St Trinians - the Class of 2007!
Written: Feb 14 '08
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Quite good in terms of cast, plot and humour...
Cons: ... limited scope of humour though and tries a bit too hard to be modern...
The Bottom Line: Don't expect too much and I think you'll enjoy St Trinians 2007. Recommended most for teenage girls though, naturally.
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| captaind's Full Review: St Trinian's |
Resurrecting the St Trinians series may not have seemed like a particularly smart move, especially considering how atrocious many modern versions of classic British (and other nations’) movies have been in recent memory. However this film, though not exactly in the same class as Alistair Sims and co way back when, is a surprisingly enjoyable film in its own right.
Directors Oliver Parker and Barnaby Thompson clearly decided that right from the intro (there are no Ronald Searle cartoons for a start!) that they wanted to make a clean cut from the original. Released in the UK at the very end of 2007 (I’ve no idea when / if it’s going to get a cinema release elsewhere) this certainly isn’t classic comedy, but it’s entertaining enough, chock full of pop culture references (which isn’t too bad as some of them are actually funny), has a decent plot and a good cast. It had a very mixed reaction - some have called it the worst film of 2008 - but I quite liked it. I really wasn’t expecting much from it and was pleasantly surprised.
The action starts of with posh girl Anabelle Fritton (Talulah Riley) being shown into her new school - the dreaded St Trinians - by recently bankrupt (or thereabouts) father Carnaby (Rupert Everett). The girls watching her manage to get into the school intake - just about - of course don’t feel that she will stay that way for long. The school is run by kind-hearted but completely mad Headmistress Miss Fritton - Carnaby’s sister and also played by Rupert Everett. One of the main aspects of the storyline of Annabel’s attempt to survive, which seems in doubt right from her first night when she is locked out of the shower and forced to run naked back to the dorms - only to find out that it has all been recorded and put on YouTube. The other main thread to the plot is that the Schools Inspector, Geoffrey Thwaites (Colin Firth) wants to make an example of St Trinians, the most feared and one of the least academically successful schools in the land. His aides are less than convinced that he can be successful, but he heads on undaunted - though nearly stopped in his tracks when he encounters an old flame… Then we have the new English Teacher (played by Lena Headey), who wants to get her class interested in appearing in a national schools quiz program (hosted by none other than Stephen Fry).
There are quite a few singers and models who make an appearance in the film, including the entire cast of Girls Aloud, who sing the title song, and Lily Cole. None are given too much screen time, which was probably a wise decision acting-wise though schoolboy fans of those and another schoolgirl, Mischa Barton, were probably very disappointed. Flash Harry this time is played by Russell Brand, who is no George Cole but was quite entertaining as the dodgy dealer. Gemma Arterton is fine as the “Head Girl”, who is coolly calculating in the face of all evils, including the risk of the school being closed down. Rupert Everett thankfully doesn’t even try to give an Alistair Sims performance (which was incredibly funny in the original films and possibly couldn’t have been matched by any actor, past or present), an Colin Firth was… well… Colin Firth, pretty much the character he plays in 99% of his films. Talulah Riley pulls of her part well and her character’s transition towards the end of the film was relatively believable.
There were admittedly one too many pop culture references, but it was inevitable that in an attempt to update the naughty schoolgirls concept there would be a lot of them. The soundtrack too tries just a little too hard to be hip (if that’s an expression still used by the youth of today!), but bearing in mind that the target audience is primarily teenage girls, it was probably appropriate. For me there were enough funny bits not to regret going against my better judgement and watching it. The humour is for the most part straightforward and obvious, which makes it nice light entertainment though nothing more than that. Perhaps the fairest thing to say is that it is quite often humorous, but rarely witty. I think that as long as you don’t expect something amazing (and why would you?!) and aren’t hoping for it to be similar to the first four St Trinians films, you might be pleasantly surprised at what the Class of 2007 has to offer. It’s probable that some references are going to be lost on non-British audiences, but not enough to really matter to the average overseas viewer.
Related Links
Colin Firth has also starred in: Bridget Jones‘ Diary, Bridget Jones‘ Diary 2: The Edge of Reason, Nanny McPhee
Lena Headey was also in The Jungle Book
Emily Blunt played the school’s Receptionist here. Her performance and character were nowhere near as memorable as the one she gave / played in The Devil Wears Prada
Talulah Riley played Mary Bennet in the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice
See also: My Top Ten British Films
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
captaind
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Member: Dave Seaman
Location: Birmingham, Merry Old England
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