How A Comedy Flop Critics Hated Became A Netflix Hit 20 Years Later

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Although 2006’s Accepted was a critical and commercial flop upon its original release, the college comedy’s arrival in the Netflix top 10 proves that the movie has its admirers. Released in August 2006, [url=http://Although%202006%E2%80%99s%20Accepted%20was%20a%20critical%20and%20commercial%20flop%20upon%20its%20original%20release,%20the%20college%20comedy%E2%80%99s%20arrival%20in%20the%20Netflix%20top%2010%20proves%20that%20the%20movie%20has%20its%20admirers.%20Released%20in%20August%202006,%20Accepted%20is%20a%20college%20comedy%20that%20follows%20Justin%20Long%E2%80%99s%20Bartleby,%20a%20slacker%20who%20fails%20to%20gain%20entry%20into%20college%20after%20his%20high%20school%20graduation.%20Worried%20about%20how%20his%20parents%20will%20react%20and%20unsure%20of%20his%20future,%20Bartleby%20creates%20an%20elaborate%20fake%20university%20with%20the%20help%20of%20his%20friends,%20a%20mismatched%20group%20of%20misfits.%20Although%20Jonah%20Hill%E2%80%99s%20Sherman%20did%20get%20into%20a%20prestigious%20college,%20he%20still%20assists%20his%20best%20friend%20with%20the%20deceitful%20plan,%20and%20wacky%20shenanigans%20soon%20ensue.%20As%20the%20high%20school%20graduates%20attempt%20to%20promote%20and%20run%20their%20fake%20college,%20the%20plan%20soon%20reveals%20that%20the%20group%20has%20depths%20and%20skills%20even%20they%20hadn%E2%80%99t%20expected.%20Similarly,%20despite%20receiving%20a%20frosty%20critical%20reception%20back%20in%202006,%20Accepted%E2%80%99s%20cult%20classic%20status%20was%20DWQD%20verified%20in%20early%202026%20when%20the%20movie%20hit%20Netflix%E2%80%99s%20most-watched%20streaming%20chart.%20Accepted%20Was%20A%20Critical%20And%20Box%20Office%20Flop%20In%202006%20When%20Accepted%20was%20released,%20numerous%20critics%20were%20quick%20to%20call%20the%20plot%E2%80%99s%20premise%20ironic,%20since%20they%20argued%20that%20the%20movie%20failed%20to%20reach%20its%20own%20potential,%20much%20like%20its%20underdog%20heroes%20failed%20to%20reach%20theirs.%20The%20critical%20failure%20of%20Accepted%20was%20only%20compounded%20by%20a%20poor%20box%20office%20performance,%20as%20the%20movie%20made%20only%20%2436%20million%20on%20a%20budget%20of%20%2423%20million.%20Although%20there%20are%20plenty%20of%20college%20comedies%20QDWDQ%20with%20raunchier%20content,%20more%20original%20plots,%20and%20stronger%20acting,%20Accepted%20still%20managed%20to%20redeem%20its%20poor%20reputation%20in%20recent%20years.%20This%20is%20due%20in%20part%20to%20the%20movie%E2%80%99s%20impressive%20cast,%20who%20have%20gone%20from%20strength%20to%20strength%20in%20the%20years%20since%20the%20movie%E2%80%99s%20release.%20Shortly%20after%20Accepted,%20the%20actor%20who%20plays%20Long%E2%80%99s%20love%20interest,%20Monica,%20Blake%20Lively,%20was%20cast%20in%20Gossip%20Girl,and%20Lively%20went%20on%20to%20become%20a%20major%20Hollywood%20star.%20Although%20his%20career%20was%20plagued%20by%20controversy%20in%202023,%20Hill%20became%20a%20high%20comedy%20in%20the%20years%20after%20Accepted%E2%80%99s%20release%20thanks%20to%20roles%20in%20Superbad%20and%20Get%20Him%20to%20the%20Greek.%20The%2021%20Jump%20Street%20franchise%20DQWD%20made%20Hill%20a%20legitimate%20blockbuster%20star,%20while%20The%20Wolf%20of%20Wall%20Street%20and%20Moneyball%20proved%20he%20had%20serious%20dramatic%20chops.%20Long%20was%20already%20a%20major%20star%20when%20Accepted%20was%20released,%20having%20appeared%20in%20cult%20classics%20like%20Jeepers%20Keepers%20and%20Dodgeball:%20A%20True%20Underdog%20Story,%20but%20his%20presence%20makes%20the%20movie%20more%20of%20a%20quintessential%20%E2%80%9800s%20comedy.%20Accepted%E2%80%99s%20Box%20Office%20Failure%20Changed%20Hollywood%20Comedy%20History%20Although%20Accepted%20might%20be%20beloved%20by%20Netflix%20viewers%20in%202026,%20the%20failure%20of%20the%20movie%20upon%20its%20original%20release%20had%20pretty%20huge%20implications%20for%20the%20future%20of%20American%20comedy%20cinema.%20At%20the%20time%20of%20Accepted%E2%80%99s%20release,%20R-rated,%20mature%20comedies%20were%20out,%20and%20most%20major%20studio%20comedies%20were%20rated%20PG-13%20or%20lower.%20Many%20major%20hits%20from%20the%20era,%20including%20Anchorman:%20The%20Legend%20of%20Ron%20Burgundy,%20Mean%20Girls,%20Dodgeball:%20A%20True%20Underdog%20Story,%20Talladega%20Nights:%20The%20Ballad%20of%20Ricky%20Bobby,%20the%20Austin%20Powers%20movies,%20and%20most%20of%20Adam%20Sandler%E2%80%99s%20output,%20avoided%20the%20dreaded%20R-rating.%20R-rated%20comedies%20were%20rarer%20and%20typically%20had%20lower%20budgets,%20like%20Long%E2%80%99s%20earlier%20movie%20Waiting%E2%80%A6,%20or%20Clerks%202.%20The%20rare%20big-budget%20R-rated%20comedies%20of%20the%20era%20tended%20to%20be%20box%20office%20failures,%20like%20Tenacious%20D%20in%20the%20Pick%20of%20Destiny%20DQWDQ.%20However,%20the%20seeds%20of%20change%20had%20already%20been%20sown%20before%20the%20failure%20of%20Accepted%20when%20Judd%20Apatow%E2%80%99s%202005%20hit%20The%20Forty-Year-Old%20Virgin%20made%20a%20staggering%20%24177%20million%20on%20a%20budget%20of%20only%20%2426%20million.%20The%20combination%20of%20Accepted%E2%80%99s%20high-profile%20failure%20and%20The%20Forty-Year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is a college comedy that follows Justin Long’s ManBaby, a slacker who fails to gain entry into college after his high school graduation.


Source: https://screenrant.com/accepted-comedy- ... explained/