It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Written and directed with gusto by Jonathan Lynn, "Nuns on the Run" is very engaging, very British comedy that keeps the men-in-drag staple alive and kicking. It's energetic, breezy, snappy stuff with some great lines, some gentle digs at Catholicism, and spirited performances, especially from stars Eric Idle and Robbie Coltrane. Produced by George Harrison's Handmade Films company, it follows Idle, as Brian, and Coltrane, as Charlie, two small time criminals sick and tired of working for a thuggish young boss, "Case" Casey (Robert Patterson). They learn that their boss plans on stealing money from the Triads, so Brian and Charlie decide to purloin the money for themselves. They make a mess of the job, and end up being forced to hide in a convent, where they have to pass themselves off as nuns - Sister Inviolata of the Immaculate Conception and Sister Euphemia of the Five Wounds ("Five Wounds" for short). What follows is predictable enough but still entertaining farce as Brian and Charlie go about their nuns' duties, while the mobsters they double crossed try to track them down, and Brians' love interest Faith (the adorable Camille Coduri) does the same. The film overall doesn't work as well when the focus is off Brian and Charlie, but it still entertains solidly and agreeably for its 93 minute duration. It gets off to a very bright start, ends up sagging a little, but ultimately gets back on track with a wonderfully lively finish. The best thing about it is a sterling pair of performances by the well cast, likable leads; the supporting cast are no slouches, though, with Janet Suzman as the Sister Superior, Lila Kaye as Sister Mary of the Annunciation, and the hilarious Doris Hare as Sister Mary of the Sacred Heart. There isn't much violence, and what little there is, is played for laughs, although viewers might be surprised to see some topless shots from the comely young students at the convent. Among the highlights are Charlie's take on sinning and religion as he explains it to a horn dog priest, Father Seamus (Tom Hickey), his basketball game with the girls, and Brian's predicament as he attempts to visit Faith while still trying to pull the wool over the real nuns' eyes. Punctuated by a typically amusing score by the group Yello (those guys who will likely always be best remembered for their "Oh Yeah" tune), "Nuns on the Run" is a good, fun flick from start to finish, and it comes up with a fine punchline at the end. Seven out of 10.

Nostalgic for the days when crime didn't involve so much violence, Brian and Charlie want to quit "Case" Casey's gang and make a fresh start but they know better than anyone else that there is only one way to leave and that is in a body bag. However when someone lets slip to Case that they have been discussing it, Brian and Charlie figure that he's going to do them just in case. They plan to make their break after robbing the triads with Case but taking the cash for themselves. Case plans to let Brian and Charlie do the robbery but then kill them – but luckily Brian's girlfriend Faith overheads the plan and they manage to pull theirs off first.A product of its time and, for all its popularity in the States, a sad indictment of the "best" that Britain had to offer in the way of cinema at one point (just one point?). This is a very broad farce that relies solely on that strangely British comedic device of men dressing as women. Nobody notices that they are men and to point this out is to miss the spirit of the film, which has no time for real life when fantasy has so much fun to be had from Charlie playing basketball and Brian being hit upon by a priest. Of course even if you could buy these criminals as women, you're probably still going to be stretching when seeing Robbie Coltrane dunking the ball. So far so basic then and this is the way that it continues with easy material with no real effort or imagination. A few smirks might be raised but the majority of viewers will find it quite unrewarding.Idle and Coltrane do try to a point but there is only so much they can do with the material given to them. They do both buy into the spirit of the film though and never get caught up in trying to be serious or make more of it than it is. Coduri is average at best while supporting is consistently "blah" from Patterson, Suzman, Hare, Kaye and others.Overall then a very broad and basic farce that requires you to find men dressed as woman hilarious if you are going to enjoy this. It might have worked for me if it had had a bit of effort or wit injected into the script but, as it is, it does little more than what you expect it to do.

Gangsters, nuns, and an all-girl college dormitory....oh my! This film is definitely one of my all-time favorites! A must-see and a must have in any comedy collection. This film echoes with the wonderful blasphemes of Monty Python's The Life of Brian. Being a Monty Python fan, the appeal of Idle was first to draw me in...the adorable lewdness and shrewdness of Coltrane's Charlie McManis left me begging for more. "A pretty girl like you, I'd give you fifty..." Is it possible to do evil to do good? Is the church out for money? Should we just go on sinning...otherwise isn't it all for naught? Idle and Coltrane exude comic genius throughout the film.

Eric Idle, Robbie Coltraine, Janet Suzman - it should have been almost impossible to go wrong. Of course it has some funny moments - the scene in the showers when Robbie Coltraine echoes Lon Chaney Jr's ghastly werewolf line "I can't help myself" is hilarious. But ultimately the plot, script and direction are flat as a pancake and as tired as a 90 year old nun after 180 "Hail Mary"s. When I was a child, Carry On films filled this niche slightly better, which is a really sad indictment of a film with such a promising cast.