Parents' Guide to

Accepted

By Cynthia Fuchs, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 15+

Dumb comedy about college students partying.

Movie PG-13 2006 90 minutes
Accepted Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

See all
age 15+

Based on 5 parent reviews

MommyWhoCares
MommyWhoCares Parent of 14-year-old
June 1, 2020
age 14+

Young Teen Animal House

Take it for what it is worth. It is extremely stupid and unrealistic but funny and good for young teens who need something more but not too much. Things people noted after seeing were much more minimal. It has swearing and adult content that was more than our kid needed to hear, but not horrible with even some of it still over our son’s head at 14. There was no nudity and no sex which is the key items at that age. It was entertaining and had a good story of not giving up and fighting for what’s good and right. So, it’s a ridiculous movie, but worth the watch for the low-mid teen range and the parents may laugh a little too. It’s properly rated at PG-13
1 person found this helpful.
Monera
Monera Adult
July 10, 2016
age 14+

Mostly Brainless Comedy but Insightful Theme Hidden Within

The whole bogus college was an amusing idea, but obviously he should have just come clean to his parents. A lot was just wild partying and dumb people but the overarching message was a good one. Not the lying part, but the part about how learning shouldn't be all about grades and tests, but personal growth and development. The criticism that many colleges don't foster that sense of intrinsic passion of learning is legitimate. I would talk about that theme in raising questions such as "How can colleges better foster that sense of personal growth in learning?" and "What would you find to be important qualities and values in a good college?" I will note, however, that there is strong swearing at times, but not derogatory toward anyone usually. Part of the cause is the acronym for the college :) I also like how the main character takes charge. I feel he is intelligent on the inside and he really gets to shine in the leadership role of inspiring all of the students.

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
Too much swearing
1 person found this helpful.
See all 5 parent reviews

What's the Story?

When Bartleby Gaines (Justin Long) learns that he has not been accepted to college, he decides to lie to his parents. With the help of his computer whiz friend Sherman (Jonah Hill), he cuts and pastes a letter of acceptance from a made-up school. He takes Dad's check for tuition when offered. When his friends and other college rejects see how well the scam works, the South Harmon Institute of Technology (you can figure out the acronym yourself...) is born and a redecorated psychiatric hospital serves as the campus. Without teachers or accredited courses, the students decide what they want to study. As the students spend their parents' money and convince themselves they aren't "losers" after all, they're discovered by rival students at another college down the road, in particular a fraternity, who make it their special mission to take down Bartleby. Meanwhile, the beautiful Monica (Blake Lively) is supposed to be dating one of the frat boys, Hoyt (Travis Van Winkle), but she's charmed by Bartleby's sensitivity and apparent devotion.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (5):
Kids say (9):

Bogged down by lazy writing and shoddy filmmaking, ACCEPTED is a raucous but pointless endeavor. Borrowing from every other college-located comedy, Steve Pink's movie is also low on originality, even though it appears to celebrate "creativity" in its low-achieving heroes.

That the rebellion has no shape seems not to matter to anyone. The "students" prefer to contemplate punk rock and take long walks. While such activities are not negative in and of themselves, the film makes the kids look unnecessarily unintelligent, a crowd of socially inept misfits who make Bartleby seem sharp by comparison. This strategy is underlined by the fact that Bartleby's the one who gets a girlfriend. Of course, the film needs a happy ending, so Monica is only briefly pouty when she finds out he's been lying.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the pressures on college applicants to "get in": How might families work together to make this a less-stressful process? How might telling the truth be a more effective way for Bartleby to communicate with his parents? Families could also talk about the stereotyped portrayal of college life; what's it really like to be a college student?

Movie Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate