Main Cast: Eric Idle, Robbie Coltrane, Camille Coduri, Janet Suzman, Doris Hare
Release Year: 1990
Country: UK
Run Time: 95 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG13
Plot
Eric Idle and Robbie Coltrane team up for this bad boy comic burlesque, directed by Jonathan Lynn. Idle and Coltrane play Brian Hope and Charlie McManus, a pair of two-bit hoods who want to go straight, repulsed by the increasing reliance on guns and violence in their line of work. In thrall to vicious gangster Case Casey (Robert Patterson), the duo determine that their next job will be their last. When a large amount of money is extracted from a gang of Hong Kong drug dealers and it falls into the laps of Brian and Charlie, the two take off with the loot, with the Chinese Triad and Casey in relentless pursuit. When their car runs out of gas in front of a convent, Brian and Charlie run inside and disguise themselves as two of the ugliest nuns imaginable. Inside the convent, Brian and Charlie pass themselves off as nuns from a different order, assigned to the convent before leaving the country on missionary work. As the two men enjoy their undercover work with a collection of nubile nuns and coeds, the bad guys close in on their trail. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
Review
Nuns on the Run is just the type of madcap farce that Monty Python veteran Eric Idle would find fulfilling, and though it falls short of Python's wit in the dialogue department, it's a fairly diverting bit of silliness. Although it came out before the similar hit Sister Act, as well as Robbie Coltrane's other well-known religious fish-out-of-water comedy The Pope Must Die, Nuns on the Run nonetheless is pretty predictable in its set-ups and payoffs. Both actors address their roles with bug-eyed zest, but it would take a truly dim set of nuns with little mind for paperwork or procedure to accept these blokes as legitimate women and transfers from another order. Yes, they're sheltered from the world, but come on. But the 1990s were a decade of films featuring gangsters involved in ridiculous scenarios that tested their improvisational abilities, so one might say that Nuns on the Run was there from the start. As he proved in his directorial debut (Clue) and in subsequent efforts (Trial and Error, The Whole Nine Yards), Jonathan Lynn has a thing for plots involving talkative idiots running around like fools. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
Tom Hickey - Father Seamus; Lila Kaye - Sister Mary of the Annunciation; Robert Patterson - "Case" Casey; Robert Morgan - Abbott; Winston Dennis - Morley; David Becalick - Police Sergeant; Michael Beint - Bewildered Policeman; Aran Bell - Police Constable; Joanne Campbell - Ward Nurse; Craig Crosbie - Policeman in Car Park; Nigel Fan - Dwayne Lee; Helen FitzGerald - Tracey; Peter Geeves - Faith's Brother; Julie Graham - Casino Waitress; Fred Haggerty - Gatekeeper; Stewart Harwood - Faith's Father; Gedren Heller - Chemist Shop Assistant; Nicholas Hewetson - Louis; Dan Hildebrand - Casino Manager; Irene Marot - Hysterical Bank Manager; Louis Mellis - Bank Security Guard; Britt Morrow - Hospital Receptionist; John Pythian - Airport Policeman; Shirley Anne Selby - Tied-up Nurse; Lee Simpson - Policeman with Radio; Richard Simpson - Mr. Norris; Wabei Slyolwe - Julie; Tatiana Strauss - Michelle; Gary Tang - Ronnie Chang; Francine Walker - Tied Up Nurse; Ozzie Yue - Ernie Wong; Tex Fuller - Taxi Driver; Jennifer Hall - Airport Ticket Girl; Mary Selway; Oliver Parker - Doctor; Colin Campbell - Norm; David Forman - Henry Ho
Credit
Clinton Cavers - Art Director, Mary Selway - Casting, Simon Bosanquet - Co-producer, Sue Yelland - Costume Designer, Jonathan Lynn - Director, Dave Martin - Editor, George Harrison - Executive Producer, Denis O'Brien - Executive Producer, Frank Fitzpatrick - Composer (Music Score), Gerald Gouriet - Composer (Music Score), Hidden Faces - Composer (Music Score), David Kitay - Composer (Music Score), Yello - Composer (Music Score), Frank Fitzpatrick - Musical Direction/Supervision, Robin O'Donoghue - Musical Direction/Supervision, Richard Feldman - Songwriter, Marcy Levy - Songwriter, Boris Blank - Songwriter, Siobhan Fahey - Songwriter, Frank Fitzpatrick - Songwriter, George Harrison - Songwriter, Will Jennings - Songwriter, David Kitay - Songwriter, Dieter Meier - Songwriter, Steve Winwood - Songwriter, Teddy Randazzo - Songwriter, Pat Hay - Makeup, Simon Holland - Production Designer, Michael Garfath - Cinematographer, Michael White - Producer, Michael Seirton - Set Designer, John Evans - Special Effects, Martin Grace - Stunts, Eric Idle - Screenwriter, Jonathan Lynn - Screenwriter
The plot, set in London, concerns two middle-aged petty criminals, Charlie McManus (Coltrane) and Brian Hope (Idle), who decide to part company with their criminal gang because of its new-found propensity for violence, and are especially fed up with their new brash young boss. By a farcical turn of events, they end up with the loot from their last job but unfortunately botch their escape attempt and end up with the rest of their gang, the police as well as Chinese Triad gangsters on their tail. The only place they can find to hide is a nearby convent, which also houses a teacher training college, and they dress up as nuns and pretend to be new teachers.
Much of the comedy comes from Charlie's efforts to teach Brian how to behave like a proper Catholic, and by both men's attempts not to be distracted by the presence of so many teenage girls. Meanwhile, Brian has fallen for the extremely short-sighted Faith Thomas (Camille Coduri) after a brief encounter who attempts to help them escape from their pursuers.
They escape to the airport dressed as nurses, but the police and their gang are in pursuit. The film ends with a puzzled Faith sitting in a first class seat, on her way to Rio with the briefcase of money next to her, looking disappointed at the loss of her two companions. She is then offered some champagne and caviar—by Brian and Charlie, now dressed as female airline stewardesses.
Cast
Eric Idle - Brian Hope/Sister Euphemia of the Five Wounds
Robbie Coltrane - Charlie McManus/Sister Enviolata of the Immaculate Conception
