St. Trinian's Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES PLOT SUMMARY
St Trinian's, a school for "young ladies" with its anarchic doctrine of free expression, brings together a motley crew of ungovernable girls who, using their wit and ingenuity, save the school from bankruptcy.
| Rupert Everett | Miss Fritton/Carnaby Fritton |
| Colin Firth | Geoffrey Thwaites |
| Jodie Whittaker | Beverly |
| Antonia Bernath | Chloe |
| Jonathan Bailey | Casper |
| Russell Brand | Flash Harry |
| Theo Cross | The Art Teacher |
| Gabriel Fleary | Masseur |
| Stephen Fry | Quiz host |
| Jody Halse | Guard 2 |
| Toby Jones | Bursar |
| Gemma Arterton | Kelly |
| Mischa Barton | JJ French |
| Anna Chancellor | Miss Bagstock |
| Lily Cole | Polly |
| Oliver Parker |
5.90 out of 10 (1518 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Marginally entertaining
posted on 31 Jul 2009This film is about a group of delinquent school girls trying to save their school from closing using criminal ways."St Trinians" tries so hard to be modern, fun and trendy, but it does not work so well. The desperate attempt to update the film by constantly referencing modern films and stars sound tiring. The plot is contrived and uninspired. I have a hard time imagining the girls doing such a job for the school without benefits to themselves. There is also zero character development, making most of the girls faceless and nameless characters. It's a pity really, as Colin Firth an Rupert Everett are very likable in "St Trinians"."St Trinians" is only marginally entertaining. It's likely that I will forget about it completely in a few months.
Shocking
posted on 27 Jul 2009Incredibly disappointing. It wasn't funny, it wasn't entertaining and I want 1 1/2 hours of my life back. That the English Film Council supported this film is a disgrace. Basically it's full of smutty shots that indulge hormonal 14 year old boys, but the rest of the film is devoid of anything worthwhile. Compared to the comparative innocence and light humour of the originals this film doesn't even register on the radar. Colin Firth acted his part well, as did Rupert Everett and most of the "well known names" (Stephen Fry etc), but they had very little to work with. It's a shame they will be associated with this film.
Fantastic Movie
posted on 25 Jul 2009Hi from Hobbitland! I saw this movie today with my two teenage daughters and a friend and laughed through the whole movie.It is very very VERY clever, with brilliant acting, writing and sets!Great job by all the actors especially Rupert Everett (except he was not his usual gorgeous self in the manly role!!) As Camilla he was priceless!!! How he and Colin Firth ever managed to shoot with straight faces . . . I can't wait for the DVD to come out. I hope there are outtakes on it!As funny as She's The Man- which I think is very funny.A great job to all involved!!!
Girls from girl schools will have fun;)
posted on 09 Jul 2009I went last night in the sneak preview and we watched the movie. It was s lot of fun, because not only the story is brilliant, also the actors(especially Colin Firth, who is so wonderful in his role, which is not that huge and I was very sad about it, but you have to see it) and the soundtrack. We, my girls and I, had so much fun, but I think I have to say that we finished school this year at a girl school, so for us it was just that easy to understand not only some hidden jokes, but also the situations. So I can just so that this movie is a movie you have to watch with your best friends!!! I can only repeat that the whole story, the actors, the soundtrack...everything in this movie is wonderful and makes you laugh the whole time;)
brilliant
posted on 27 Jun 2009I loved it and i'd gladly go and see it again. It was hilarious but it still managed to be witty and credible. But obviously it might not be to everyone's taste. My favourite characters are flash harry and the head girl(Kelly?)they bounce off each other really well but are also brilliant as separate characters. Russell brand plays flash brilliantly as a cheeky chap type character who is more fun than bad. Chelsea and the blonde girls are so stupid (i won't say blonde because i'm blonde my self) The rest of the characters just seem to contrast really well and Anabelle (the new girl) is a brilliantly sweet and innocent character.
