A reboot of the popular “St. Trinian’s” boarding school film series. “St. Trinian’s: School for Bad Girls” is an energetic, campy, crude, rude but ridiculously funny film.   Definitely not for the serious minded viewer but for those who are craving for a crazy, unusually fun “girl-power” British film. Definitely give “St. Trinian’s” a try!
Images courtesy of © 2007 Fragile St. Trinian’s Limited, Entertainment Film Distributors Limited and UK Film Council. All Rights Reserved.
TITLE: St. Trinian’s: School for Bad Girls
DURATION: 101 minutes
DVD INFORMATION: English 5.1 Dolby Digital, Anamorphic Widescreen 1:85:1, Subtitles: English, English SDH
RATED: PG-13 (For Thematic Elements, Drug and Alochol Content, Sexual Material and Language)
COMPANY: Ealing Studios/Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Released on January 26, 2010
Directed by Oliver Parker, Barnaby Thompson
Written by Piers Ashworth, Nick Moorcroft
Cartoons by Ronald Searle
Executive Producer:Â Rupert Everett, Nigel Green, James Spring
Producer: Oliver Parker, Barnaby Thompson
Co-Producer: Mark Hubbard
Associate Producer: Sophie Meyer
Music by Charlie Mole
Cinematography by Gavin Finney
Edited by Alex Mackie
Casting by Lucy Bevan
Production Design by Amanda McArthur
Art Direction by John Reid
Set Decoration by Bridget Menzies
Costume Design by Rebecca Hale, Penny Rose
Starring:
Talulah Riley as Annabelle Fritton
Rupert Everett as Camilla Fritton / Carnaby Fritton
Jodie Whittaker as Beverly
Gemma Arterton as Kelly
Kathryn Drysdale as Taylor
Juno Temple as Celia
Antonia Bernath as Chloe
Amara Karan as Peaches
Tamsin Egerton as Chelsea
Lily Cole as Polly
Paloma Faith as Andrea
Holly Mackie as Tara
Cloe Mackie as Tania
Fenella Woolgar as Miss Cleaver
Theo Cross as Art Teacher
Russell Brand as Flash
Tereza Srbova as Anoushka
Lena Headey as Miss Dickinson
Toby Jones as Bursar
Caterina Murino as Miss Maupassant
Colin Firth as Geoffrey Thwaites
St Trinian’s, the infamous school for ‘young ladies’, is in trouble. Despite being an old flame of its Headmistress (in a top-of-his-class comic performance by RUPERT EVERETT, My Best Friend’s Wedding), the new Education Minister is shaking things up and the school is facing financial ruin. But the students of St Trinian’s aren’t going to give up without a fight. After all, they excel at chaos and attitude not chemistry and algebra…and that’s exactly what it’s going to take to beat the authorities before they close down their beloved school for good.
We are the Best. So screw the rest. We do as we damn well please! Until the end… St. Trinian’s. Defenders of anarchy!
“St. Trinian’s”, the fictional girls boarding school created by English cartoonist Ronald Searle and spawned several books in the late 40’s and early 50’s, five comedy films from the early 1950’s through the 1980’s and now a reboot in 2007. The film which cost around £7 million to make, earned over £12 million in the UK but is among the top grossing independent British films made and one of the top selling DVD’s in the UK in 2008.
The film had a brief run in the US in Oct. 2009 to help generate interest in the second film “St. Trinian’s 2: The Legend of Fritton’s Gold” which was released in theaters in the UK in Dec. 2009 and now a US DVD release of the first film in Jan. 2010.
In this reboot, St. Trinian’s: School for Bad Girls features an all-star cast from the UK. Starring Rupert Everett (Stardust, Shakespeare in Love, Inspector Gadget), Colin Firth (Mamma Mia!, Bridget Jones’s Diary), LENA HEADEY (“Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles,†Vacancy), comedian Russell Brand (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) and Caterina Murino (Casino Royale). Also starring Mischa Barton (“The O.C.,†“The Beautiful Lifeâ€), Talulah Riley (The Boat That Rocked) and Gemma Arterton (Quantum of Solace, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time), with a cameo appearance by U.K. sensation GIRLS ALOUD.
The school which had been depicted as the girl school where the bad girls attend. In the original films, these female students were daughters of gangsters, crooks and shady bookmakers. But in the 2007 revision, the students are broken down to groups from the Chavs, the Posh Totty’s, Geeks, Emo’s and the first years.
“St. Trinian’s: School for Bad Girls” revolves around Annabelle Fritton (played by Talulah Riley), daughter of Carnaby Fritton (played by Rupert Everett) who has left her previous school and will attend the school which is headed by her aunt Camilla Fritton (also played by Rupert Everett). Carnaby leaves his daughter at the school but to find out that St. Trinian’s is behind on payments and if they don’t pay their bill, the school will be foreclosed. But Camilla tends to not bother with the collection notices.
