Vive le sport!

Lloyd plays Harold Lamb, a youngster who goes to college.He wants to become the king of campus but he becomes the laughing stock.But he has someone to comfort him, a girl named Peggy, who's played by the extremely beautiful Jobyna Ralston.The Freshman from 1925 is a hilarious silent film.Harold Lloyd is a comedian who never lets you down.Also Ralston is amazing as Harold's love interest.There's one dramatic scene between them, where Harold burst into tears into her lap.That's one fine scene as are the comedic scenes, which you can find many from this movie.The great football game in the end is just amazing.And I could also mention the one where the freshman is at the party and his tuxedo falls apart.This is a movie that will make you laugh and that may also make a few tears come out.I recommend The Freshman for all those who are at college and who aren't.

This is a good comedy with a good performance by Harold Lloyd in the role of "The Freshman". The entertaining slapstick and amusing story tend to obscure how good a job Lloyd did with his character - to make the story work, Lloyd's character has to be a complete buffoon, utterly oblivious to what is going on around him, yet at the same time he has to be sympathetic to the audience. Lloyd makes this work, and combines it with plenty of good gags to make for a silent comedy classic.

The story is simple, but entertaining, following Harold as he learns about life on the campus of Tate University ("a large football stadium with a college attached"). Old campus comedies are often interesting because they show that, for all the things that have changed, some of the basic personalities on a college campus are still the same as they ever were. Here we have the hard-headed football coach, the mean-spirited hazers, the prissy dean, the wide-eyed freshmen, and more. Most of the characters remain one-dimensional, but they don't need to be anything more in order for it to work. Lloyd does a good job of blending his character into the campus atmosphere, and along with help from leading lady Jobyna Ralston, he makes you care about his silly character while providing plenty of laughs in the process.

As I continue to delve into the Harold Lloyd films, courtesy the Lloyd Collection DVDs, this movie still ranks as the most entertaining of his silent films. ...and perhaps his funniest, but humor is subject. So far it's number one with me and I know I'm not alone.

Many silent comedies, Lloyd's and others, take 15-20 minutes to warm up but this is fun right from the start. I love Harold's "jig" as he introduces himself to people, thinking he would be "cool" and accepted by doing that, and calling himself "Speedy." I laughed every time he did that, beginning with a very early scene as he prepares himself for college. He was ready to make a big first impression. Of course, all it did was make himself look like a sap, but that's Harold for you, and the type of character he liked to play: a meek, corny-but good-hearted guy who becomes the hero in the end of his stories.

Harold does what he can to become popular in college, figuring the best way would be to be a football hero, since the current gridiron star is the "big man on campus." Harold makes the team, but only out of sympathy for his "spirit." Then, the big game comes and all I can say is that this almost looked like the wild-and- crazy ending of the Marx Brothers in "Horse Feathers." It's not as crazy as the game in that film, but it isn't far behind.

That ending was total lunacy but great fun and Harold winds up making that silly jig and handshake which now has become "in" thing to do, since Harold is the hero! This is a great silent comedy, one of the best from anyone.

I tried really hard to get into this film, yet perhaps my greatest impediment was that I tried a bit too hard.

Having thoroughly enjoyed "Safety Last!" (1923), I was struggling to move past mere admiration for "The Freshman" (1925). I did admire the technical astuteness of it, the timing of the gags, and Lloyd's impeccable expertise. Yet that's admiration, whereas I'm looking forward to be swept off my feet and to fall in love. (This reaction is not too dissimilar to my feelings about Wes Anderson's "Moonrise Kingdom" [2012]; there's another movie of technical and comic brilliance that I'm more inclined to admire but not love like I did "The Grand Budapest Hotel" [2014], in fact every single minute of it.)

But the final climax, the football game, is perfect and without any doubt the gem of the film. That's where everything seems to transcend that which has come before, and every single gag take a completely new meaning on a whole different kind of level of existence. I was enthralled, laughed out loud, and was holding my breath. What else can one wish for when seeing a film? That final sequence alone makes "The Freshman" a worthwhile experience for me, and perhaps one day I'll be able to appreciate it more as a whole than I do now. But, for the time being, I'll cherish that last run.

I know a lot of people consider this to be one of Harold Lloyd's best (and it's certainly one of his most famous) but I felt it came up a little short. Lloyd plays a decent chap trying his best to win popularity at his new school (like a lot of college comedies, going to class seems to be optional). There's some funny gags and inventive moments, and the football finale is rightfully iconic, but a lot of bits are drawn out far long or just aren't that funny. Watching Lloyd embarrass himself on stage or act as the team's tackle dummy or cope with an unraveling tuxedo is amusing at first but becomes tedious after a few minutes. The romance is also quite underdeveloped. I don't want to rag on it too much... as far as slapstick comedies go, it's far less annoying than most. I just expected more laughs. I prefer SAFETY LAST.