Freshman

THE FRESHMAN (1990) *** Matthew Broderick, Marlon Brando, Penelope Ann Miller, Bruno Kirby, Frank Whaley, Maximillian Schell, Paul Benedict, BD Wong, Jon Polito. Rollickingly funny comedy with film school freshman (Broderick at his blithering best) put upon by con man Kirby by being offered a gopher job for a dead ringer of Don Corleone (Brando, in an inspired send up of his icon role and clearly enjoying every minute) involving an endangered species restaurant! Witty, hilarious and out there. Best bit: Bert Parks singing Bob Dylan's "Maggie's Farm" to a King Komodo Dragon (!) Written and directed by Andrew Bergman.

This is a very funny movie that casts Matthew Broderick as a new-to-the-city college kid who gets mixed up with a shady character named Vic right after he arrives. Through a series of events, he becomes involved with Vic's family, which include Uncle Carmine and his daughter Tina.

Everyone is perfectly suited to his role and even Brando appears to be having a lot of fun with his own image. The supporting cast is worth mentioning - especially Paul Benedict as an obnoxious college professor, and Maximillian Shell as a business associate of Carmine Sabatini.

This is ultimately a touching movie about loyalty and family, and it sure is fun.

You even get to see the Mona Lisa if you watch this movie!

Ensemble cast exceptional in supporting the leads who are "why we are here" watching; More specifically Brando, who seems to be doing many one-take scenes which worked because...well...he's Brando. One scene with Broderick's back to camera clearly shows Matthew starting to crack up while Brando stays the course and in-character, delivering his lines without missing a beat - Worth the view alone of this satirical character-parody of Brando's Godfather role he was employed to apply in this off-beat comedy.

Word has it that Brando wasn't happy with the movie, but it's hard to see why. Bergman's ham-fisted humor hits the mark a lot more of the time than usual, the ensemble cast is fine (Matthew Broderick is always best in these kinds of settings, at least when it comes to movies), and the one major anachronistic gaffe (no mafia boss would have a photo of Mussolini in a place of honor on the wall - he locked 'em up and they hated him) is harmless in context.

But Brando is what makes the movie special: like a sprinkling of something heavenly on an otherwise earthbound enterprise. He's done far more brilliant work elsewhere, of course, but I can't think of another movie that caught just what a uniquely odd presence he was.

I'll say it again: As graceful and charming a performance as he ever gave. RIP, big man.

Directed by Andrew Bergman. Starring Matthew Broderick, Marlon Brando, Penelope Ann Miller, Bruno Kirby, Frank Whaley, Maximilian Schell, Paul Benedict, Jon Polito, Richard Gant, Kenneth Welsh, BD Wong. (PG)

NYU student Broderick, almost literally "straight off the bus," finds himself entangled in the business of Carmine Sabatini, who happens to look and act an awful lot like Vito Corleone from "The Godfather" (and happens to be played by Marlon Brando). Enjoyable comedy starts out as a sparkling winner, and despite losing its way a bit in the second half with twists/secrets that tarnish the spontaneity and wryness of those early scenes, emerges as a very amusing and very likable comedy. Unexpectedly genteel considering all the criminal insinuations one would expect; rather than deal with the standard Mafia-style larceny & thuggery business, it instead centers on the smuggling (and worse) of endangered animals. Nice turns from the entire cast, especially shifty Kirby (whose presence is all-too-diminished in the last act) and loopy Brando, who could have easily botched the parody but instead inspires smiles pretty much every time he's onscreen. Not a classic, but still an undervalued gem.

75/100