''St Trinian's'' is a 2007 British

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...

and the sixth in a long-running series of British films based on the works of cartoonist Ronald Searle set in

St Trinian's School ''St Trinian's'' is a British gag cartoon comic strip series, created and drawn by Ronald Searle from 1946 until 1952. The cartoons all centre on a boarding school for girls, where the teachers are sadists and the girls are juvenile delinquen ...

. The first five films form a series, starting with ''

The Belles of St. Trinian's ''The Belles of St Trinian's'' is a 1954 British comedy film, directed by Frank Launder, co-written by Launder and Sidney Gilliat, and starring Alastair Sim, Joyce Grenfell, George Cole, Hermione Baddeley. Inspired by British cartoonist R ...

'' in 1954, with

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

s in 1957,

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo ...

and a reboot in

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – In ...

. The release of 2007, 27 years after the last entry, and 53 years after the first film, is a rebooting of the franchise, rather than a direct sequel, with certain plot elements borrowed from the first film. Whereas the earlier films concentrated on the adults, this film gives the school pupils greater prominence. St Trinian's is an anarchic school for uncontrollable girls run by eccentric headmistress Camilla Dagey Fritton (the reboot continues the tradition, established by Alastair Sim in the original film, of casting a male actor to play the female headmistress, with Rupert Everett inheriting the role). ''St Trinian's'' received mixed reviews but remains one of the highest-grossing British independent films of the last thirty years.

Plot

Annabelle Fritton, an uptight daddy's girl, unwillingly transfers to St Trinian's from the distinguished

Cheltenham Ladies' College Cheltenham Ladies' College is an independent boarding and day school for girls aged 11 to 18 in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. Consistently ranked as one of the top all-girls' schools nationally, the school was established in 1853 to p ...

at the request of her father, Carnaby Fritton. Annabelle is resentful and insulting, telling her father that the school is "like

Hogwarts Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry () is a fictional Scotland, Scottish boarding school of Magic in Harry Potter, magic for students aged eleven to eighteen, and is the primary setting for the first six books in J. K. Rowling's ''Harry Pot ...

for pikeys". She is taken around the school by Kelly Jones, the

head girl Head boy and head girl are student leadership roles in schools, representing the school's entire student body. They are normally the most senior prefects in the school. The terms are commonly used in the British education system as well as in Aus ...

, who introduces her to the various cliques within the school. Annabelle is harassed and pranked by the girls while in the shower and a video of her running around the school naked and wet is broadcast live on the internet. After a phone argument with her father she is drafted to the hockey team when she hits her phone with her hockey stick, smashing a statue. The girls of St Trinian's are involved in business with

spiv In the United Kingdom, the word spiv is slang for a type of petty criminal who deals in illicit, typically black market, goods. The word was particularly used during the Second World War and in the post-war period when many goods were rationed du ...

Flash Harry, who pays them to make cheap vodka. Flash is shown to be romantically interested in Kelly, who initially turns him down. The Cheltenham Ladies' College hockey team arrive at St Trinian's, along with Education Minister Geoffrey Thwaites. Thwaites is shown to have romantic history with the headmistress of St Trinian's, Camilla Fritton. Annabelle is forced to face her former bullies, including captain Verity Thwaites. The hockey match is violent, ending in Kelly shooting a winning goal for St Trinian's, and she begins to fit in with the other girls. As the match is being played, Thwaites inspects the school, finding the illegal vodka-making business and the chatline being run by the Posh Totty clique. The following morning, a banker arrives at the school and serves Camilla with a foreclosure notice, as the school owes the bank in excess of £500,000 and has ignored six previous final demands. A subsequent meeting between Camilla and Carnaby is watched by the girls using hidden cameras, in which Carnaby confesses his distaste towards his daughter. Annabelle is clearly upset, despite Camilla defending her. Carnaby encourages Camilla to turn the school into a boutique hotel, telling her that "when this school closes down, you'll have lost everything. More importantly, so will I." Kelly and Flash work with the students to devise a plan to save the school. They must get into the final of ''School Challenge'', a TV quiz show held in the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, as a cover for stealing

Vermeer Johannes Vermeer ( , , see below; also known as Jan Vermeer; October 1632 – 15 December 1675) was a Dutch Baroque Period painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle-class life. During his lifetime, he was a moderately succe ...

