Skip to main content

Movie Review - The Little Hours (2017)



Making a comedy that takes place in the Middle Ages can be a tricky thing. Everyone involved needs to be at the top of their game for it to work correctly. The Little Hours had all the right needs for it to succeed. Unfortunately for me it failed to live up to the expectations set by it's talented cast and great premise.

After getting caught being with his master's wife, a young servant named Massetto (Dave Franco) flees the castle to avoid any sort of punishment. He takes refuge at a convent filled with some interesting nuns. Father Tommasso (John C. Reily) is the first to find Massetto and comes up with the plan for him to pretend to be deaf and mute as to not draw any suspicion to himself. The young nuns of the convent are instantly attracted to Massetto and they must resist their temptations while Massetto must do everything he can to not blow his cover.

To me the worst thing you can do in a comedy is have the initial setup be great and then have the execution almost fall completely flat. There were definitely more things I had problems with than liked in The Little Hours. Comedy is certainly subjective but it felt like the majority of the jokes here just didn't work. Sure it's pretty funny hearing nuns shout obscenities at one another but when that's your biggest running joke it gets old after a while. A film that clocks in under an hour and a half should not have pacing problems either. It felt much longer than it needed to.

While the film isn't completely forgettable it does have some moments here and there where it does shine. The performances are pretty solid from everyone, despite not much landing in the way of jokes. Everyone in the cast is very committed to their roles. Aubrey Plaza and John C. Reily are definitely the standouts here but they aren't enough to raise this above being anything more than mundane.

The Little Hours boasts a strong cast who manage to get some chuckles out here and there but ultimately the film fails to produce any big laughs and suffers from feeling longer than its actual run time.

Rating:
4.5/10

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Spider-Man: Brand New Day | Review

  2026 | PG-13 | 145 mins | Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton It has been five years since the last Spider-Man movie hit theaters. Spider-Man: No Way Home was one of the biggest post pandemic movies and was able to capitalize on bringing together all three live action Spider-Man actors. After taking some time off, Spider-Man is back with a new director and a new look at not just the superhero but Peter Parker himself. Picking up right where the last movie left off, everyone has not only forgotten that Peter Parker is Spider-Man, but everyone also has forgotten Peter Parker altogether. Now, living on his own and mostly keeping to himself Peter tries to live a life without his aunt, his best friend and the love of his life. Continuing with his duties as Spider-Man, he has been collaborating with the local police to help track down any villains that try to destroy the city. He still keeps tabs on Ned and MJ as they are now attending MIT and living their life post-Peter Parker. A new t...
Post a Comment
Full Review »

Swapped (2026) | Review

  2026 | PG | 102 mins. | Directed by Nathan Greno Swapped is the latest in what seems to be a never-ending cycle of animated talking animal movies. With the success of Zootopia 2 last year and recent movies like Hoppers and Animal Farm also getting into the mix, how does Swapped separate itself from the pack? On paper, it looks like just another generic animal movie with a heavy-handed lesson that the characters must learn and then everyone feels good in the end. Thankfully, Swapped stands on its own and separates itself by being creative with its character designs as well as taking big chances in its plot point. Throughout the movie we follow a small woodland creature named Ollie (Michael B. Jordan). When he is younger, he befriends a young bird, called a Javan, that he shows how to eat the food of his species. After doing so the bird invites the rest of her flock to come and try this food, which makes things difficult for Ollie and his family. Ollie's species, called Pookoos, ha...
Post a Comment
Full Review »

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie | Review

  2026 | PG | 98 mins. | Directed by Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic, Pierre Leduc After striking out in the 90s with a live action attempt at the character, Universal and Illumination finally struck gold with Mario and his pals in the 2023 smash hit The Super Mario Bros. Movie. The movie went on to gross over $1.3 billion at the box office and was the second highest grossing movie of 2023. It was inevitable based on well the movie did that a sequel would be right around the corner. Now in 2026 The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is hitting theaters with a bigger story and even more characters.  When Princess Rosalina (Brie Larson) is kidnapped by the son of Bowser (Jack Black), Bowser Jr. (Benny Safdie), it is up to Mario (Chris Pratt) and the gang to try and save her. Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) and Toad (Keegan-Michael Key) set out on their own journey to try and find where she is being kept. Meanwhile, Mario and Luigi (Charlie Day) stay back to help protect the Mushroom Kingd...
Post a Comment
Full Review »

Toy Story 5 | Review

  2026 | PG | 102 mins. | Directed by McKenna Harris and Andrew Stanton For over 30 years the Toy Story  series has remained one of the most consistent franchises. The original movie was the first computer animated film and has gone on to be remembered as one of the greatest animated movies of all time. After spawning three sequels, the franchise has gone on to become a cultural phenomenon. Now with Toy Story 5 , the toys are back once again and this time they are taking on a new foe that is putting their jobs in jeopardy. Buzz, Jessie and the gang have their hands full when their owner, Bonnie, has a problem making friends. While Bonnie still loves playing with toys and likes to be imaginative and creative, the kids in her neighborhood and in her dance class only want to do one thing, play with their tablets. Bonnie and her parents are unsure of how to get other kids to want to play with her so the parents end up getting Bonnie her own tablet so she can hopefully interact wit...
Post a Comment
Full Review »

The Mandalorian and Grogu | Review

  2026 | PG-13 | 132 mins. | Directed by Jon Favreau It's been seven years since the last time a Star Wars movie hit the big screen. After The Rise of Skywalker premiered in 2019 and was met with lukewarm reception, Disney decided to shift their focus for Star Wars. Over the last seven years the franchise has seen several series make their way to Disney+. These series have allowed Disney to expand the universe and create new stories within the world. The first series, and arguably one of the best, to hit Disney+ was The Mandalorian. Fan and critic reception has been mostly positive for the three seasons of the show. After toying with a fourth season, Disney decided to scrap the idea and do a new Mandalorian movie and return Star Wars to the big screen. With The Mandalorian and Grogu , the movie follows Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and Grogu on a new adventure. Now working for Colonel Ward (Sigourney Weaver) and the New Republic, Mando and Grogu are hired by the Hutt family to track d...
Post a Comment
Full Review »