Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, July 28, 1990 TAG: 9007280217
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
It's filled with jokes and references to other movies. The most prominent of them, of course, is Marlon Brando's resurrection of his "Godfather" character. Here he's called Carmine Sabatini, but other characters in the film comment on his resemblance to Don Corleone. If that weren't enough, several clips from "The Godfather II" are tossed in.
When that unusual layer of cinematic self-awareness is taken away, "The Freshman" is still an enjoyable and unpredictable comedy.
Matthew Broderick is Clark Kellogg, a not-so-innocent Vermonter who heads for the city to go to the NYU film school. He's been in the Big Apple for 19 minutes and 11 seconds when his luggage and money are stolen by Vic (Bruno Kirby). Before long, Clark finds Vic again, and though Vic can't return the money, he does arrange a job interview for Clark with his uncle Carmine. That's when the movie takes off.
It would be difficult and unnecessary to summarize writer/director Andrew Bergman's plot. It's leisurely paced (too leisurely at times), bizarre and filled with surprising characters. Maximillian Schell turns in a Strangelovian cameo. Penelope Ann Miller is suitably sexy and savvy as the Don's, er . . . Carmine's daughter Tina, and seven lizards called water monitors do a splendid job impersonating an endangered Komodo dragon.
Though it may not sound like it, the story makes sense. Last year Brando made several disparaging comments about the production and his role in it, but he's quite effective. By the end of the film, you can almost forget the parodic element of his character. `The Freshman' A Tri-Star release playing at Salem Valley 8. 102 minutes. Rated PG for language.
by CNB