's '' Girl With a Pearl Earring''. Chelsea, Peaches and Chloe (the Posh Totty clique) are chosen as the ''School Challenge'' Team. By cheating in every round, they make it to the grand final. As the final is being filmed, Kelly, Taylor and Andrea steal the painting, with help from the Geeks, Annabelle and Camilla herself. Camilla paints an exact copy of the painting and has Flash, posing as a German art dealer, sell it to Carnaby in a black market deal. The school then receives a further £50,000 reward for returning the real painting to the National Gallery. The loans are able to be repaid and the school is saved.

Cast and characters

Talulah Riley Talulah Jane Riley-Milburn''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916-2005''; Ancestry.com. Retrieved 3 November 2015. (born 26 September 1985) is an English actress and writer. She has appeared in films, including '' Pride & Pr ...

as Annabelle Fritton, a shy new student at St Trinian's after Carnaby, her father, dumps her there, and Camilla's niece *

Lily Cole Lily Luahana Cole (born 27 December 1987)"Autobiography"
, lilycole.com. is a B ...

as Polly, the Geek * Juno Temple as Celia, the "Trustafarian" one * Kathryn Drysdale as Taylor, the Chav * Paloma Faith as Andrea, the Emo * Gemma Arterton as Kelly, the resourceful Head Girl of St Trinian's * Tamsin Egerton as Chelsea, a Posh Totty *

Antonia Bernath Antonia Geraldine Audrey Lee Bernath (born 1980/1981) is an English actress, voiceover artist and singer. She began her career in the CBS series ''Elvis'' (2005) and the Bollywood film '' Kisna: The Warrior Poet'' (2005). She then starred in the ...

as Chloe, a Posh Totty *

Amara Karan Amara Karunakaran (born 1984), known professionally as Amara Karan, is an English actress who made her film début as Rita in Wes Anderson's ''The Darjeeling Limited''. The film premièred at the 2007 Venice Film Festival. Karan's second film ro ...

as Peaches, a Posh Totty * Cloe and Holly Mackie as Tara & Tania, the Twins *

Caterina Murino Caterina Murino (born 15 September 1977) is an Italian actress. She began her acting career in the 1999 production of the play ''Richard III'' and later made her breakthrough with the 2004 film '' The Corsican File''. She went on to appear in t ...

as Miss Maupassant, the Foreign Languages Teacher *

Celia Imrie Celia Diana Savile Imrie (born 15 July 1952) is an English actress and author. She was described in 2003 as one of the most successful British actresses of recent decades. She is best known for her film roles, including the '' Bridget Jones'' f ...

as Matron, of St Trinian's * Jodie Whittaker as Beverly, the receptionist at St Trinian's *

Stephen Fry Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring ...

as Stephen Fry, the ''School Challenge'' presenter *

Toby Jones Tobias Edward Heslewood Jones''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com (born 7 September 1966) is an English actor. Jones made his film debut in Sally Potter's period drama '' Orlando'' in 1992. H ...

as Bursar, of St Trinian's * Fenella Woolgar as Miss Cleaver, the Sports Teacher *

Anna Chancellor Anna Theodora Chancellor (born 27 April 1965) is a British actress who has received nominations for BAFTA and Olivier Awards. Background and early life Chancellor was born in Richmond, England to barrister John Paget Chancellor, eldest son of ...

as Miss Bagstock, Cheltenham School's Headmistress * Lucy Punch as Verity Thwaites, the Minister's daughter, and Cheltenham's school bully * Lena Headey as Miss Dickinson, St Trinian's new English Teacher *

Mischa Barton Mischa Anne Marsden Barton (born 24 January 1986) is a British-American film, television, and stage actress. She began her career on the stage, appearing in Tony Kushner's '' Slavs!'' and took the lead in James Lapine's ''Twelve Dreams'' at Ne ...

as JJ French, the PR Guru, and previous Head Girl of St Trinian's *

Russell Brand Russell Edward Brand (born 4 June 1975) is an English comedian and actor known for his flamboyant, loquacious style and manner. Brand has received three British Comedy Awards: Best Newcomer (2006), Best Live Stand-Up (2008), and the award for ...

