The Freshman (1990)
Directed by Andrew Bergman

Film Review

Wittily scripted and directed by Andrew Bergman (screenwriter on the Mel Brooks hit Blazing Saddles), The Freshman could hardly fail to be an amiable gangster parody, but throw in a cute Komodo dragon and Marlon Brando reprising his most famous role and what you end up with is nothing less than a comedy classic.  A near-recluse by the time he made the film, Brando was reportedly easily persuaded to take the lead role, perhaps because the opportunity to send up his character in The Godfather was just too good to resist.  His pairing with the young Matthew Broderick (who had worshipped Brando since the age of ten) worked out better than even Bergman could have hoped for, the warm student-mentor rapport between the two actors being one of the film's strongest selling points.

Improbable as it may seem, the film's most memorable sequence involves not Brando (sending up his Don Corleone character for all it is worth) but a Komodo dragon, being pursued across a busy New York shopping mall by two witless college students.  (Actually, two dragons were used for the sequence, a nasty one, which could zip about like a mad thing and look suitably fearsome, and a good-natured one, which could be lifted up and carried.)   Not even the great Mack Sennett could have extracted more comic mileage from this sequence, although the film's best gag comes beforehand, as Broderick tries and fails to secure the Komodo dragon in the backseat of his car - for some reason, seatbelt designers appear to have overlooked this contingency.  If this sounds ever so slightly surreal, just wait for the scene in which Brando goes ice skating - giving us what we always wanted, The Godfather On Ice.  The Freshman is a pure comedy delight, an ingenious variation on a familiar theme, with Marlon Brando once again delivering the goods and showing an unexpected genius for comedy.  It's an offer you can't refuse...

Film Synopsis

Clark Kellogg leaves his home in Vermont to study film at New York University.  His first week in the city gets off to a promising start when everything he possesses is stolen by crooked taxi driver Victor Ray.  Without money, Clark is unable to obtain the books written by his professor which are an integral part of his studies.  By chance, Clark catches sight of Victor one day and goes chasing after him.  Victor is unable to give Clark back his money, as he has gambled it away on the horses, but he offers to introduce him to his uncle, Carmine Sabatini, who might be able to give him a job.  To Clark's amazement, Sabatini is the spitting image of Marlon Brando's character in The Godfather.  Before he knows what is happening, the film student has agreed to work for Sabatini as a courier, his first assignment being to collect a very special item from JFK airport.  The item turns out to be a Komodo dragon, a rare and exotic species of lizard.  With the help of his college roommate, Clark just manages to deliver the animal to its intended owner (having briefly lost it in a shopping mall).  He is rewarded with a thick wad of cash and a visit to Sabatini's house, where he meets his boss's attractive daughter Tina, who takes an immediate liking to him.  A short while later, Clark realises that he is being tailed by agents from the Justice Department, who, it turns out, intend to bring Sabatini to account for his involvement in the Fabulous Gourmet Club, which serves up endangered species at an exorbitant price to a very select clientele.  Just when he thinks things couldn't get any worse, Clark is told that he is to marry Tina, to provide Sabatini with the son he never had...