User Reviews

St 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.

Every time I watch this film I fall in love with it all over again. Absolutely hilarious with some stellar British actors and actresses!

Funny and very silly.

But I wouldn't let young kids or young teens watch it.

It might give the wrong idea.

Plus there was some disturbing scenes that were made out to be funny.

Abuse made out to be cool.

I didn't care for the makeover with garters showing.

This is not a message I'd want kids to take on.

I especially liked the relationship between the head mistress and Colin Firth. Ha ha! Good for a laugh.

Pure silly mindless entertainment.

Okay, so I don't usually watch this type of film but after being gagged and blind folded I didn't have a choice. The first Belles of St. Trinian's was made in 1954 and to be fair to St. Trinian's 2007, it has remained close and true to the original concept. As usual, the school is threatened with closure by their bank and education board and responsibility to save the day falls on the pupils.

Gemma Arterton is the head girl, who's voice is made for Eastenders but has the presence and looks to become a big star and along with Talulah Riley as new posh girl Annabelle Fritton carry the film forwards to it's satisfying conclusion.

Rupert Everett steals the show and with a fantastic cast of quirky children and familiar faces including Colin Firth, Stephen Fry as himself, Lena Headey and our very own Jack Sparrow, Russell Brand make the film all fun.

What's nice about St. Trinian's.is that the whole cast of characters get a chance to do their bit, it's all team work, it's St. Trinian's.

St Trinian's is neither a great movie or a terrible movie. It is an entertaining one, and I respect the fact, it wasn't trying to make itself a classic. It is constantly silly, but the performances from all involved make it a fun film to watch. The film does have a great soundtrack, and there are some very funny moments. The film does have its flaws, it is predictable, and the film's structure is rather episodic. The film's pace is a little uneven in places too. However, the script is sharp and witty, and the performances are delightful. Rupert Everett especially gives a stellar performance in the title role, and Colin Firth plays it straight as the Government Minister. All the girls are charming and likable, and the supporting turns from Stephen Fry, Anna Chancellor, Toby Jones, Celia Irmrie and Russell Brand(despite the dreadful German accent he had in one scene) are all fun. All in all, has its flaws, but entertaining nonetheless. 6.5/10 Bethany Cox

Mixed views like the mixed reviews really.

Firstly this is a film for the tweenies (12-15 I would have thought) though on the night we went despite the 12a certificate there were 5 and 6 year olds there. Most of the humour was for kids, though there were enough references to amuse adults and lots of references to other films.

Everett was superb as a the headmistress, and remembering that this was slapstick, absolutely fine. Not so convinced by Colin Firth, but he was OK. Russell Brandt seemed nervous. Otherwise everone else played their roll perfectly. The young actors were splendid.

As stated, a good film for young teenagers who can identify with the schoolgirl antics, and in our cinema they were laughing from the beginning.

Not a patch on the originals? Well different. The originals were 40 to 50 years ago and they were made in a different age. I like them, but do they appeal to 12 and 15 year olds today? This is the problem with remakes, we always compare them with the "classic" and find them wanting.

This film was entertaining and has something for everyone, especially if you are young at heart. There were quite a few in-jokes about certain members of the cast - one of the schools which competed against St Trinian's in the School Challenge quiz was Rupert Everett's old school (Ampleforth) and the "Another Country" comment was brilliant. There were also references to Mr Darcy and of course Colin Firth had another go at the wet-shirt scene. I was impressed by the schoolgirls, who did a good job of convincing me that they were unruly but not clueless and could organise themselves if they wanted to. I am a huge fan of Rupert Everett and he excelled in drag (always knew he would) and his interactions with Colin Firth were as much fun as in their 2 previous outings together (Another Country and Importance of Being Earnest). I was also thrilled to be watching another Ealing Comedy, since I live a stone's throw from the famous studios.

Annabelle Fritton joins St Trinian's, a school for 'young ladies' that prides itself on the anarchic doctrine of free expression. Fritton struggles to fit in at first, but manages to win them over as all the girls band together to try and save the school from bankruptcy.

