- An oddly disappointing follow-up to The General, College is certainly one of Buster Keaton's lesser films. The funniest moment arrives near the film's start when Keaton accidentally has his high school graduation suit steam-pressed by a nearby radiator just before he makes his big speech. While his anti-athletics diatribe was probably doomed from the start, his suddenly shrunken clothes surely didn't help. Unfortunately, the woman he loves (Anne Cornwall) will only return his affection if he gives sports a chance. Time to go to college!
- Most of the rest of the film is simply Keaton trying and failing at a large variety of sports. There is an occasional laugh, particularly when he becomes coxswain for a rowing team, but the proceedings are spectacularly dull by the admittedly high standards set in Keaton's other films. I think the main problem is that anyone familiar with Keaton's work would naturally expect to see some great stunt setpieces or hilarious comedy bits. Instead, all we get is Keaton tripping over hurdles and throwing hammers in the wrong direction. Such comedic stylings may have worked in later years for an animated Disney creation named Goofy, but they feel like a bit of an underachievement for one of silent film's most talented stars.
