Nuns on the Run (1990)

Brian and Charlie work for a gangster. When their boss learns they want to "leave", he sets them up to be killed, after they help rob the local Triads of their drug dealing profits. They ... See full summary »

Director:

Jonathan Lynn

Writer:

Jonathan Lynn

Stars:

Eric Idle, Robbie Coltrane, Camille Coduri

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Eric Idle	...	Brian Hope / Flight Attendant #1 (as Eric Idle) (as Brian Hope)
Robbie Coltrane	...	Charlie McManus / Flight Attendant #2 (as Robbie Coltrane) (as Charlie McManus)
Camille Coduri	...	Faith
Janet Suzman	...	Sister Superior
Doris Hare	...	Sister Mary of the Sacred Heart
Lila Kaye	...	Sister Mary of the Annunciation
Robert Patterson	...	'Case' Casey
Robert Morgan	...	Abbott
Winston Dennis	...	Morley
Tom Hickey	...	Father Seamus
Colin Campbell	...	Norm
Richard Simpson	...	Mr. Norris
Nicholas Hewetson	...	Louis
Gary Tang	...	Ronnie Chang
David Forman	...	Henry Ho

Storyline

Brian and Charlie work for a gangster. When their boss learns they want to "leave", he sets them up to be killed, after they help rob the local Triads of their drug dealing profits. They decide to steal the money for themselves, but when their escape doesn't go to plan, they have to seek refuge in a nuns' teacher training school. Disguised as nuns, they have to avoid their boss, Triads, the police, and Brian's girlfriend. There's also the problem of them being men disguised as nuns in an all women institution.

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Plot Keywords:

on the run | nun | gangster | man dressed as nun | disguise | 

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Taglines:

The Story of an Immaculate Deception.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Official Sites:

Handmade Films Website

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 March 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

Freiras em Fuga

Filming Locations:

Burlington Lane, Chiswick, London, England, UK

Box Office

Gross USA:

$10,959,015

Company Credits

Production Co:

HandMade Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

First cinema movie directed Jonathan Lynn in about five years. Lynn's last had been 1985's Clue (1985).

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Goofs

When Brian's and Charlie's car runs out of gas, we hear the engine stall and the starter engine being cranked, while we still see Brian holding the steering wheel with both hands.

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Quotes

[Sister Mary catches Brian and Charlie sneaking into her room]
Sister Mary of the Annunciation: Rape! RAPE! MEN!

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Crazy Credits

Charlie McManus as Flight Attendant - this is the character played by Robbie Coltrane in the film.

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Alternate Versions

One version, such as the Fox television version, has an alternate scene. When the chinese man comes up to the car to ask why they are being followed, the newspaper Brian holds up to cover himself has a naked woman on the cover. In the television version, it is just a cover filled with news articles. This version is seen on FX and Fox's owned and operated networks.

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Connections

Spoofed in Spy Hard (1996)

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Soundtracks

HAWAIIAN CHANCE
Composed by Boris Blank and Dieter Meier
Performed by Yello
Courtesy of Phonogram Limited

User Reviews

Delightfully silly

Eric Idle and Robbie Coltrane are two good-nature low-level mobsters, who are becoming rapidly obsolete in the increasingly violent modern underworld. A twist of fate finds them in possession of quite a lot of money belonging to mean and nasty criminals. Where to hide? A convent, obviously.

A very funny and very sweet film, a good-natured and sneakily intelligent farce. Idle is fine, and Camille Courdi as his near-sighted love interest is hysterical, but Coltrane has the best role as a lapsed Catholic who finds that pretending to be "Sister Euphemia Of The Five Wounds" has awakened a lot of feelings that are inconvenient for a professional criminal.

Warning: Some people might be offended by gentle humor about the Catholic religion, but I saw it with a very devout Catholic and she was laughing just as hard as I was.