Okay, so 'St Trinian's' is a pretty awful film, nobody is going to argue that. It's unashamedly predictable, full of stereotypical characters and clichéd scenes and sequences. At every turn, the film gets more and more absurd, and I found myself shaking my head continuously.

But here's the thing: as awful as it is, there's something about the film which stopped me from hating it. Because, to be fair, it was made to be awful. 'St Trinian's' is a good old-fashioned British pantomime on the big screen. You have the man in drag, you have the overly-stereotyped characters, you have the completely ridiculous story where nothing makes sense. Perhaps the only thing missing were songs but, other than that, this may as well have been a panto.

More than that, though, what endears me about the movie is just how much British talent is on offer. It's like a who's who of young British actors – Talulah Riley, Tamsin Egerton, Lily Cole, Juno Temple and Gemma Arteton to name just a few – all given their time to shine and doing a good job. Egerton, in particular, is excellent as the stupid blonde, getting by with her sex appeal and sheer good luck. It's also nice to see actors like Colin Firth, Stephen Fry and Rupert Everett especially make fun of themselves.

Like I say, this is a really awful film, but it's a movie so rubbish that it's actually quite good. I'll never voluntarily choose to watch 'St Trinian's'; but get me drunk enough the night before, and this is a more than adequate Sunday hangover movie.

I was a bit nervous about going to see St Trinian's, because I've seen all the previous films and was worried by the title and the trailer-glimpses of Rupert Everett that this film would try to 'overwrite' the original. It doesn't. This is why I think it works. Like the sequels from the first film, once again St Trinian's moves the concept into its own era. It's jam packed with innuendo and humour and a new plot line. Perhaps it'll never be as good as 'The Belles' but then, none of the other sequels were as good as 'The Belles' either, and they didn't try to be. The spirit of the thing was there and it was good fun to watch.

There 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.

Very good adaptation, went with my family and all ages were laughing.

Rupert Evveret plays 2 very different characters and succeeds well in both.

Colin Firth is a lovely as ever fitting into a role that suits him very well and a certain scene from a Jane Austin adaptation is resurrected.

The newcomers who make up the majority of the school children are superb, not only do they achieve in acting well beyond their years. They provided as much entertainment as the other more experienced cast members.

The most surprising cast member of them all was Russell Brand. I went into the film with a despise of the man and thinking he would ruin the film for me, but he was actually pretty good.

In all I found St Trinian's to be a good film and definitely one for teenage girls to watch, but don't worry if you get dragged along to I guarantee you'll leave laughing.

Don't forget to listen the song in the credits!!!

"Chaved up" for the millennium comes a timely if unwanted remake of the 'St. Trinian' films of the sixties. St. Trinians is the worst school in the country known for bad grades and unruly behaviour and an equally eccentric and unruly headmistress, Miss. Fritton, it's targeted for severe investigation by Education new broom Geoffrey Thwaites. With the bank looming round the door, things pad out even worse for the school. Even Fritton's caddish brother plans to twist the knife to make money from the school's misfortune, even with his daughter's recent enrolment. This as such serves the plot for the unruly behaviour to ring out, cue a bizarre heist, a "University Challenge" style quiz and general anarchy in the name of saving the school. But it's here 'Trinians' is woefully misguided. What was considered anarchy and amusingly unusual behaviour in the time of the original films, simply is the teenage norm now. Drug-peddling, booze loving, flirtatious schoolgirls are more a problem these days then a source for comedy so the underlying tone becomes somewhat sinister. The film tries to have it's cake and eat it. Drinking is only implied by kids, never actually seen and only older characters are seen dispensing 'uppers' and 'downers' to unwitting participants for 'amusing results'. 'Poshy totty' flirt and dress provocatively but never actually are seen in an embrace. It's this kind of humour which proves even worse baring in mind it's target audience. It takes the film to a seedy and unpleasant level, pitching knowing drug-jokes at kids, many of which ask us to laugh at people 'buzzing' many of whom have had drinks spiked. Definitely the films lowest low. Family friendly? I don't think so.... How this film ended up with a '12a' certificate in the UK is beyond me! Add to this unwanted sexual jokes and you have a film far too adult for kids but too childish for adults. Of course, with some nifty direction and timing, 'Trinians' could maybe make this fly, but the film has neither. The characterisation poor, the plot threadbare, painfully predictable and struggling to add up. The resolvent of the key heist rendered pointless when the exact object of theft isn't even needed. Even when 'Trinians' is aiming for smart it fails. Numerous 'Girl With A Pearl Earring' jokes are no doubt lost on it's key audience, probably thankfully as they are of 'christmas cracker' standard at best. Colin Firth is top of his game in a film you'd assume he'd be out of place in, TV personality, Russell Brand, you'd believe has been thrust into the proceedings to score some street cred, but thankfully is more than acceptable but the usually excellent Rupert Everett is hamming it up just a notch too much here. Kudos go to it's teenage cast (one has to weep at the already pretty Talulah Riley, given a 'slutted-up' makeover in one scene). Overall the acting is decent, making even the worst of lines bearable. The film tries to whip up a frenzy of enthusiasm and fun, but as UK girl group Girls Aloud stomp on in the finale shouting a song about 'discount rates for Chavs and their mates' you pretty much feel the whole thing is just tawdry and cheap. Much like it's level of humour and even more upset tingly, it's level of decency.

