St Trinian’s 2: The Legend of Fritton’s Gold

St Trinian’s 2: The Legend of Fritton’s Gold – The students of St Trinian’s School for Girls discover an old story of treasure which was stolen and hidden by a famous pirate who turns out to be an ancestor of headmistress, Miss Fritton. Famous philanthropist but all-round bad guy, Piers Pomphrey (whose ancestor owned the treasure before it was stolen), is also trying to find it but after he leads an attack on the school for a vital piece of the puzzle, the girls decide to find the treasure first.

St Trinian’s 2: The Legend of Fritton’s Gold (2009) – Directors: Oliver Parker, Barnaby Thompson

Rating: PG

Running Length: 106 mins

Starring: Talulah Riley, Rupert Everett, David Tenant

Genre: Comedy

REVIEW: ‘ST TRINION’S 2: THE LEGEND OF FRITTON’S GOLD’

‘The Legend of Fritton’s Gold’ is the sequel to the 2007 St Trinian’s movie about a school of wayward but generally kind-at-heart girls. Unfortunately, this sequel, like so many of its ilk, has lost some of the charm of the original but thankfully still manages to muster a few laughs along the way. While the girls themselves are fun, it is the dynamic between Rupert Everett (in drag as the ‘force to be reckoned with’ headmistress, Miss Fritton), Colin Firth and David Tenant, all fully enjoying their roles as daft comedy foil, that creates the majority of the humour here.

It is nice to see a movie aimed at teenagers which still manages to remain relatively innocent in its humour. While there are some moments that are not necessarily appropriate for younger children, ‘The Legend of Fritton’s Gold’ manages to be family friendly without too many childishly cringeworthy moments that have often tainted similar attempts to appeal to such a wide audience. This is likely to be due to the scripting and acting of Everett, Firth and Tenant, who keep everything well grounded to help make this a comedy movie rather than a silly teen film. Overall, ‘The Legend of Fritton’s Gold’ is no masterpiece and is certainly not as good as the original (which in itself was hardly a work of art!), however it is a perfectly acceptable comedy that will keep most viewers entertained and laughing at the ridiculous situations that the characters get themselves in.

CONTENT: IS ‘ST TRINIAN’S 2: THE LEGEND OF FRITTON’S GOLD’ SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN?

The majority of the questionable content in ‘The Legend of Fritton’s Gold’ comes from the innuendo in the dialogue. The opening scene shows pirate, Fritton, boarding and robbing a ship. His unpleasant victim, Captain Pomphrey tells him how disgusted he is that a woman is on the throne (Elizabeth I), Fritton then quips ‘I enjoy a woman on top’. Later, Headmistress at St Trinian’s, Miss Fritton, is explaining to a student how strong women can be and says ‘some (women) have greatness thrust upon them, like Monica Lewinsky’. While most younger viewers are unlikely to understand this reference, parents may find themselves subject to questions about who this woman is (and what she was famous for!).

During a scene between two characters who have previously been in a relationship, when they first meet, the male character says ‘excuse me if I don’t get up’ to which the female character says ‘it won’t be the first time’. Also during this conversation, there is a reference to the ‘athletic sleepovers’ of their past relationship. Adults, of course, will understand these references but they are subtle enough to not be understood by younger viewers and are quite infrequent.

There is some mild sexuality in the movie. When St Trinian’s is being invaded by Pomphrey’s men, a student, around the age of 16, stands at the top of a flight of stairs with her bare leg on display. This is to distract the men while the other girls can attack and send them away. Many of the students’ uniforms are quite revealing, particularly the short skirts. Most of the girls, like most teenagers, enjoy looking sexy, however there is no actual mention of this in the script and none of the male characters are seen to be leering at or objectifying them. Without it being mentioned as a point to be made, the girls are in complete control of themselves the whole time, generally support each other’s differences and do not have any concerns with peer pressure on how to look or act.

One scene, which could be a little scary for young kids shows the girls digging up a grave. They take the lid off the casket and there is a rotten skeleton inside. A spirit then possesses one of the girls who talks in a creepy voice and, at one point, her head spins round while her body stays still. The following scene shows her in the medical room, levitating several feet above the floor. This is designed to be a comedy moment and none of the other characters react to her in fear (in fact, some are completely unaware that she is possessed and treat her with mild irritation) but we mention it as it is quite unexpected and it could be a little disturbing for children who have not seen this kind of thing before.

CAN I SEE A CLIP?

VERDICT: IS ‘ST TRINION’S 2: THE LEGEND OF FRITTON’S GOLD’ FOR KIDS?

‘The Legend of Fritton’s Gold’ is a fun and entertaining family friendly movie; not the best of its kind but perfectly watchable. The scene where Miss Fritton and Lord Pomphrey meet for the first time is particularly fun as is the comedic bitterness between Geoffrey and Miss Fritton. The girls’ fun and irrepressible natures are also bound to appeal to younger members of the audience. Due to the innuendo and some bad language we would recommend this movie as appropriate to children aged 7 and over.

• Violence: 1/5 (mostly slapstick in nature. One very brief moment shows a girl, aged around 12, headbutting a man in the crotch)
• Emotional Distress: 0/5
• Fear Factor: 1/5 (the scene of the girls opening the casket of a long-dead man and the subsequent possession of a main character could be a little intense for young children)
• Sexual Content: 2/5 (we have highlighted the stronger scenes above. In addition, a dog is seen to hump a man’s leg for a few seconds)    
• Bad Language: 2/5 (some infrequent mild cursing and blasphemy plus a couple of more moderate words. One younger student tries to read something out loud saying ‘pis-pis-pis’; another takes the paper away from her and clarifies that the passage says ‘pistol toting pirate’)
• Dialogue: 2/5 (some infrequent but sometimes moderate innuendo)  
• Other notes: Deals with themes of friendship, working together against a common foe, standing up to bullies, the strength of women who are often underestimated by men.

Words by Laura Record

[amazon_link asins=’B072PY4L9D’ template=’ProductAd’ store=’isthimovsui-21′ marketplace=’UK’ link_id=’c94f1606-7712-11e8-98a7-31d7370df1d2′]