Review of The Freshman (1990) by Kris C — 01 Feb 2010

...and yet, despite the low rating, I think this is one of the three or four silent comedies that everyone needs to see, if only to understand the genre's place in American culture. There is no disputing (a) Lloyd's understanding of the craft of film comedy, as all of the major comic set pieces (the classic "speech" in the auditorium, the football scenes, and, most especially, the dance party where Lloyd literally "unravels" in front of the people he's attempting to impress) amply show, or (b) his tremendous range as a comic actor, whether he is playing a bumbling class clown, asserting his incredible athleticism, or being the consummate coy lover.

And yet, in spite of all this, I find the film unsatisfying (spoilers ahead!). THE FRESHMAN's first hour does a marvelous job putting our feet in Harold's shoes (or, better yet, our eyes behind his "glasses")--obsessed with earning success on the terms of his elite, WASP-ish private university, he sells himself out, only to find that the other students see right through him (the ballroom scenes are not only poignant and comedically effective, but are the perfect metaphor for the story up to that point). His paramour (competently played by Jobyna Ralston) urges him to seek success by "being himself," and indeed, if he had stopped deluding himself, set aside his pride, and done something truly admirable, the sense of pity we feel for him would have resolved into something truly admirable. Sadly, THE FRESHMAN aborts that dramatic arc at the critical moment. Using skills that, of course, come from nowhere in the evolution of the story, it instead settles for a "feel-good" ending that better reflects the popular Horatio Alger mythology of the time than the actual direction of the film. I may be asking a lot from the movie, or be a shade jaded about high school, but I always remember this movie for what it COULD have been, not what it is.