This 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.

I enjoyed this film immensely, not least because I'm an old codger with fond memories of the original St. Trinian's films. I'm probably not this films target demographic (which I suspect are teenage & preteen girls) so I was uncomfortable with what sometimes seemed to be over-sexualized depictions of the schoolgirls, this was offset though by a strong them of feminine empowerment, which may be taking the film more seriously than it is intended, but it is there. We have plenty of movie references for those that like that sort of thing, a good story, and plenty of old style St. T. mayhem updated for the 21st Century.

I'm looking forward to a sequel.

I saw the trailers and read some of the reviews of this before going to see it with some trepidation. Rupert Everett as the headmistress seemed a good choice but the girls looked too old and too obvious and the charm and fun of the original films was lost in smut and nastiness. From the start as the chavs, posh totty, goths, emos and others were introduced I thought 'uh oh' and didn't hold out much hope.

Five stars for Everett's punchy Camilla Fritton and her delicious sparring with Colin Firth's education minister, with devious little nods to their previous work together; for Mr Darcy, and for the Girl with a Pearl Earring joke. But nothing else, even the planned robbery during a school quiz on telly, really works, and the theme song from Girls Aloud is just shocking.

This film does not dim memories of Alistair Sim - in fact, his portrait adorns the fireplace in Miss Fritton's office. And without Sim, Joyce Grenfell and the rest, this St Trinian's is a poor imitation.

The original St Trinians series was a classic of it's era, well acted, well written and very funny.Whilst probably falling short of the standards of it's inspiration, it is nonetheless amusing, entertaining and modern.And perhaps that is also it's strength, it borrows from the original without copying it, and the modern incarnation provides sufficient distance for it to be considered on its own merits.

Rupert Everett is superb as the School Headmistress, although the likeness to television personality Esther Rantzen is unnerving.Russell Brand demonstrates that his comic talents flourish even better under direction and a script than with the free form of stand-up comedy, as the "spiv".Stephen Fry is perfect as a quiz show host, and Colin Firth plays the straight man fall guy with some aplomb. All in all a very good cast.

The 100 minute running time is just right. the editing and script is quick with plenty of one liners and visual jokes to watch out for.Though not a work of comic genius this will appeal both to schoolchildren unfamiliar with the original, and parents who are and remember the original with fondness.I would certainly happily see a sequel.

Interesting how fab-46 and fxteam 1 have never posted on here AND managed to have seen the film before its release AND both wrote glowing reviews. They are plants, and some of their inside terminology gives it away.

You've really got to wonder for how much longer the British film industry can continue its slow slide into oblivion, when it keeps producing loss-making garbage like this. But then again, with the level of state funding that abominations like this mysteriously continue to receive, perhaps the slide can and will continue indefinitely. A very depressing thought.

