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.

Sadly, a disappointment. I love Harold Lloyd, but, though many consider it his masterpiece, I did not find this one of his better works. Not that it's bad or anything, but I thought it lacked jokes compared to an average Lloyd film, and that the jokes that were there weren't as funny as they could have been. There are only two setpieces, and only one of them approaches the greatness of Safety Last or Speedy. That is the college party that Harold throws. He gets a cheap suit made, and the tailor, who can't quite stitch everything he needs to in time for the party, has to follow him around, repairing tears as they happen. It's hilarious, Lloyd dancing all over the floor while his sleeve is ripping off. The best moment of the film has Lloyd use the tailor's arm and hand to replace his own while the sleeve is being repaired. A buddy asks Harold if he can borrow ten bucks, and though he is shaking his head no, the tailor reaches into Harold's pocket and hands the guy a ten. The climactic football game is good, but, compared to the climb that finishes up Safety Last, it is unimpressive and certainly not as fun. I also was disappointed in the romance, again with Jobyna Ralston. Her character seems like an afterthought. 7/10.

In "The Freshman" - not to be confused with the 1990 movie starring Marlon Brando and Matthew Broderick - Harold Lloyd plays a guy who goes to college, only to end up the laughingstock of the campus. The funniest scenes are the football practice and the dance. Although much of the latter sequence reminded me of the party in "The Shining", here we have the protagonist suffering a series of mishaps!

Basically, this movie's purpose is to be funny, and it succeeds every step of the way. I have no doubt that they had a lot of fun filming it. College is bound to make a great setting for comedy (aside from this one, there's Buster Keaton's 1927 movie "College", as well as "Animal House", "Revenge of the Nerds" and "Road Trip"). Definitely see it.

A 1920s party gets depicted, starring a man with the last name Lloyd, while "The Shining" depicted a similar event at which the bartender was named Lloyd. Imagine that.