Acceptance (2009) starring Mae Whitman, Jonathan Keltz, Deepti Daryanani, Joan Cusack, Kiersten Warren, Mark Moses, Brigid Brannagh directed by Sanaa Hamri Movie Review

Acceptance (2009)   2/52/52/52/52/5


Joan Cusack and Mae Whitman in Acceptance (2009)

Not Acceptable

Please what ever you do don't mistakenly watch "Acceptance" thinking you are going to watch "Accepted", one is fun the other is a mess and the mess is "Acceptance". Here we have a comedy of sorts about teens going through the stage where they have to try and get in to college whilst also dealing with pushy parents and their expectations. But rather than being a witty and insightful look at the college application process and the various pressures it ends up a mess which is unsure whether it is smart, daft or dramatic.

Taylor Rockefeller (Mae Whitman) is at that stage where she needs to apply for college and whilst her mum would love her to go to an Ivy League college she would rather go to Yates which has accidentally made it on to the top 50 list of colleges on a computer glitch. Taylor is not the only one as her friend Maya (Deepti Daryanani) also has pushy parents wanting her to go to MIT whilst Harry (Jonathan Keltz) is determined to get to Harvard and only Harvard despite his easy going mum wanting him to act like a normal teenager rather than studying all the time.

Jonathan Keltz and Kiersten Warren in Acceptance (2009)

So in style "Acceptance" starts in a typical fashion as we have Taylor and we are guided through things via her narration, be it introducing us to her friends to her peculiar habit for stealing mail from her neighbour's letter boxes. It is trying to be witty and insightful as we get Taylor's thoughts on life but rarely is it witty and insightful. Alongside this we also have the comedy of her parents especially her pushy mum Nina whose pushiness and frantic behaviour is excruciating.

Alongside this focus on Taylor and her annoying inner thoughts as she writes her college letter we have her friends. There is the uptight Harry who is focused on going to Harvard and Maya whose parents are even pushier that Taylor's. All of which is just as excruciating as the comedy surrounding Taylor and her mum.

But alongside the humour it also tries to have a darkness as well to represent the turmoil of a teenage mind be it Taylor dealing with her parents and troubles to Maya feeling love lost. It is so out of tune with the comedy that it is rather unsettling when the subject of self harm suddenly crops up out of nowhere.

What this all boils down to is that "Acceptance" just ended up one barely watchable mess which not only has weak writing but also weak styling and weak characters. Trust me if you want to watch an amusing comedy about teenagers and college find "Accepted".


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