From the ashes of Ealing rises a film worthy of the studio name.

A fun packed, good natured, girl-powered romp complete with obligatory wacky robbery plot so beloved of the studios' classics. Though the plotting wavers the abundant energy carries it through with hardly a glitch. Rupert Everett is a revelation and Colin Firth wisely plays it straight even whilst sending himself up.

A very UK film with lots of in-jokes for us 30 somethings (loved the 'Another Country' line), funny lines and nicely sketched stereotypes for younger girls to admire and younger boys to fancy.

Great for a family trip or as a personal time-passer, it sold out continuously in Glasgow for weeks, although a sequel really isn't warranted.

Enjoy it as the stand alone little gem it is, harking back to the days when films were self-contained little classics rather than potential sequel spinners.

My comedy of 2007!

P.S.- Remember to stay for the 'Girls Aloud' title song credits!

St. Trinian's is probably never going to top anyone's list of greatest films of the 21st Century but there's no denying it is funny. It could so easily have been terrible, but it isn't, thanks to a witty and clever script that pays tribute to Ronald Searle's original cartoons as well as to the classic "Belles of St Trinian's" Writers Piers Ashworth and Nick Moorcroft have successfully reinvented St. Trinian's for the 21st century, avoiding the obvious pitfalls – the school could so easily have been turned into a combination brothel and crack den – instead creating a world in which the girls can run wild. A world in which it seems no-one bats an eyelid at ten year old girls playing with explosives, but God forbid they should ever take up smoking.

Rupert Everett is in fine form as the headmistress Camilla Frinton though admittedly he's no Alistair Simm (then again who is?) and Colin Firth is a more than capable straight man, quite happy to take pot shots at his own career. More surprisingly Russell Brand makes a very effective Flash Harry, While distinctly different to the original in both appearance and manner to George Cole, there his something indefinable about his performance, he could almost be the grandson of the original Flash.

However where this film really succeeds is in the girls themselves. Talulah Riley is the heart and sole of the film as Annabelle Fritton, slowly blossoming from shy awkward daddy's girl into red-blooded St Trinian, and Gemma Arterton as head girl Kelly commands the screen in every scene she's in. Between them Riley and Arterton steal the move from under the noses of the more experienced Everett & Firth.

But it's not just them, a combination of astute casting and good writing ensures that all the students come across as characters in their own right from twin terrors Cloe and Holly Mackie through to the 'Posh Totty', brilliantly underplayed by Tamsin Egerton, Amara Karan and Antonia Bernath.

In years to come this film will be remembered not for the sight of Rupert Everett in drag but for giving screen time to so many of the next generation of starlets.

St Trinian's, the anarchical school for young ladies, now has its sixth movie outing. This time the motley crew of ungovernable girls have been brought up to date. Out goes knicker elastic catapults and in comes explosives, innocent flirting is replaced by money-making sex chat lines, distilling of vodka and taking drugs replaces contraband sweets and pop. Added to the traditional scraggy little monsters and sexy sixth-formers in gym slips and stockings are modern Brit-youth demographics: chavs, posh totties, geeks and emos (goths). The girls' black-market fixer, Cockney crook, Flash Harry, played by George Cole in the originals, has been replaced by TV comic Russell Brand. Doing a much better job than Cole – you really believe that he might have been a spiv in a previous life! The girls using their wit and ingenuity to save the school from bankruptcy by stealing the painting 'Girl With A Pearl Earring' from the National Gallery in London. Despite all this the students challenge bullying, snobbery and hypocrisy, work together to save their school and with the rest of the cast create some great humour.

One of the best lines is from Talulah Riley as Annabelle Fritton who on arriving at the school announces that its like '…Hogwarts for chavs!'

There will be those who will dislike the slapstick and indeed adult themes of this 12A rated movie. But drinking and taking drugs are part of modern youth culture and nothing is sacred in comedy. Possibly not a film for PC culture snobs and Guardian readers.

This 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....

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