|
Bartleby Gaines (Justin Long) is graduating from high school, but he has no idea what he’s going to do with the rest of his life. He doesn’t even have the luxury of killing time for the next 4 years in college because he’s been rejected by every university around. He’s a source of disappointment to his parents, the butt of jokes from his kid sister, and all Bartleby wants is to be "accepted" and impress Monica (Blake Lively). Fortunately for him, he’s not the only senior looking for a place to fit in.
If no college will take him, Bartleby gets the idea to create a "fake" university – the South Harmon Institute of Technology. He convinces his genius best friend Sherman (Jonah Hill) to create a website that will fool his father (but hey, don’t make it too real). His group of fellow misfits lease an old mental hospital that can pass for a college campus - at least until the parents’ tuition checks clear. Bartleby thinks of everything – except what to do when dozens of other kids show up who all enrolled from the website.
They need a dean, no problem – Uncle Ben (Lewis Black) used to be a professor before he burned out and got bitter – he’ll fit right in. The students (and we use that term loosely) create their own curriculum and act as their own faculty (so no tests and lots of time off for partying). They create a school mascot and school colors and the semester is awesome until their "sister" college starts to ask questions.
Not since PCU has chaos so completely ruled the college campus. This movie has lots of laughs, but it’s not going to win any prizes for intellectual, thought-provoking humor. In other words, you don’t need a college degree to get this – in fact, an advanced degree may be a detriment to your entertainment value unless you can let it go while you enjoy a bit of silliness. It follows in the footsteps of other classic college movies with the fraternity pranks and the "losers" versus their more popular rivals. It even has a student-in-court moment that’s so Animal House, including the passionate speech that makes everyone stand up and cheer.
Lewis Black gets to do what he does best – rant. And Justin Long is proving he can tackle comedic roles and be believable in his quest to get the girl. He’s adorable, he’s funny, and he carries this film. Of course, he has a great cast of supporting characters to help out.
Home
|
