson, Artie Baxter, Kellan Lutz, Chantelle Tibbs, Yorke Fryer, Skyler Stone, Jim Leung, Shaun Reyes, Lisa Gleave, Alejandra Gutierrez, Jim O'Heir, Darcy Shean, Jay Harik, Mathew Vigil, Debbon Ayer, Carla Jimenez, Ned Schmidtke, Tim Bagley, Ray Santiago, Margaret Travolta, Brian Powell, Jeff Duby, Scott Adsit, Lindy Loundagin, Steve Little, Ethan Hova, Criscilla Crossland, Meredith Giangrande
Director: Steve Pink
Country: USA
UK: 93 mins
USA Rated: PG-13 for language, sexual material and drug content
UK Certificate: 12A contains strong language and moderate sex references
USA Release Date: 18 August 2006
UK Release Date: 6 October 2006


UK Distributor

Synopsis

After a lifetime of smooth-talking his way through the system and questioning societal restrictions, one graduating high school senior has found a quandary he can't charm his way out of: college admission. All eight universities to which Bartleby "B" Gaines (Justin Long, DODGEBALL, THE BREAK-UP) applied have rejected him, and dire consequences unfold for an 18 year-old with no foreseeable future. So what can a matriculating hopeful do when the admissions gods just don't have faith in him?

Simple. Open his own university.

B decides the best way into college is to create his own, or at least produce enough of a façade to fool his parents. With the help of his nerve-wracked best pal Schrader (Jonah Hill, THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN) and a collection of his college-exempt friends - including bookworm Rory (Maria Thayer, STRANGERS WITH CANDY), spaced-out foodie Glen (newcomer Adam Herschman) and jock Hands (Columbus Short, SAVE THE LAST DANCE 2) - B and his pals found the "illustrious" South Harmon Institute of Technology out of an abandoned psychiatric facility. Under their care, S.H.I.T. becomes a place where they can make their own rules, design curriculum and maintain complete control over their education. And they are not the only new students. The off-the-grid school appeals to scores of college cast-offs who gratefully (and unexpectedly) show up once they learn of the "we accept anyone" mentality of this new university.

To help manage the responsibilities of both running a university and keeping his parents in the dark, B hires Schrader's outspoken and politically disenchanted Uncle Ben (Lewis Black, THE DAILY SHOW TV series) to pose as the dean. To add to his stress, however, B must balance academia while trying to woo the girl next door, Monica (Blake Lively, THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS), who barely knows he's alive.

Slowly, incredibly, the experiment begins to work. Kids freed from the shackles of locked curriculum blossom under S.H.I.T's "design your destiny" tutelage. Unfortunately, they are quickly gaining unwanted attention and threats from "sister school" Harmon University, led by Dean Van Horne (Anthony Heald, THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS) and the state school board. Now, B and his fellow freshmen must overturn the classical notion of what a college experience consists of and reassert that it is their right to pursue their own dreams...all while trying to stay out of jail.

From producers Tom Shadyac (BRUCE ALMIGHTY, THE NUTTY PROFESSOR) and Michael Bostick (BRUCE ALMIGHTY, LIAR LIAR) and first-time director Steve Pink (writer of GROSSE POINTE BLANK, HIGH FIDELITY), ACCEPTED is a socially subversive comedy for anyone who has ever felt the sting of rejection. It discards norms, dismisses the status quo and challenges us to take the road less traveled...even if we have to make it up as we go along.

The filmmakers have culled a talented young cast in ACCEPTED to give a wake-up call to a generation trapped within America's stagnant school system, those Gen Y-ers deeply entrenched in unquestioning social standards of excellence. Speaking to the human need to fit in and find our niche, the film begs we ask ourselves one simple question: "What does it mean to become Accepted?"