Not really my first choice of something to watch (I wanted The Orphanage) but the good lady was adamant as she has been waiting to see St Trinian’s for a good while and well, what the hell, it cannot be all bad, can it? I must admit to being somewhat nervous about the pedigree of this franchise after the disasters of the likes of Carry on Columbus, but since it did boast quite a strong cast, and a glimpse of a bit of schoolgirl uniforms and stocking tops never hurt anyone!
The actors / actresses are well represented for quality, Rupert Everett plays the dual Alistair Sim roles to perfection, Colin Firth the government representative, and a host of others including Stephen Fry, Cheryl Tweedy and the lesser known acting personas including Russell Brand (more of whom later).
The original films featured a mostly saucy, wicked but clean humoured comic persona, which probably would not work in the hedonistic modern world, so the story gets a few updates with drugs and rock ‘n’ roll, and plays with in references to Harry Potter and nods to actors, current movies and period drama etc. The plot lays it on thick at times with the ‘girls together’ message, but it is chaotic and sometimes outright funny, though perhaps a less disorganized build up to some scenes would have allowed the ‘joke’ to hit harder.
The central theme is the school being targeted as a bad performer, has debts and is a perfect redevelopment prospect, and the government minister (Firth) wanting reform or closure for this establishment. However, the girls and the staff have other ideas, and determine to save it from its debts and use as a hotel by prospective buyers with their plans for rebuilding the site. Cue subplots from art theft to winning a University Challenge–a-like competition (hosted by Fry) using their girlish wiles, drugs or anything else at their disposal, to-whit modern girl power as opposed to the sheer saucy cheekiness of the originals.
Overall, the film is good enough to stand as a half decent British comedy for the modern era, but for me it fails to capture the sheer joy the originals evoked. The performances are good for the most part, excellent by Everett, but Brand seems content to play his public persona to the extent that I was disinterested in his character from the off, I’m not his biggest fan, but he really could have put something into the part to make it his own.
5.5/10, Not a bad effort – probably a good movie for 12-15 year old girls and perhaps their mums wanting to see how the modern St Trinian’s girl works against the original. I cannot say it was an engrossing watch because at times it seemed to be a bit like a pervy Duran Duran pop video, but Everett and Firth seemed to enthuse, and worked well off each other. There is a bit too much laying on of the girl power message and repetition of some staged moments when the film loses its momentum, but it recovers nicely and is funny at times.