As for Annabelle, she immediately sees that the school is quite unkempt and their students are a bit different from her previous school. She is given an introduction by head student, Kelly (played by Gemma Arterton) and is introduced to various groups in the school and also receives an initiation of sorts when she has goo dropped on her head and feathers stuck all over her. To make things worse, while she takes a shower, the girls at school stream her shower through YouTube and steal all her clothing. Immediately, Annabelle wants out of the school and tries to call her father to get her out to no avail. She must stay.
We see how education is done at the school of St. Trinian’s. The school tries to make lab-made vodka and have their teacher Flash Harry (played by Russell Brand) sell it for them to make a profit, foreign language teacher Miss Maupassant (played by Caterina Murino) can be seen teaching wearing S&M tight leather clothing and a whip, one teacher for art class who uses his body to pose in the nude for his students, another who teaches students how to fire weapons and possibly, the most sane teacher is the new teacher Miss Dickinson (played by Lena Headey) who was just hired.  And a former head student turned PR guru JJ French (played by Mischa Barton) who teaches the Posh Totty girls on how to look smart.
Needless to say that the school has a bad reputation and thus education minister Geoffrey Thwaites (played by Colin Firth) wants to use St. Trinian as an example to raise the standards for other schools and will do what he can to make the country know how bad of a school St. Trinian’s truly is.
Meanwhile, the collectors have given St. Trinian’s a few weeks to come up with their payment or else the school will be shut down. Fearing that they will have to go to a normal school, the students of St. Trinian’s come up with a plan to pull of a major heist and sell the painting in order to get the money to pay the collectors with the support of the school’s owner Ms. Fritton. Will they be able to pull it off?
The main students featured on “St. Trinian’s” are:
- Annabelle Fritton (played by Talulah Riley, “Pride and Prejudice”, “Doctor Who”, “The Summer House) – A normal student who can’t understand why her father sent her to St. Trinian’s. Daughter of Carnaby Fritton. She slowly becomes one of the girl’s at St. Trinian and goes through a major makeover in the first film.
- Kelly (played by Gemma Arterton, “Prince of Persia: Sands of Time”, “Quantum of Solace”, “Clash of the Titans”) – The head student and all students listen to whatever she says.
- Taylor (played by Kathryn Drysdale) – The student most likely to get in your face. An aggressive student and part of the Chav’s.
- Celia (played by Juno Temple, “Year One”, “Atonement”) – Part of the Chav’s who uses her Internet instinct to help out the Posh-Totty’s and has a weird hairdo.
- Tara and Tania (played by Holly and Cloe Mackie) – The Soprano-like twins of the group “First Years”. These girls are very smart when creating things in the lab, making of explosives and more.
- Polly (played by Lily Cole, “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus”) – Polly is the top of the geeks at St. Trinian’s. A hacker and gifted computer genius.
- Andrea (played by Paloma Faith, “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus”) – Andrea is a member of the Emo’s.
- Chloe (played by Antonia Bernath), Chelsea (played by Tamsin Egerton) and Peaches (played by Amara Karan) – Chloe, Chelsea and Peaches are members of the Posh Totty’s. The fashionably, spoiled rich students.
- Beverly (played by Jodie Whitaker, “Wish 143”, “White Wedding”) – The secretary of St. Trinian’s and knows how students and faculty can get a buzz.
VIDEO & AUDIO:
“St. Trinian’s: School for Bad Girls” for the most part is filmed inside a school. Blacks are nice and dark, an adequate amount of film grain and is presented in 1:85:1 anamorphic widescreen.
As for audio, the film is presented in English 5.1 Dolby digital. For the most part, the film is front and center channel driven with dialogue and music quite clear. There are some scenes with explosions that utilize the subwoofer but for the most part, the film is dialogue and music driven.
Subtitles are in English and English SDH.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“St. Trinian’s: School for Bad Girls” comes with a few special features. Included are:
- The Official School Diary– (9:56) Behind the scenes of the making of “St. Trinian’s: School for Bad Girls”.  Featuring interviews with the two directors Oliver Parker and Barnaby Thompson, Rupert Everett, Colin Firth, Gemma Arterton, Jodie Whittaker, Toby Jones, Russell Brand, Tamsin Egerton and more. Rupert Evertt talks about playing two roles, the talent working with two directors, filming on location and working with Girls Aloud.
- Bloopers – (5:46) Featuring bloopers from “St. Trinian’s: School for Bad Girls”.
