Judging by the first of the new St Trinian’s films, we shouldn’t have expected more than rudimentary farce from the second.
Then again, the cast includes David Tennant as the villain, Rupert Everett reprising his role as headmistress Camilla, and Colin Firth as Thwaites, her old flame, all trying hard to amuse.
If that isn’t enough, there is a bevy of short-skirted and heavily made-up girls to help the box office without taking too many liberties that might get the film accused of latent paedophilia.
You have to be careful nowadays to pencil out any reference to sex or drugs (rock ’n’ roll seems to be fine, however).
The story, which zaps along pacily, has Everett and his girls on the hunt for a pot of gold hidden by a 17th-century pirate (Everett again, camping it up nobly)
The plot, however, isn’t really the thing. A kind of innocuous outrageousness is the order of the day.
Of the girls, Kelly Jones, Talulah Riley, Tamsin Egerton and Juno Temple play up and play the game.
But a few more witty lines might have helped — particularly when Everett and Colin Firth attempt Romeo and Juliet at the Globe without knowing their lines.
St Trinian's 2: The Legend Of Fritton's Gold
Cert: PG
