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Accepted
Review by Mr. Stinkhead

We originally reviewed Accepted when it came out in theaters. It really is a good movie in the pool of crap aimed-at-a-high-school-audience movies. It just came out on DVD today, and we checked that out as well. Here is our original review of the film itself, and below that, a review of the DVD features (which you can skip to). We are also hosting a giveaway to win the DVD, and a copy of the soundtrack.

I feel a little bad. I loved the movie Accepted, but this review skews heavily towards dissing on other films. Which is my way of saying I really enjoyed Accepted.

You may have a hard time hearing about Accepted admist the sea of advertising for Snakes on a Plane. I think it's a bit unfortunate that Accepted, which truly is a genuine and earnest slacker film, is pitted agains SoaP. We're looking forward to SoaP, don't get me wrong, it's just sad to see them have to go head to head.

Accepted is hilarious. I usually shy away from dumb teen movies. Occasionally you find a gem that has some great dialogue, memorable characters, and great direction. My favorite case-in-point is Ten Things I Hate About You. It really is funny, and it's worth seeing. This film should have a great life on DVD as well.

My favorite aspect of Accepted is that it doesn't rely too heavily on dum-dum potty jokes. You know, some raunch is funny when used appropriately. Timing is everything. Ace Ventura kicked off the current trend, and then Something About Mary took it to the furthest it should go. Now filmmakers just take turns trying to out gross the last film. Accepted had opportunities to go gross, but didn't overdo it. One or two scenes of pure gross-out are in Accepted, but they're funny, and the bulk of the movie's laughs come from the great dialogue.

The one liners and quick insults are classic. I loved every one. There were several where I was laughing out loud, and storing away certain nuggets to spew out later. I know this movie will be just as funny in its second and third viewing on DVD.

Ok, the one "downside," if you want to call it that, is that this movie will require some surrendering of disbelief. There is a whole lot of bulllllllllshit slewed your way, however the filmmakers gently ask you to accept it in the spirit of enjoying a funny movie. "Here is a set-up for a great line of jokes. Enjoy it." Don't pick it apart. Yes, there is a lot of bullshit, but it was easy to swallow because I was laughing so much, and the filmmakers tipped their hat and asked politely. An example of not pulling this off is the brain hurt I call Honey with Jessica Alba. Disgusting.

I found that there was character depth too. I was pleasantly surprised with Justin Long's performance. The kid from Ed, the Mac in those Mac and PC commercials, he was in Dodgeball and Waiting. He can carry a movie as the lead, and you don't want to take a rusty crowbar to his mug like you would with Van Wilder's Ryan Styles.

I must also mention Lewis Black. He plays classic Lewis Black. If you're a fan of Lewis Black, you'll love his tirades. If you're not a fan of Lewis Black, his presence isn't so domineering you'd hate the whole flick. The timing and dosage of elements (including Mr. Black) are all well thought out.

And Jonah Hill, (the eBay customer in 40 Year Old Virgin) had some of the great dialogue too. His timing is spot on, and worth noting.

I would have loved to see more of Anthony Heald, aka Guber from Boston Public, and more recently a Mystique victim in X3. He knows how to do slimy. He could have overpowered the movie, but he didn't. I'd love to see his character get into it more. But what was used was good.

Alright, I can't stress enough that you should check out this movie. I'm also crossing my fingers for an unrated DVD with some nudity added. That would be sweet, and it was the only thing sorely missing.

Ok, so there wasn't any nudity added to the DVD, but it's still pretty good anyway. The bonus features on the DVD are worth a look as well. There's a handful of deleted scenes, a gag reel, music videos, a making-of special and a surprisingly funny featurette called Adam's Accepted Chronicles, which is hard to explain, but amusing. I love his sessions with the vocal coach. There's also a feature-length commentary with the director, your favorite Mac guy and star Justin Long, Daily Show with Jon Stewart's Lewis Black, Jonah Hill and Adam Herschman.

Click to see what the DVD cover should have said.

One complaint about the DVD. The cover says "From the Studio that brought you American Pie" — Seriously... that's like me listing "completed high school" on my resumé. Were there no gems from my review above? What about "There were several where I was laughing out loud, and storing away certain nuggets to spew out later." Does that work? Here, check out my composite that I put together here. Isn't that going to sell more DVDs? What do I know.

Win a copy!
We promised earlier you could win a copy of this DVD and the Soundtrack, well here your chance. E-mail me the name of a course you'd love to have taken in college, but word it funny so it sounds like something that would be in a course catalog. For example: Commercial Photography for the Intimate Apparel Industry is something I wish they offered at my college. That would include shooting hot chicks for Victoria's Secret catalogs. Catch my drift? Ok, send in your entries by November 30th, 2006 to entry@millionaireplayboy.com. Go ahead and make "Accept me!" your subject.

Check out the official web site where you can play the Accepted Game where you basically make your own college!

Pick up Accepted today from Amazon.com.