If you are sitting around, thinking that Freshman Year is somewhat like Animal House, then you are 100% right. There are chants of “Toga, Toga, Toga”, the crazy dean (though he has a golf cart, not a horse), and a group of very repressed students. Basically, this is a 2009 remake of Animal House, though with lesser actors. It seems as though National Lampoon has a very specific set of guidelines about what has to appear in their movies, and they stick to them: sex, drugs, and rock & roll; booze; jokes about penises and bodily functions; breasts; naked chicks; rear ends; stereotypes; ROTC members who are meat heads; and a crazy dean. Freshman Year certainly hits every item on the list.
Frankly, I was somewhat surprised by the movie, as it actually was decent. I came to the movie expecting a disappointment and a cheap cash-in. I also thought that this would simply be a movie about sex, nudity, and college parties. Instead, I was rewarded with a movie that actually had a decent script, great props, and a sweet storyline. Though there were some problems with the movie, I really liked it.
For starters on the negative side, the actors are not really that great. Bennett plays an interesting Van, and he has Van's chauvinistic mannerisms down perfectly; but, somebody who is 28 really shouldn’t be playing somebody who is 18. Seriously, the age difference shines through like a blazing sun. Van’s love interest, Kaitlin Hays, is played by Kristin Cavallari. Cavallari is a horrible actress, and she really looks quite amateurish in the movie. The only actors that I liked play the ‘evil’ characters – Fuller as the dean, Steve Talley as the ROTC leader, and Nic Nac as his gay sidekick. These actors were the only ones on screen who are any good.
There are also some logical problems with the movie, which did distract me a bit. Freshman Year is supposed to be a prequel to the first movie, so it is set in 1998-99. However, Van has an iPhone, an Xbox 360, and many other items that didn't exist then. This caused me to pause (literally) and ponder how these objects could appear. Additionally, the whole concept of these repressed Christian girls, who immediately become nymphs when introduced to Van, didn’t make any sense. Sure, this is a movie about Van getting laid and having parties, but is it too much to ask to have a logical script?
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