The Little Hours Review
R: Graphic Nudity, Sexual Content, and Language
Gunpowder & Sky, Bow and Arrow, Destro Films, Concourse Film Trade. Productivity Media, StarStream Media
1 Hr and 30 Minutes
Cast: Alison Brie, Dave Franco, Kate Micucci, Aubrey Plaza, John C. Reilly, Molly Shannon, Fred Armisen, Jemima Kirke, Nick Offerman, Adam Pally
Medieval nuns Alessandra, Fernanda, and Ginevra, lead a simple life in their convent. Their days are spent chafing at monastic routine, spying on one another, and berating the estate's day laborer. After a particularly vicious insult session drives the peasant away, Father Tommasso brings on newly hired hand Massetto, a virile young servant forced into hiding by his angry Lord. Introduced to the sisters as a deaf-mute to discourage temptation, Massetto struggles to maintain his cover.
THE GOOD: I went to a Vulture Festival screening of the movie back in May and wrote about how smart the writing and dialogue was. During the Q&A that took place after the screening, I asked director Jeff Baena about how long did it take for him to write this film. He responded that there wasn’t much of a script for the majority of the movie is ad-libbed.
Personally, I hate ad-libbing in movies because the majority of the jokes when used aren’t that funny. It's just stand up at the Apollo caught on film, but this is one of those cases that ad-libbing can work on a film. This is the first time a film came out saying, “HEY! Ad-libbing can be good,” and proved to be right. Though there is little of a script, it does have a story and natural build up.
The film is based on Boccaccio’s The Decameron which, when you get to the bare bones of it, is a collection of stories of nuns who practice everything but The Lord’s word. They delve into practices of witchcraft, homosexuality, and so much other things. This anthropology book was just the basis of the script Baena wrote. It has a delicate balance of being both smart and stupid. It doesn’t rely on pop culture references of any kind for it has enough jokes that make fun of the religious practices that took place in the 13th century.
With director Jeff Baena, you have a filmmaker who knows how to execute humor while providing a story around it. With Hollywood comedy movies nowadays, you only get films with a premise that goes on to abandon it and result to be a 90-minute standup comedy special. Baena knows what jokes work and knows how to keep the movie going progressively.
Here's some simple math that surprisinglymakes the film works. Nuns + Vulgarity = Funny. Outside of Sister Act, what other comedies do you see with a premise revolving around not so holy nuns? These nuns are the nastiest set of sisters. They break every sinful rule in the book from kicking your ass to cursing you out. They’re also gossip girls where they talk shit about everyone and talk shit to anyone. These girls gossip like kids on a playground. For nuns, these sisters act like demons. I mean come on, Aubrey Plaza’s Twitter handle is @EvilHag (which I think is a term she should copyright and turn into a production company). Just one look at them and they’ll escalate nothing into something. You better pray to God you don’t look either of them in the eye because they are not hesitant to kick your ass.
Because this isn’t a Hollywood type film, the editing isn’t choppy compared to other releases. It has a natural flow. It doesn’t even rely on reaction shots ever so often until the climax, and even then it still hits hard. The sex jokes in here work because you have characters curious about sex. Because these are nuns, they don’t have any experience with sexual intercourse or drinking or doing drugs. Though it sounds juvenile by description, it plays more into the personalities of these characters opposed to them just trying to tell a joke.
As the film progressives, the humor does as well as it goes from consistently chuckle-worthy to laugh out loud hysterical. The laughs get harder each moment it can. It doesn’t even shy away from including visual gags as well. The film is an approx 90-minute comedy, and the pace flows seamlessly. It has the perfect running time and is always moving from joke to joke while providing a story that is never abandoned.
If you thought Sausage Party was a messed up R-rated raunchy comedy, this film will have you think again.. While it never lets up on its weirdness, it has something to say about religion in nearly the same creative way Sausage Party did. The level of absurdity the film becomes is insane that by the last act, the clever twists and turns it makes will have you laughing for a good 2 minutes straight. In a summer where the recent comedies have been flat or sporadically funny, The Little Hours dare to have you consistently laughing whether you like it or not.
This entire film bears the cinematography and ad-libbed humor of a Funny or Die skit, but this is too funny at times, I was going to die. What elevates this from your typical R-rated comedy, are the characters and the story. It is a nasty R-rated film that's raunchy and barely aims for shock value. Its not one of those comedies that go, "HEY, AREN'T DICKS FUNNY?!" You saw it in Baywatch and you saw it in Rough Night, but thankfully it has enough brain to avoid jokes like that.
One of the biggest surprises to see in this film is Kate Micucci. I started watching Micucci in Raising Hope and seen her go on to be an amazing performer in film, music, television, and voice acting. The woman has a lot of voice acting credits. The reason she steals the show in this is because she is the character who is the most developed. Her character Ginevra has an arc that is both emotional and organically built. Out of all the nasty sisters, she is the one with the most amount of heart (even though in the film it's supposed to be Alison Brie) When that arc reaches its climax she delivers one of the biggest laughs in the entire movie.
All of these performers have natural chemistry where instead of stealing each other’s spotlight, they gracefully share it with their costar. It's like a Thanksgiving meal with comedic actors. John C. Reilly is as charming in this as he was in Kong: Skull Island. I think ever since Wreck-It Ralph, Reilly has been a good streak with his roles where he's the actor in so many films that stand out amongst the rest with his comedic timing and his charm.
Another standout performer in this is Dave Franco. If you thought he was funny in the Jump St. films, Dave Franco's performance in this consistently hysterical and sometimes he doesn't have to say a damn thing. Dave Franco recently is to be as skilled in his range of acting as his brother James. He can go from being in a teen drama to being in comedic films. Though he has a natural footing in comedy, it's incredible to see how far he goes in the roles that he chooses. Shoot, he was the only person to elevate Unfinished Business for me, and that was the worst film I saw in 2015. When his character Massetto has to seek shelter while being hunted by his Lord for sleeping with his wife, he makes a deal with Father Tommasso to work for him and play as a deaf mute. It is an agreement he takes, but without saying anything, he's just gets abused physically and sexually. What makes his performance works is the facial expressions he has to make while maintaining silence. By day, you see him struggle not to say a word when he has to deal with Plaza, Micucci, and Brie. There's a moment where Plaza and Jemima Kirke begin to assault him sexually by forcing him into a threesome. At first, you see him fearing for his life, but two seconds later he starts getting into it with just a swift change of expression.
THE BAD: Though the majority of the ad-libbing works it does hit some rough patches. Some jokes fall flat, but it immediately gets back up as if nothing happened. It's not like they’re standout characters, but in this summer of mediocre R-rated comedies, they're memorable than the rest.
LAST STATEMENT: Rude, crude, but filled with nonstop humor and heart, The Little Hours is a sufficient raunchy comedy that is undoubtedly one of most the funniest films of both the summer and the year. Don’t miss out on a hilarious summer comedy without the interference of Hollywood.
Rating: 4/5 | 86%
Super Scene: Genevra Gets Wild
