Review: The Little Hours

If you ever wondered what would happen if Black Narcissus combined with Ken Russell's The Devils would be like as a comedy, then wonder no more for here is writer-director Jeff Baena's The Little Hours to sate your curiosity. An irreverent take on one of the stories that comprise Giovanni Boccaccio's The Decameron, the comedy takes its one-note nuns-gone-wild premise and plays it for all it's worth.

The year is 1347, the place is a medieval convent in Garfagnana, and the nuns with the dirty habits are Sisters Alessandra (Alison Brie), Fernanda (Aubrey Plaza), and Ginevra (Kate Micucci). Alessandra appears the most angelic of the three, whiling away her days doing embroidery, gazing out at the mountains, and hoping that her father (Paul Reiser) can finally sort out her dowry so she can hightail it out of there. Unfortunately, her father's riches are not what they used to be, what with giving to the convent and all. Maybe he could send less money to the convent? she suggests, but he dismisses that option. After all, that would reflect so poorly on their family.

Meanwhile, Ginevra spends her days tattling on the other nuns to Sister Marea (Molly Shannon) and wondering where Fernanda goes to at night and why she keeps wearing her winter habit. Fernanda gets her kicks cursing at one of the gardeners for having the nerve to say "Good morning" to her. It's clear that the young women are repressed and their hormones are raged when Father Tommasso (John C. Reilly) hires deaf-mute Massetto (Dave Franco). Except Massetto is neither deaf nor mute, he's a servant Father Tommasso has saved from Lord Bruno (Nick Offerman, hilariously dry as always), who is seeking vengeance on Massetto for sleeping with his wife (the delightfully bored and sarcastic Lauren Weedman). Naturally, the sisters don't know this, not that they'd care since all they want to do is lust on the increasingly bewildered Massetto, who finds it more and more difficult to keep up his ruse.

Other than the general setting, Baena makes it abundantly clear that verisimilitude is not a priority. Actors speak in modern-day accents and inflections and their body language remains faithful to the contemporary era. Whilst this contributes to the general raunchiness and raucousness, it also serves as a reminder that things weren't all that different in the past, no matter how many centuries ago it was. Bawdiness and sleaze aren't exclusive to this era of reality television and social media chatter.

Not that Baena is attempting to craft a satirical comedy; his main focus is on generating laughs and he certainly succeeds with the help of his first-rate cast. Franco might be the best he's ever been, Shannon and Reilly are sweet and charming, and Brie, Plaza and Miccuci continue to prove why they are three of the best comic actresses working today.

The Little Hours

Directed by: Jeff Baena

Written by: Jeff Baena

Starring: Alison Brie, Aubrey Plaza, Dave Franco, Kate Micucci, John C. Reilly, Molly Shannon, Fred Armisen, Jemima Kirke, Nick Offerman, Adam Pally, Paul Reiser, Lauren Weedman