- Girls Aloud – St. Trinian’s Chant – (4:34) The music video featuring an extended version of the Girls Aloud performance shown at the ending of the film.
- Deleted Scenes – (18:01) A total of 19 deleted scenes.
- Previews – Upcoming releases from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
This movie is definitely not your parent’s “St. Trinian’s” that they grew up with watching when they were younger, this 2007 reboot is a whole new comedy sporting an all-star case featuring on a new group of bad girls of today’s generation of Internet users, member of a school click…may they be a geek, emo, chav or posh. “St. Trinian’s: School for Bad Girls” is much more rude, crude but depending on your sense of humor, you may find it quite entertaining in an unusual way.
Despite the negative critic reviews the film has received, the fact that the independent film has done well in the box office and it has done well in DVD sales in the UK, now has a sequel with talks of a third film being made, definitely shows you how this film has amassed a cult following. Intriguing as well as the actresses who have gone on to bigger projects since the making of the first film, most have all returned for the sequel as well.
At first, I was sort of expecting something a film along the same style of the original 1954 film “The Belles of St. Trinian’s” but with a twist and more modern but what we got is a more, girl-power driven comedy utilizing a more modern feel of today’s generation, working together for the greater good for their school in the most obnoxious, crazy, campy but yet hilarious kind of way.
Similar to the original film which had Alastair Sim playing both the headmistress and her brother, Rupert Everett takes on the role of Camilla and Carnaby Fritton. For the most part, it was a bit scary at first to see Rupert in drag but for the most part but you kind of ease into the role because the film is quite campy but yet funny. Colin Firth as usual, very good with his deadpan humor.
Those who wonder about the top billing of other well-known talents such as Lena Heady, Russell Brand and Mischa Barton, its important to emphasize that the main talents are the students themselves, especially Talulah Riley and Gemma Arterton. Brand is featured a good number of times throughout the film, with Heady in second (has quite a few scenes that were cut and are on the deleted scenes) and Barton’s role lasts around under two minutes. So, for “The O.C.” fans wondering if Barton plays one of the main students in the film, she’s doesn’t. And why she is receiving top billing on the DVD, I’m guessing it is to attract American fans who may not be familiar with any of the UK talent.
“St. Trinian’s: School for Bad Girls” is not a a great film nor is it a bonafide stinker. It’s all about one’s humor and their sensibilities. This is not a politically correct film nor should those who enjoyed the original films, look for anything close to it. Personally, I think some going to the film to see something close to the original may find the campiness and ridiculous gags a bit too much for them but for some with an open mind to the film’s style of comedy, you can find some enjoyment because it is so unusual and crazy. And personally, I feel that Happy Madison or Apatow-related films have made me a bit more lenient towards these types of comedy related films and by the end of “St. Trinian’s”, I was content by it. I found it to be a wild, crazy and fun film!
Parents who have seen trailers of the film and saw many children on it, don’t be fooled. This is not a kid’s film, thus the PG-13 rating. In fact, these younger kids in the film are making vodka and other unusual concoctions in their lab, using explosives and up to some kind of trouble.
As for those who are wondering about the “girl power” theme, it’s nothing like “Mean Girls” of one trying to achieve popularity. These girls are the outcasts of their school and find solace at St. Trinian’s because they feel like they belong. Sure, they may be amongst a group of troublemakers or depressed individuals but they enjoy being at that school and thus, the will do what they can to fight for their school. I think the lyrics to the theme by Girls Aloud describes these girls in the best manner: We are the Best. So screw the rest. We do as we damn well please! Until the end… St. Trinian’s. Defenders of anarchy!
As for the DVD, it’s cool that there are a good amount of special features included. I will say that there are some scenes that were included in the deleted scenes of the DVD that I wish was included in the final cut of the film. I’m guessing that the filmmakers tried to get the duration down to 100 minutes and it is essentially the reason why there are so many deleted scenes (19) included on the DVD.
Overall, “St. Trinian’s: School for Bad Girls” is a film that can appease the teenage girls with its “girl power” theme, especially the young Internet generation who are on YouTube digs music from Girls Aloud or a member of a certain type of school click. For the guys, seeing girls being bad or girls in their bra and panties with fishnet stockings are probably going to catch their attention and for the grownups, the cast which has a good share of older and younger talent is going to attract their attention, especially those who are curious about how different this film is from the original.
Again, this film is not going to be for everyone. Some may find the film too over-the-top, boorish, crude and all out ridiculous, while others may find it as an enjoyable 101-minute popcorn flick with wild and crazy British humor. If you are part of the latter, then definitely give “St. Trinian’s: School for Bad Girls” a try, you may very well enjoy it!