I prefer root canal
posted on 19 Jun 2009There is no worse movie committed to celluloid. Gigli has found a friend.It's not funny, not clever, not entertaining, badly acted, stupendously boring, extremely misguided as to who it's target audience is and completely devoid of any charm.So you're expecting the Breakfast Club meets Annie? Well, it's more like the bore-fest club meets Fanny. Yes folks, step on up and witness the incredible new idea that's sweeping Hollywood at the moment...If you have little talent...show lots legs and butts. The problem is that the legs and butts are children's'. Very disturbing!I would advise you to smoke your money rather than buy a ticket to see this film.
middle-aged mediocre directors do a poor job of updating another vintage 50's British comedy - no wonder the British movie business is dead!
posted on 15 Jun 2009starts with shady art dealer Carnaby Fritton (Everett, a prime mover behind the remake) transferring his daughter, Annabelle (Talulah Riley), from snooty Cheltenham Ladies College to the pure hell of St. Trinian's, run by his sister, Miss Fritton (also Everett, mimicking Sim's double role in "Belles"). Latter's educational ethos is free expression -- black marketeering, bullying, gambling and weapons practice -- and no sooner is Annabelle in the school than she's being videotaped in the shower by the other girls and appearing on YouTube.In place of the original two tiers of pupils -- fourth-formers (scraggy little monsters) and sixth-formers (sirens in gym slips and garter belts) -- the script delivers a cross-section of Brit-youth demographics: chavs, posh totties, geeks, emos (aka goths) and first-years, all ruled over by head girl Kelly (Gemma Arterton). The girls' black-market fixer, Flash Harry, memorably played by Cole in the originals as a Cockney crook, comes over much more weakly in TV comic Brand's fey perf.With the school in its usual dire financial straits, the girls decide to steal Vermeer's painting "Girl With a Pearl Earring" from London's National Gallery, where the final of a student quiz show will take place. But first the team of terminally dumb posh totties -- Chelsea (Tamsin Egerton), Peaches (Amara Khan) and Chloe (Antonia Bernath) -- have to cheat their way through to the final.Last half-hour finally builds a head of steam as the girls' commando team, led by Kelly, heists the painting while the posh totties blunder their way through the final under the unctuous gaze of its quizmaster (Fry). In the audience is hardline education minister Geoffrey Thwaites (Firth), a conflicted onetime lover of Miss Fritton's who's been trying to shutter St. Trinian's.Lacking any really sharp dialogue, the film just about goes the distance by juggling its characters in short, sketch-like scenes and inserting occasional musical montages. But beyond Everett's labored drag act (he's made up to look like veteran Brit TV presenter Esther Rantzen) and Firth's unsmiling pol (mainly the butt of in-jokes about the actor's career), none of the other characters get much of a chance to register.Experienced performers like Celia Imrie, Anna Chancellor and Lena Headey get little screen time as teaching staff. Among the pupils, Arterton comes across strongest, but it's actually little blonde twins Cloe and Holly Mackie who manage to catch the real Searle spirit as a pair of pesky first-years.Sole standout on the tech side is costume designer Rebecca Hale's work, which cleverly integrates the traditional Searle look of the girls' duds with modern yoof fashion. Otherwise, tech package is bargain-basement, with cold, washed-out color processing, so-so editing and chaotic, poorly directed camera-work.
a shocking and poor excuse for a British film
posted on 05 Jun 2009Annabelle Fritton (Riley) is sent to one of the worst all girl schools in the country, which is on the verge of being shutdown.Having a lot of respect for British cinema, and being very patriotic, I am almost disgusted by how this film appears.Gone is the genius and controversy of Trainspotting. The political correctness of Brassed off has disappeared, and we are left with a predictable, unrealistic and a sad excuse for a British film in a dreadful unfunny story about an all girl's school.Though I'm not a massive fan, Colin Firth (Pride and Prejudice) and Rupert Everett (A Midsummer Night's dream) should have carried this film, but gave poor performances in what are two very confusing characters with a bizarre history that is never properly explained.And the supporting cast are all just boring, with no humour and predictability written over their faces. I'm not a fan, but Russell Brand was the best thing about this film, which says a lot when sophisticated actors like Firth can't even match Brand.The plot is boring and all over the place with bizarre visuals and pauses. One of the least funny "comedies" I have seen, with perhaps only 3 or 4 laugh out loud moments during the whole 97 minutes.Predictable and way too modern, with jokes about current celebrities and TV shows, I mean how will this appeal to people in 20 years? They won't know what is going on. It is a film that has been made for the current media.The acting is poor, and the plot is always predictable. However there were a few surprises in store and is sometimes interesting.The plot could was all over the place. Started off focusing on the girl who was arriving, then she was lost half way through as it went all political. Then there was a brief introduction of modern day stereotypes, and why that wasn't further developed I will never know.Audiences need a true gritty story about a stereotype. And then this awkward last ditch unrealistic chance to save the school, and was just not what I expected at all and if you're looking for a good teenage comedy, try Ferris Bueller's Day Off or Euro Trip, as St Trinian's is poor, predictable and quite frankly, the worst British film I have ever seen.
