Rating (2.5 out of 5)
Summary: Currently “The Little Hours” is available for viewing on Netflix and the cast garnered my interest enough to watch the movie. A quirky offbeat comedy based on an Italian series of stories written in the 1300s, “The Little Hours” and its cast failed to impress. At first, I had difficulty determining the time period of the film, but then once the director establishes the time period, then the tone seemed out of place. A jumble.
Plot: Three nuns discover themselves during their tenure in a convent in Italy during the 1300s.
Detail: Before I divulge the negatives, there are parts of the film that humored me. The cutting of the hair to avoid detection. The sentencing at the end of the movie by the bishop upon all of the various characters would be another. Unfortunately, the humor is sparsely spread throughout the film.
The scenes where Lord Bruno (Nick Offerman) is talking to his wife about the Italian politics whiles she eyes the servant Massetto (Dave Franco) resembled something from “History of the World Part 1”, but we didn’t have the eunuch with his fan raising. The whole section wasn’t comical, a scene suited more for high school drama class than the big screen. Lord Bruno and his team of guards were odd, and their portrayal felt unaligned with the other characters.
The main 5 characters weren’t good people. They weren’t pursuing any noble goal, nor did they really grow any meaningful way. Part of the issue for “The Little Hours” is the audience is following 5 characters, and not gaining in-depth knowledge about any one character well. Similar to many movies today, “The Little Hours” lacks focus.
Yes, it is possible to have 5 characters, lack focus, and not have character growth and still have a good movie. If those are the attributes, the movie necessitates either outstanding humor and action, both lacking from “The Little Hours”.
A few other things jumped out at me:
-Aubrey Plaza played Aubrey Plaza. Is she capable of anything different?
-Witches running around naked, were the boobs added to get a little male viewership?