Review of St Trinian's (2007) by Thomas W — 13 Mar 2010

Generally I am a big fan of British comedy; but I wasn't one of St. Trinian's. Like ... at all. St. Trinian's is a private, all-girl's school in the English countryside who's student body is composed of every type of stock and/or stereoyped character you could think of.

Being that there is no creativity or originality in characters, the directors tried to be daring and tongue-in-cheek witty with casting Rupert Everett (who -- after all of the hype and promise of My Best Friend's Wedding -- seems to have fallen away and become forgotten stateside anymore) as a couple of characters.

The funny "trick": one is female! Oh -- how hilarious, yes? No. Everett plays the father of the ONE reluctant student enrolled at St. Trinian's and he also plays the school's headmistress (the two characters are siblings).

I know Everett can act (he was charming in the already-mentioned My Best Friend's Wedding and good, playing against type in Separate Lies) but he is wasted here as the filmmakers tried to make the lame material funny.

Americanized Mischa Barton (of The OC and the blue, dead girl in The Sixth Sense) puts on her native British accent as a student while rising, new talents Jodie Whittaker (Peter O'Toole's muse in Venus), Juno Temple (Atonement and Notes on a Scandal) and Gemma Arterton (Strawberry Fields in Quantum of Solace) all do better work than the film deserves.

Playing Everett's daughter is Talulah Riley (best known for playing the mousy Mary in the latest screen version of Pride & Prejudice [Keira Knightley's version]). The movie is about this group of girls banding together to save their bankrupt school from going under and so it has a slight moral message; but I think it tries too hard to be hip and cool that it loses a bit of what it needed to make it better.

As it stands, it is kind of a mess as it tries to be too many different things. Colin Firth, Anna Chancellor and Lena Headey round out the cast (as does slimey Russell Brand ... ick) but they do nothing for the film (which might be the first time this has ever happened to the excellent actor Firth).

I have read that there is a sequel in the works for Trinian's to which I just wonder "why?". Perhaps the Girl Power of this film made it more appealing to others (more so than it did to me).