Embarrassing drivel
posted on 18 May 2009Sadly and utterly predictably, they should have left the old tired St Trinian's franchise well alone.This is the 2007 version - with the cross-dressing headmistress, and Flash Harry the Spiv - played in the 1950s and 60s by the brilliant and sadly missed Alastair Sim and George Cole - still here as characters - but without a hint of their original charm. Somehow instead of jokes there is a real nasty streak including the humiliation and stripping of a new girl, and a pointless, well-past-its-sell-by-date sniggeryness about gayness. (Both Rupert Everett (yes, yes, we know he's gay, and who in the 21st C gives a damn?) and Colin Firth (who probably isn't, but camps it up with gusto) are an embarrassment to themselves and the so-called British cinema industry.This is a film that has attracted state funding from the National Lottery and the UK's Film Council. The audience that I saw it with were all BAFTA members, and even more embarrassingly, they applauded at the end. Why did they applaud? Perhaps it was because the British Academy membership was so pleased that it was a British picture they felt obliged to leave their brains outside and let jingoism rule their hearts. Of course it says nothing positive about British cinema or for that matter BAFTA members! This is a puerile load of old recycled garbage. Do not be tempted to see it.
They have an "Impossible Mission" to do, but they achieve it!
posted on 04 May 2009This British teenage comedy is funny and pretty entertaining. The plot is about a girls' school (St. Trinian's) that is about to close, because it's considered one of the worst schools in the country.Its pupils are terrorists, they say! So, in order to not let it close, the girls join all together and make a plan that will improve the school's name.It is very enjoyable and has some really nice jokes. It even spoofs some movies, like IMPOSSIBLE MISSION… For a teenage comedy, it's not bad indeed.I rate it 6/10.
A film to avoid
posted on 30 Apr 2009This film is without a single redeeming feature. Two fine actors - Everett and Firth - are terrible. Rupert Everett has all the wit of an amateur ugly sister and Colin Firth looks car sick....Russell Brand - a comic of considerable presence is reduced to a tiny shadow of the person he is in real life.Every joke is telegraphed,the script is lame and charmless and the direction utterly predictable.The rest of the cast don't really act but scream and shout their way through some truly awful lines.It would be unfair to say there was characterisation as there is no figure who is anything other than paper thin and two dimensional.There is more drama and interest in a game of patience than there is in this truly shoddy piece of work.....
Thumbs up for St Trinians
posted on 20 Apr 2009St Trinian's was never going to be a classic of British cinema and I am glad that it doesn't really try. The worst I can say about the film, is that it is constantly entertaining, which I find is a rarity now days. It could and should have been a complete disaster, fortunately it is harmless silly fun. The plot is dumb and the humour is never laugh out loud funny but I always had a smile on my face and I left the cinema more cheerful than when I went in, which is always a good sign.I was quite happy with the acting in the film. Russell Brand is not the greatest actor in the world and a few of the girls are a bit grating but most of the main characters are OK, with good performances from Gemma Arterton and Talulah Riley. Colin Firth plays it gloriously straight though out and has some wonderful moments, whilst Rupert Everett is a constant joy to watch as Miss Fritton/Carnaby Fritton.I won't go on about the behind camera stuff because that would be a bit pointless, apart from to say that it does the job. The editing had its moments and I did enjoy the little animated scene half way though. Although not really my taste in music generally, I thought the soundtrack was very good and suited the mood of the film well, although I would have like to have heard the St Trinian's original theme at the beginning of the film, if even for a few moments.I was over all very happy with the film and am glad I went to see it, it ticked most of the boxes which I wanted and rarely let itself down.