as Flash, the

* Rupert Everett as Camilla Fritton / Carnaby Fritton, St Trinian's Headmistress and Annabelle's aunt, and Camilla's brother and Annabelle's father, respectively *

Colin Firth Colin Andrew Firth (born 10 September 1960) is an English actor and producer. He was identified in the mid-1980s with the " Brit Pack" of rising young British actors, undertaking a challenging series of roles, including leading roles in '' A M ...

as Geoffrey Thwaites, the Education Minister * Dolly as Mr Darcy * Theo Cross as Art Teacher * Tereza Srbova as Anoushka * Steve Furst as Bank Manager The members of Girls Aloud (

Nicola Roberts Nicola Maria Roberts (born 5 October 1985) is a British pop singer. She rose to prominence in late 2002 upon winning a place in Girls Aloud, a girl group created through ITV's '' Popstars: The Rivals''. The group's success helped them win the c ...

, Kimberley Walsh,

Sarah Harding Sarah Nicole Harding (; 17 November 1981 – 5 September 2021) was an English singer, model and actress. Her professional career began in 2002 when she successfully auditioned for the ITV reality series '' Popstars: The Rivals'', during which ...

, Nadine Coyle and

Cheryl Cheryl is a female given name common in English speaking countries. There are several prevailing theories about its etymology. The most common is that it has Italo-Celtic roots and is an Anglicised version of either the French name Cherie (from L ...

) all make

cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...

s as the members of St Trinian's school band in the film. Zöe Salmon also makes a cameo as an emo girl, while

Nathaniel Parker Nathaniel Parker (born 18 May 1962) is an English stage and screen actor best known for playing the lead in the BBC crime drama series '' The Inspector Lynley Mysteries'', and Agravaine de Bois in the fourth series of ''Merlin''. Early life N ...

, the director's real life brother, makes a short appearance as the Chairman of the National Gallery. Newscaster

Jeremy Thompson Jeremy Gordon Thompson (born 23 September 1947) is an English journalist and former news presenter for Sky News, the 24-hour UK television news service operated by Sky UK. He was based at Sky News Centre in west London. He started out as a jou ...

also briefly appears, as himself.

Music

The film's score was composed by

Charlie Mole Charlie Mole is a British/French film and television score composer and songwriter. His scores include ''An Ideal Husband'', '' Othello'', '' The Importance of Being Earnest'', ''The Diary of Anne Frank'', the 2007 and 2009 versions of '' St. Trini ...

Soundtrack

The film's soundtrack was released on 10 December 2007 via

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch–American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

. The album featured two original songs by British pop group Girls Aloud, including the single, " Theme to St. Trinian's". A music video for the song was released to promote the film and soundtrack. The film's cast also recorded the theme, as well as a cover of

Shampoo Shampoo () is a hair care product, typically in the form of a viscous liquid, that is used for cleaning hair. Less commonly, shampoo is available in solid bar format. Shampoo is used by applying it to wet hair, massaging the product into the ...

's "

Trouble Trouble may refer to: Film and television * ''Trouble'' (1922 film), an American silent comedy-drama film directed by Albert Austin * ''Trouble'' (1933 film), a British comedy film * ''Trouble'' (1977 film), a Soviet drama film * ''Trouble'' ...

". A music video of the cast performing "Trouble" was also released. Rupert Everett and

, who star in the film, recorded the John Paul Young song " Love Is in the Air". A number of popular singles or current album tracks by artists, such as

Mark Ronson Mark Daniel Ronson (born 4 September 1975) is a British-American DJ, songwriter, record producer, and record executive. He is best known for his collaborations with artists such as Duran Duran, Amy Winehouse, Adele, Lady Gaga, Lily Allen, R ...

, Lily Allen, Noisettes,

Gabriella Cilmi Gabriella Lucia Cilmi ( ; ; born 10 October 1991) is an Australian pop singer. A contralto, Cilmi is known for her distinctive raspy singing voice. Her debut album, '' Lessons to Be Learned'', was released in March 2008, becoming a moderate in ...

