In "Accepted," college wannabes -- Adam Herschman, from left, Columbus Short, Maria Thayer, Jonah Hill and Justin Long -- transform an abandoned hospital into a bogus university.

Snobs vs. slobs.

It's a sure-fire formula, especially in an academic setting, whether it's the Marx Brothers or the brothers of "Animal House" indulging in classic campus mayhem.

And the formula still works in "Accepted," a perfectly acceptable -- if hardly outstanding -- variation on the theme.

"Accepted's" catalyst for comedy: Bartleby "B" Gaines (witty, wily Justin Long), a 21st-century equivalent to the rascally Ferris Bueller.

B's a college-bound high school graduate -- with no college to attend.

His hapless best friend, Sherman Schrader (Jonah Hill), is bound for snooty Harmon University, thanks to family connections.

But all eight universities where Bartleby applied have responded with a hearty "Thanks, but no thanks," forcing Bartleby to come up with Plan B: a fake acceptance letter from a nonexistent institution of higher learning, the South Harmon Institute of Technology.

Initially, Bartleby assumes an acceptance letter will placate his parents. Faster than he can say "Alma mater," however, he's forced into action -- and winds up transforming an abandoned psychiatric hospital into an actual campus, one that attracts hordes of fellow rejects seeking an academic asylum for their finest slacker impulses.

Adding a touch of iconoclastic authority: Schrader's Uncle Ben ("The Daily Show's" hilariously irascible Lewis Black), a disgraced ex-Harmon University professor, who agrees to pose as dean.

Clearly, all of this is totally preposterous and utterly unbelievable, but "Accepted" acknowledges that with buoyant good humor, then goes about its business with sweetly crazed energy.

Screenwriters Adam Cooper, Bill Collage and Mark Perez, working from Perez's original story, keep the zingers flying.

And even when they crash, director Steve Pink (making his directorial debut following screenwriting credits on two of pal John Cusack's comedic gems, "Grosse Pointe Blank" and "High Fidelity") knows how to keep things moving so you're too busy laughing to notice the logical gaps -- of which there are many -- until later.

At least until the obligatory, uplifting and all too conventional moral-of-the-story conclusion, which contradicts the movie's genially anarchic spirit.

Until then, however, "Acceptable" gets an "A" for effort -- and an "A" for amusing.

After all, any movie that advocates individuality and rejection of conformity can't be all bad -- especially one from that bastion of soulless conformity, the Hollywood studio system.