Lacklustre, unfunny and hugely disappointing
posted on 12 Apr 2009As a past lover of the St Trinians genre, both myself and my two youngsters found this new version a total yawn, without one decent laugh from start to finish. Poorly scripted, with a creaky and sometimes confusing plot, it illustrated that however good an actor Rupert Everett may be he has little sense of comedy. Russell Brand was worse, not uttering one funny line and seeming curiously bored with the whole thing. The audience wasn't laughing much either on the night we went.Star names do not make up for poor direction and poor scripting, and someone forgot that comedies are meant to be funny. The original versions stand up even today - this version doesn't stand up for one day. And why were Girls Aloud included, and given a ropey song to sing in a key that was clearly too low for them to manage? Extraordinary! Massively disappointing.
A Right British Waste of Money
posted on 08 Apr 2009Oh dear oh dear - I didn't rush to see this - I waited to see it on the small screen and I must say what a waste of time that was. I'm embarrassed to be British sometimes because of the tripe the British Film industry churns out. How can the UK be taken seriously when it produces garbage like this? Yes its pleasing to see Girls in School Uniform but really this doesn't merit a remake of a dire series that was finished years ago! This film is consistently bad throughout; badly edited would be an understatement! Did the magical duo directors really know what they were doing? "Oliver Parker" & "Barnaby Thompson" should really never work again! If these two geniuses ever do read this - can you answer my question why such a primitive badly put together film really required 2 directors? Fragmented, predictable, badly acted, badly acted, very badly directed, and appalling soundtrack that made you want to stab someone - oh dear oh dear oh dear! Don't waste your time on this School garbage!
This film should stand in a corner with a dunce cap on its head
posted on 25 Mar 2009As an Englishman of a certain age I have quite fond memories of the St. Trinian's films from the fifties and sixties. I remember when I was about nine-years-old we were given a screening of the Great St. Trinians Train Robbery as an end-of-term treat. How we laughed: St Trinian's wildcats and Reg Varney. Happy days…Of course, the trouble with happy days is that, for whatever reason, we have a tendency to try and recapture them. Invariably these attempts meet with little success. In the case of this hapless remake, unburdened by either touches of humour or originality, we have what can only be described as an unqualified disaster. Back in the fifties we had Arthur Cole as Flash Harry, a character introduced by tinkly piano score. Flash Harry was the precursor of Arthur Daley – in fact Arthur Daley might as well have been Harry thirty years on, forced to change his name because of some ill-fated dodgy job – and he was as lovable as he was roguish. Today we get that witless oaf Russell Brand; robbed of the opportunity to be as juvenilely offensive as he usually is, Brand is forced to fall back on acting skills which are pretty much non-existent. Fortunately, he simply disappears after a while, but even two minutes of screen time would be too much for him.Alec Guinness is replaced by Rupert Everett and, sad to say, Rupert Everett could never replace Alec Guinness. I mean, what were they thinking? Guinness's headmistress was a sexless creature even if she was occasionally flirtatious, but Everett's has the hots for education minister Colin Firth. They even share a post-coital bed together, which is something that would be more at home in a horror movie than a so-called comedy. To be fair to Everett, he gives it his best, but there isn't much he can do with a second-rate script and flat direction. The only time the film comes remotely close to raising the ghost of a smile is when it references other films – something it does with increasing frequency as it struggles – and fails – to generate any laughs of its own making.
Monty Python This Is Not
posted on 23 Mar 2009If your reading positive reviews for this rubbish please note that sadly the British public have been so dumbed down they seem to think this is funny. I personally cannot understand why there are so many positive reviews for this utter nonsense I can only assume the makers paid people to write reviews.This is no Monty Python by any stretch of the imagination and compared to just about any contemporary US film of the same ilk there is just no comparison. American comedy film makers such as the farrely Brothers would simply blow this out of the water on their worst day.This movie can only appeal to 12 year old girls. Its of the same style as that awful Spice Girls embarrassment and that equally awful Nuns On The run which was an abomination of comedy movies.The film is littered with Girl Power and political correctness from start to finish. Nearly all the male characters are designed to be hated which is a common portrayal of males in British media today. I found it very difficult not to turn off after 20 minutes but since I hired the video I wanted my moneys worth I suppose. However, I feel cheated at helping pay for this movies production.Im sorry but it has not one single redeeming quality. Lowest form of humour you can get, utterly not funny and a movie made by people who obviously think they are cool but have no business being in the movie game.Rubbish and an embarrassment to British film. No wonder its hard to get financing for movies in this country when this is the type of film made.Avoid at all costs.