, and

Sugababes Sugababes are a British girl group composed of Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan and Siobhán Donaghy. The lineup changed three times before returning to the original lineup in 2011. Formed in 1998 by All Saints manager Ron Tom, Sugababes releas ...

, were included on the soundtrack. ;Track listing

Filming locations

* Park Place, Remenham,

Berkshire, England Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

(St Trinian's school) *

Ealing Studios Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever ...

, Ealing, London, England *

London, England London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major se ...

* Oxfordshire, England *

The National Gallery, London The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director of ...

, England, (exteriors, The National Gallery) *

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson comm ...

St James's, London St James's is a central district in the City of Westminster, London, forming part of the West End. In the 17th century the area developed as a residential location for the British aristocracy, and around the 19th century was the focus of the de ...

, England

Release

''St Trinian's'' premiered in London on 10 December 2007 and was theatrically released on 21 December 2007 by Entertainment Film Distributors.

Home media

''St Trinian's'' was released on DVD on 14 April 2008 by Entertainment in Video.

Reception

Box office

The film grossed £12,042,854 in the United Kingdom, surpassing its £7 million production budget. As of 18 July 2010 the film had grossed a worldwide total of $29,066,483. It was the fifth highest-grossing film during the Christmas season of 2007, behind '' Enchanted'', '' I Am Legend'', '' Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem'' and '' The Golden Compass''. It ranks in the top grossing independent British films of the past decade.

Critical response

''St Trinian's'' received mixed reviews. ''Empire'' wrote that the film "fuse an understanding of what made the originals great with a modern feel – the writers have fulfilled their end of the bargain, even tweaking some of the weaker points of the original story." ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...

'' wrote that it "is raucous, leering, crude and, to my mind, largely misjudged, with Rupert Everett playing Miss Fritton as a coquettish transvestite with the manners of a Mayfair madam. The attempts to shock us fail, though Cheltenham Ladies College may well be affronted to hear one of its teachers say 'between you and I'. But the preview was packed with girls aged from seven to 14 who found it hilarious, and especially enjoyed Russell Brand." Derek Malcolm, in '' The Evening Standard'', wrote: "Structurally, the new movie is a mess, and it doesn't look too convincing either, with cinematography that uses all sorts of old-fashioned dodges to raise a laugh", and "when you look at it again, the old film was not only superior but rather more radical. This St Trinian's looks as if it is aiming at the lowest common denominator, and finding it too often." On the

film-critics Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films and the film medium. In general, film criticism can be divided into two categories: journalistic criticism that appears regularly in newspapers, magazines and other popular mass-media outlets ...

aggregate website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

, ''St Trinian's'' holds a 31% positive rating, with the consensus "Both naughtier and campier than Ronald Searle's original postwar series, this St. Trinian's leans on high jinks instead of performances or witty dialogue."

Awards and nominations

Sequel

It was announced at the 2008

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films ...

that the

, ''The Legend of Fritton's Gold'', also directed by Parker and Thompson, would be released in 2009. Filming began on 6 July 2009, and on 7 July 2009, it was announced that

David Tennant David John Tennant (''né'' McDonald; born 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. He rose to fame for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor (2005–2010 and 2013) in the BBC science-fiction TV show ''Doctor Who'', reprising the rol ...

and

Montserrat Lombard Montserrat Lombard (born 1 August 1982) is an English actress best known for playing WPC (later DC) Sharon 'Shaz' Granger in the BBC drama series '' Ashes to Ashes''. Early life Lombard was born in London and is of Spanish and Italian desce ...

had all signed on to appear in the sequel.Tennant enrolls at 'St Trinian's II' – Entertainment News, Film News, Media
Variety (7 July 2009). Retrieved on 25 November 2009.

References

External links

* * * * *

a
NeoClassics Films
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Trinian's St Trinian's films 2007 films 2000s high school films 2000s teen comedy films British heist films British teen comedy films Cross-dressing in film 2000s feminist films Films directed by Oliver Parker Films set in England Films shot in Berkshire Films shot in London Films shot in Oxfordshire Reboot films 2000s heist films 2007 comedy films Films set in boarding schools 2000s English-language films 2000s British films