Acceptance

There is a very old saying that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. In an age ere even reading can be accomplished on line the sage advice can well be applicable to newer formats of storytelling such as DVDs. One film that brought this saying to mind was ‘Acceptance’. When I first opened to screener package I thought to myself that this was just another in a long, monotonous line of high school ‘R’ rated comedies that is little more than excuse to depicted drunken, stoned out horny students and mindless parents. The cover sort of reinforced this with a picture of the kids wrapped up in paper work smiling while the parental units are nowhere to be found. Another warning flag went up with the fact that this film is being market as a comedy invoking images of all the puerile high school sex romp flicks that have been released since ‘Porky’s’ opened the floodgates. Well, there is some good news; ‘Acceptance’ is absolutely nothing like any of that. It is a sharply written, very well crafted dark comedy that was one of the best movies I have seen in a long time that is directed to the late teen demographic. I was simply amazed as a sat there watching how honest the film was in its presentation. There was very little that came across as trite or contrived. I honestly felt I could believe the characters and rapidly found myself invested in what was going on with them. It was obvious that the cast and crew here decided to create something that would represent an honest attempt at making the best film possible and, perhaps, have a little fun in doing so. If that was their goal then this film is proof that it was a mission well accomplished.

The teleplay was written by Suzette Couture based on the novel by Susan Coll. Couture is a well accomplished author with numerous scripts for film and television to her name. Some of her more notable works were staples for the Lifetime network including a bio-pic of Martha Stewart. Her experience was certainly valuable since of all the aspects of this film that worked for me one of the elements that did the most to set it apart from the pack of high school flicks is the script. Some may readily point to the fact that the parents are for the most part depicted as hysterical dolts trying to live vicariously through their kids. It is important. To remember the vantage point set by the narrative voice of the piece. It is honest and forthright but definitively from the viewpoint of a confused 17 year old girl. Show the parents in such a light is akin to the voices of adults in the ‘Peanuts’ cartoons’; sure it’s silly bit it makes the point clearly. If you have kids roughly the age of the ones shown here try to remember how you saw your parents during the last year in high school. For a teen one of the most stressful aspects of high school is that time consuming, emotionally overwhelming time is the period of college application. While most aspects of high school segregate the population of this place of education deciding which colleges to apply to has the most serious, life changing ramifications. This film demonstrates the stratification of students based on the prestige of the schools considered within their grasp. Floating between the Ivy League bond and the ill fated students left with only a safety school or worse is Taylor Rockefeller (Mae Whitman). While she is quick to point out she is not from ‘those Rockefellers’ her mother, Nina (Joan Cusack) is an obsessed social climber always searching for a link, no matter how tenuous with the famous possessors of that lauded family name. Mae narrates much of the film through writing her college application essay. This may seem like a hackney plot devise but given the circumstances and the focus of the story it is the perfect way to tell the emotional journey of the young woman. Taylor’s mom has been pushing her to get into the right school for years. For most of her life Taylor was a straight ‘A’ student but last semester or so her grades began to slip. It was not for the usual reasons; sex, drugs or rock and roll. For Taylor it was more a growing feeling of uncertainty punctuated with discontent. This malaise is somewhat contagious; her friends Maya (Deepti Daryanani) and Harry (Jonathan Keltz). Maya comes from a family of overachievers who thinks bringing home less than an ‘A’ indicates a learning disability. Maya just wants to study poetry and swim but that would bring shame to her family, here and back in India. Harry used to be romantically inclined towards Taylor but the pressures of getting the right grades and extracurricular activities to please his folks have eclipsed everything else. He is green with envy upon hearing Maya worked one summer with lepers.

Taylor has some unusual ways of expressing her nonconformist nature. First there are blue streaks in her short blond hair. A little irony exists in her choice of handbag, a metal lunchbox shaped like a U.S. Mail box. To relieve stress Taylor steals mail from her neighbors. At one point she explains in her essay that like most obsessions it started small, taking her mother’s mail then widening out to others. As the pressure increase a set of circumstances are serendipitously set in motion. Due to a computer eras in a college ranking service place normally bottom ranking Yates University up at number 50. The administration elevates Olivia (Brigid Brannagh) to interim dean of admissions with the clear mandate of rejecting applicants to make the school appear more elite. Eventually Taylor crosses path to the benefit of all. In the beginning of the third act everything seems to crash down around all involved. For Taylor she takes the drastic course of cutting herself. In a moment of social responsibility Maya witnesses Taylor cutting and tells her mother. Even Taylor comes to the realization that this was the correct thing to do.

After watching this film I was struck with an unusual feeling; one of satisfaction in experiencing a story well told. This is a gentle film that is darkly humorous and a stage for some incredible talent. You might recognize Whitman as one of the young stars in the TV series ‘Parenthood’ where she plays a misdirected, rebellious teen. She is fantastic at her craft and is certain to go very far. The same can be said for writer Suzette Couture and the spot on great direction by Sanaa Hamri. She might be best known so far for the ‘Traveling Paints’ sequel but the way she handles this movie is moving, there is just enough of a modern flair for the youngsters watching but the foundation of the movie is a solid pacing and excellent character development. This is a film that relates a universal story that goes far beyond getting accepted by the right university. it demonstrates that accepting your psarents once you become any adult and most important you have to learn that first and foremost you need acceptance of yourself.

Posted 07/20/2010