Colin and Rupert are a perfect combination.
posted on 17 Mar 2009I think fans of the two leading men would enjoy added benefits . They should get the references to their past films . I think the one to "Another Country" made me laugh the most but I can't say why. The crazy goings on were not that special it was the small touches like the wonderful Camilla Fritton and Colin's dead straight acting. I enjoyed the inclusion of "Ampleforth" in the quiz show knowing it was Rupert's old school. Russell Brand surprised me by his performance as I am no fan but he was very good. The girls were a bit difficult to judge . I liked the little ones but the older ones were annoying. It's certainly not shocking though ,certainly not more so than the originals. If you buy the D.V.D then like me you might find many of the deleted scenes better than many in the film. If you enjoy it but haven't seen any of the films referred to do yourself a favour and see what a brilliant actor Rupert is in straight films .
This is what you call "modernisation"
posted on 05 Mar 2009Okay, so first I want you to take into account what other critics say about this film. Then, forget it.This film is witty, charming, and hilarious and outrageous. Critics say it does not suit the originals, however if you look close, you will see everything from the original packed up in there. This film has been modernized to suit today's audience. That is what you must understand about this film. Rupert Everett is perfect in the role(s) of the Fritton twins. Colin Firth makes a very believable minister of Education. Russel Brand portrays Flash Harry with all the wit. The film retains the famous thigh high skirts and suspender stockings, with devious pyromaniac little girls, and the unruly school girls. Definitely worth the money.
A Successful updating of a British Instituation
posted on 25 Feb 2009Being a great fan of the original series of St Trinian's films I admit I approached this new version with some dread. My greatest fear was that the makers had gone for a slapstick comedy, full of swear words and crudity. I need not have worried, as what we have here is a successful updating of a series of films, and cartoons least we forget the roots of the originals - that is full of fun, great in jokes, and a surprisingly good narrative.Needless to say the basic plot is the same as always, ie the girls have to save the school from closure, and the way this is achieved is, within the limits set by the world the film inhabits, quite believable.The humour in the film is at time, of course, risqué, but never crude, and I did not detect one swear word, quite a change for this day and age. The performances are universally good, without ever being excellent. Rupert Everett in his duel role may not be an Alister Sim, but he does OK, and Colin Firth as the Education Minister does have some very funny scenes, especially when the dog - Mr Darcy - is...?! See the film and you will see what I mean (of course there is a very nice in joke here, but I think many of the audience I watched the film with missed it!) Of the girls Jodie Whittaker as Beverly handles her role as a Plain Jane becoming a sexy Jaaannneee!!! very well. If there is a weak link in the casting then it must be Russell Brand as Flash Harry. Try as he might he just does not have the charm, or slim, of George Cole, and I am sure there must have been a better Flash out there somewhere! An honorary mention must be made of Stephen Fry as the host of a game show that is an obvious take on University Challenge - on which, of course, Fry appeared many years ago as a contestant (this intercontexuality just goes on and on!). Playing up to his image he has cultivated on QI, the scene in which he is stoned is quite superb! Although it may not go down as most people's favourite film of the year, and it might be a tad too British for foreign markets, especially USA!, this film is nonetheless a very entertaining diversion for 1 hour 40 minutes. Also it has a very good, and clever, soundtrack, with all versions of songs heard being by Female artists - even Girls Are Loud sound good! Finally, for those not in the know one of the girls who help to give Beverly a makeover is Zoe Salmon from Blue Peter, and she is very sexy!
Not good enough
posted on 18 Aug 2009The only actor to come out of this with any credit is Fenella Woolgar. Rupert Everett and Stephen Fry are OK. Everyone involved in writing and producing should be ashamed of themselves. Whoever awarded Lottery money should resign immediately.I was in a full cinema, on New Year's Eve, and most of the audience were teenage Geordie girls aiming to have a good laugh. I have never seen such a palpable sense of disappointment and embarrassment in a cinema in my life. No-one laughed at any point. Several people walked out. A large proportion of the audience started chattering among themselves out of sheer boredom.