St. Trinian’s Movie Review (2007)
A fun and campy film about a girls’ boarding school on the verge of closing, St. Trinian’s is a high-spirited watch with lots of familiar faces.
I have to admit, I love a good YA film. Teens being teens or adolescents finding their way, it’s a different, more nostalgic level of maturity that is often incredibly entertaining to watch. You get a sweetness like in Flipped or additional complexity like in A Walk To Remember. I’m here for it.
St. Trinian’s is about a prep school for girls. Managed by Camilla Fritton, who discovers she can’t pay the bills, the education minister, Geoffrey Thwaites, is threatening to close the school. Camilla’s brother, Carnaby, enrolls his daughter, Annabelle, at the school, agreeing to pay some money, but it is the other unruly residents who know they have to save the day.
This is a stylie movie that borders on cartoonish with lots of silliness and a sense of anarchy. Not a school full of fragile young things, these girls are tough, powerful, and want to stay in a place where they can be themselves.
The cast is ridiculous. Led by Rupert Everett as both Camilla and Carnaby, and Colin Firth as Geoffrey Thwaites, you’ve also got Lena Headey (Game of Thrones), Jodie Whittaker (Doctor Who), Stephen Fry (Wilde), Celia Imrie (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel), Toby Jones (Dobby in the Harry Potter films), Talulah Riley (Pride & Prejudice), Lucy Punch (Into The Woods), Jonathan Bailey (Wicked), and so many more faces that you’ll recognize.
The storyline with Annabelle feels a little unnecessary, since the film’s events would be essentially the same without her, but she is the eyes and ears of the audience, slowly finding her footing at St. Trinian’s. It’s all of the light, color, music, happeings, and personalities around her that make this movie what it is, until much later in the story.
I can see where some people will love this film and others won’t, but if you watch through the tongue-in-cheek lens that the director intended, it’s a ton of low-stakes fun. There is a lot of British humor, along with raucous, flirty female characters that many will be drawn to. It’s no surprise that this is an LGBTQ+ cult favorite.
Like a live-action comic book, St. Trinian’s is based on the original works of cartoonist Ronald Searle. There have been five other films released between 1954 and 1980 in the world of St. Trinian’s, but this is a reboot that stands by itself. Grab some popcorn, turn up the audio, and rock out with a bunch of rebels. It’s a good time.
Runtime: 100 minutes
Motion Picture Rating: PG-13
Languages Spoken In The Film: English
Should You Watch It? Yes
Did I Cry? Nope
My Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
Available: To rent on Prime Video or may be available for free on other streaming platforms
