The Freshman 1990

Gene Siskel, Chicago Tribune: Marlon Brando returns to the movies with one of his funniest performances as, in essence, Don Corleone with a screw loose. Read more

Dave Kehr, Chicago Tribune: It's the kind of material that could easily fly apart into silliness, yet Brando and Broderick help the director to keep it anchored in a certain emotional reality, which is always the source of the richest comedy. Read more

Peter Rainer, Los Angeles Times: Just when you've had it with the mistimed scenes and the clunky direction, writer-director Andrew Bergman comes through with an inspired piece of lunacy. Read more

Jay Boyar, Orlando Sentinel: Though writer-director Andrew Bergman sets up potentially funny situations, the payoffs aren't nearly as clever as they need to be. Many situations don't pay off at all. Read more

Desmond Ryan, Philadelphia Inquirer: Brando does a wonderful sendup of Corleone that manages to play off the Don's entrenched place in pop culture. But The Freshman is no copycat comedy. Read more

John Hartl, Seattle Times: Andrew Bergman's The Freshman is a charmed comedy, the kind of seemingly effortless movie in which everything falls neatly into place, as if ordained by nature. Read more

Janet Maslin, New York Times: A witty and enchanted comedy. Read more

Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader: Sweet and warm as well as manic, this is full of loopy surprises. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: The Freshman is a dawdling, occasionally amusing stunt. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: There have been a lot of movies where stars have repeated the triumphs of their parts - but has any star ever done it more triumphantly than Marlon Brando does in The Freshman? Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: With Brando around, The Freshman has a snappy madness that's hard to resist. Read more

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. Read more

Time Out: The casting, needless to say, is perfect, and Bergman keeps the various escalating intrigues clipping along at a brisk pace. Read more

Variety Staff, Variety: Marlon Brando's sublime comedy performance elevates The Freshman from screwball comedy to a quirky niche in film history. Read more

Joe Brown, Washington Post: A quirky sleeper with something truly unexpected around every corner. Read more

Hal Hinson, Washington Post: A great actor's self-parody might be fascinating, especially if the actor is Brando. But the performance Brando gives here is anything but a good-natured goof on himself. Read more