The Freshman (1990)
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94% of critics liked it
(33 reviews) -
53% of users liked it
(11,233 ratings)
In this farcical comedy, Matthew Broderick plays Clark Kellogg, an aspiring director who arrives in New York City to attend film school. However, moments after he arrives in the city, he's robbed by Victor Ray (Bruno Kirby), leaving him no money for the $700 in books required by his instructor,… More In this farcical comedy, Matthew Broderick plays Clark Kellogg, an aspiring director who arrives in New York City to attend film school. However, moments after he arrives in the city, he's robbed by Victor Ray (Bruno Kirby), leaving him no money for the $700 in books required by his instructor, Arthur Fleeber (Paul Benedict). A few days later, Clark runs into Victor and demands his money back, but Victor has already lost it (on a horse race in which he wasn't entirely sure the animal he bet on was a horse). Instead, he offers to fix Clark up with a job with his boss, an "importer and exporter" named Carmone Sabatini (Marlon Brando), who bears a stunning resemblance to Don Corleone in The Godfather. Clark's adventures with Sabatini are just beginning when he's instructed to pick up a package from the airport. Clark is expecting it to be contraband, and he's right, but not in the way he figured -- it turns out he's accepting delivery of a komodo dragon, which is to be served at a "gourmet club" specializing in dishes prepared from endangered species. Marlon Brando's hilarious comic variation on one of his best-known roles is the highlight of this film, but Bruno Kirby and Paul Benedict also deliver fine comic turns, and Matthew Broderick copes nobly with his role as the film's lone normal person. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Directed By
- Andrew Bergman
- Genres
- Drama, Comedy
- In Theaters
- Jul 20, 1990 Wide
- Studio
- Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Critic Reviews
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Richard Schickel, TIME Magazine
No film offering the spectacle of a Komodo dragon being transported across a state line for immoral purposes can be lightly dismissed.
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Variety Staff, Variety
Marlon Brando's sublime comedy performance elevates The Freshman from screwball comedy to a quirky niche in film history.
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Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
Sweet and warm as well as manic, this is full of loopy surprises.
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, Time Out
The casting, needless to say, is perfect, and Bergman keeps the various escalating intrigues clipping along at a brisk pace.
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Janet Maslin, New York Times
A witty and enchanted comedy.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Matthew Broderick
as Clark Kellogg
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Marlon Brando
as Carmone Sabatini
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Bruno Kirby
as Victor Ray
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Penelope Ann Miller
as Tina Sabatini
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Frank Whaley
as Steve Bushak
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Paul Benedict
as Arthur Fleeber
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Jon Polito
as Chuck Greenwald
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B.D. Wong
as Edward
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Maximilian Schell
as Larry London
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Kenneth Welsh
as Dwight Armstrong
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Richard Gant
as Lloyd Simpson
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Pamela Payton-Wright
as Liz Armstrong
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Leo Cimino
as Lorenzo
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Bert Parks
as Himself
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Gianni Russo
as Maitre D' Gourmet Club
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Andrew Airlie
as Mall Patron
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Patricia Andrews
as Mall Patron
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Drake Arden
as Student in Fleeber Classroom
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Trivett Christina
as Mall Patron
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Warren Davis
as Fr. Frank
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Daniel DeSanto
as Mall Patron
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Daniel Dion
as Gas Attendant
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Fifi Donahue
as Grand Central Station Booth Lady
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Marnie Edwards
as Mall Mother
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Adrienne Howe
as Mall Patron
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Joe Ingoldsby
as Waiter in Restaurant
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Tex Konig
as Leo
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Vera Lockwood
as Aunt Angelina
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Jefferson Mappin
as Hunter
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J.H. Millington
as FBI Man
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Derek Mitchell
as Student in Fleeber Classroom
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Geraldine Quinn
as Student in Fleeber Classroom
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Roy Edward Disney
as Mall Patron
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Doug Silberstein
as Mr. Glassman
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Amanda Smith
as Mall Patron
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David Stratton
as Student in Fleeber Classroom
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Wendy Dickson
as Mall Patron

