Brian Hope (Eric Idle) and Charlie McManus (Robbie Coltrane) are thieves working for gangster Casey. Nobody leaves Casey and gets away with it. Norm at the chop shop wants to leave and tells Casey that the guys are also leaving. Casey has Norm killed and the boys try to stay on Casey's good side. Brian falls for waitress Faith. She overhears Casey ordering hits on Brian and Charlie after they do a job stealing from the Triad. Soon, Casey's thugs, the Triad, the police and Faith are all chasing after them with two suitcases full of cash as they disguise themselves as nuns hiding in a nun training college.This movie relies on the audience to laugh at two homely guys cross-dressing as nuns. One would hope for better from Idle and Coltrane but they don't provide much more than that. They are too angry to be funny. Cross-dressing nuns are not that funny without better writing. For people on the run, the movie moves rather slowly and has limited kinetic energy. Idle and Coltrane are able to keep some interest but this is not that funny.

This film has been compared to the hilarious British comedy "A Fish Called Wanda", although I can't see why. The only connection I can find is the Monty Python one (Eric Idle in "Nuns", John Cleese and Michael Palin in "Wanda"). Otherwise the two are incomparable.Idle and Robbie Coltrane are two gangsters who want to get out of the business before they end up dead, so they decide to rip off their boss and make for Rio. When the getaway goes wrong, the two are forced to take refuge in a convent, as nuns.What at first promises to be a riot soon becomes a predictable, average movie with the usual tasteless sex jokes and bland humour. Once again there are the occasional high spots, but neither cast nor crew manage to inspire proceedings. An attempt at a "Wanda" type manic finish fails too, along with the effort at "men in drag" humour, which is hardly surprising. When you think about it, men trying to be women is funny, men trying to be nuns is ridiculous.Friday, April 22, 1994 - Video

This movie did have some proper comics doing the leads- Idle and Coltrane, and some of the other main characters did a good job in their roles. Faith and the two Sister Marys were great, as was the mature presence and good acting of Mother SuperiorDidn't like the casting of the two gangsters boss (Mr Casey)though- he was too young, softly spoken, and without the real look of a hard crime boss.The story took some time to get going, but ultimately had its moments. Some excellent and well delivered lines.Most of the comedy worked well, though I didn't appreciate Faith's near blind state without glasses.The version I saw was only on DVD made 4x3 for some reason, so it looked more like a TV movie.It's a low budget British comedy. Shame there was no sequel.

I agree this movie is hilarious but I can't prove it by any particular scene. English humor, especially Monty Python is generally too silly for my American tastes, but Robbie Coltrane and Eric Idle together are as good as Laurel and Hardy. They have the chemistry that make any unusual situation a real hoot. An odd couple in a strange situation isn't always enough, i.e. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito in Twins (1988). It takes a natural timing that Eric and Robbie have developed over many years in the comedy business. Once you let yourself start laughing with this film, its hard to stop. Its a great video selection you can enjoy again and again. Watch for the subtle stuff, or just play it in the background for an occasional chuckle when family arrives for the holidays. I'd rate it an 8 at least.