Jonah Hill in accepted

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The Jonah Hill comedy is climbing Netflix’s most-watched charts (Image: Universal Pictures)

A ‘legendary’ noughties comedy is climbing Netflix’s most-watched charts 20 years after it was slated by film critics.

Originally released in 2006, Accepted completely flopped upon its debut but seems to have found its target audience decades later. The American comedy is currently sitting at number nine on the UK’s Top Films chart, reigning above Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery.

Viewers follow Bartleby Gaines, a high school graduate who gets rejected by every university he applies to. In a bid to trick his parents, Bartleby creates a fake school on an old property near his hometown, with help from his friends.

As more students are rejected by their chosen universities, they begin applying to the fictional South Harmon Institute of Technology, which forces Bartleby to run the institution as a real school.

Lewis Black, Steve Pink, Natalia Bellami, Justin Long, Columbus Short, Jonah Hill, Blake Lively and Adam Herschman

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Accepted boasts a stellar cast (Image: Getty)

Steve Pink made his directorial debut with the teen comedy and went on to work on noughties hits like the Hot Tub Time Machine and beloved sitcom New Girl. His cast included comedy veterans Justin Long (as Bartleby) and Jonah Hill as Bartleby’s best friend, Sherman Schrader.

The rest of the ensemble features Blake Lively (It Ends with Us), Adam Herschman (Cobra Kai) and Columbus Short (Scandal). Despite its star-studded cast and quirky storyline, Accepted failed to earn critics’ approval.

Rotten Tomatoes reviewers awarded the comedy a sour 38% score. Their consensus reads: “Like its characters who aren’t able to meet their potential, Accepted’s inconsistent and ridiculous plot gets annoying, despite a few laughs.”

Jonah Hill, Blake Lively and Justin Long

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Fans have urged others to give the comedy a chance (Image: Universal Pictures)

But casual moviegoers gave the film a more generous 72% rating, with many sharing glowing reviews.

One fan penned: “I strongly urge people to give this movie a shot. I’ve watched it at least 10-15 times which I don’t normally do. Easy 5 star.”

While a second agreed: “This just became my new favourite movie. It’s a must see. The message of the movie is incredibly true and meaningful, but it’s hilarious at the same time.

“It also has an amazing cast, all of them. The characters are written very well and go perfectly with each actor cast for each part.”

Someone else described the comedy as “legendary”, while a final fan viewer said: “The single funniest movie I’ve ever seen laughed all the way through.”

Accepted is streaming now on Netflix