St. Trinian’s School for Girls Movie Review

St. Trinian’s: School for Girls is a film from NeoClassics Films and Directors Oliver Parker and Barnaby Thompson, that releases in select theaters on October 2nd. St. Trinian’s is an infamous girls school in the UK that is facing a couple challenges. One is the $500,000 it owes a bank that expects head mistress Camilla Fritton (Rupert Everett) to pay up within 30 days or be shut down. The other is the aggressive educational demands of new Minister of Education Geoffrey Thwaites (Colin Firth).

When Annabelle Fritton (Talulah Riley) is dropped off at St. Trinian’s buy her well-to-do dad, she immediately realizes she is in for a rude awakening. The school has a much different vibe than her previous all-girls school. In St. Trinian’s the head girls run the school and you better learn to play along if you want to survive. It is a school for alternative, hard-edged, and rough around the collar girls who are more interested in the school of giving hard knocks than in a formal education.

When the girls of St. Trinian’s learn that their school is facing closing, they immediately jump into action. They develop a plot to earn the money (by any means possible) while also ‘reshaping’ the school’s image. Fortunately, both goals are in sights as the quiz bowl team makes its way (with a little unfair assistance) to the finals. This helps rekindle the public image of education at the school and also gets the girls close to their prize, a valuable piece of art work that is for the taking at the museum.

What makes St. Trinian’s: School for Girls an intriguing comedy-drama movie is that it does something that most stories of bullies and misfits doesn’t. It causes you to root for the bullies and troublemakers instead of the “good kids” who are being wronged. An eclectic and energetic bunch, the girls offer a diverse mix of personas, but a collaborative focus on the end game.

One of the major advantages of St. Trinian’s is that it boasts a strong cast. Rupert Everett is brilliant as the head mistress. Colin Firth is in a perfect fit for his acting skill set. Russell Brand is always funny, though this isn’t his best showcase role as Flash Harry. He plays a lackey for the girls. Even Mischa Barton, not a personal favorite, manages to fit in and offer something to the film as former head girl turned PR guru JJ French; perhaps mostly because she doesn’t need to portray much emotion.

While not a comedy masterpiece, St. Trinian’s is a unique story that bears telling. It is a case of a cast that outdoes the movie, but somehow you manage to stay engaged and modestly entertained. It is nice to have a chance to root for the bad guy (or girls) once in a while.

MPAA Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 97 minutes
Theatrical Release Date: October 2nd, 2009

Movie Review by Neil of Movie Room Reviews

Tags: Mischa Barton, St. Trinian's