In "The Decameron", Boccaccio writes about a group of travelers trying to avoid the plague. While hanging out together, they tell various stories to pass the time. Many of the stories are sexual and crude...something that might surprise some readers about 14th century literature. "The Little Hours" is based on a couple of these stories and the overtone of the film fits in with Boccaccio's vision.

The setting is in a cloister with some nuns who pretty obviously DON'T want to be nuns. This isn't really hard to believe, as during that time, unwanted and unwed daughters were often forced into nunneries...that, or face starvation. The story centers on three of them...three very worldly nuns who seem less interested in piety and more on sex, drinking and even witchcraft!! Into the midst of these wicked nuns is introduced a new groundskeeper...one who supposedly is deaf. And, being unable to speak or hear, the fleshly women, one by one, have their way with this handsome man. What's next? See the film.

This film clearly is a rated R film, as it's almost completely focused on sex. There is some nudity, but not nearly as much as their could have been....especially with "The Decameron".

So is it any good? It's okay...modestly enjoyable and worth seeing if you want something very different. A most unusual film..and while it might easily offend you, that IS "The Decameron"...a story filled with lots of lusty tales...100 of them (hence the name).

It's 1347 Garfagnana in central Italy. Father Tommasso (John C. Reilly) runs a convent. Sister Marea (Molly Shannon) is the senior nun. Sister Fernanda (Aubrey Plaza) is volatile. Sister Ginevra (Kate Micucci) is a follower with secrets. Sister Alessandra (Alison Brie) wants to leave for married life despite her father. In his drunken state, Tommasso loses the nuns' embroidery on his way to the market. Massetto (Dave Franco) assists him and in return, he takes in Massetto who is on the run from his vengeful master. Massetto pretends to be deaf mute. Fernanda's childhood friend Marta (Jemima Kirke) arrives and chaos ensues.

This is a strange little movie. It's a spoof of sorts but it's also a little serious. Too often, the movie goes into silly which is not silly enough. This probably works better as a dark comedy. When Fred Armisen arrives, the movie falls completely into SNL skit territories. That role needs a serious character actor. This movie struggles between an SNL spoof and a serious dark comedy. It fails to pick a side and clunks along both tracks.

One of the genres of cult movies is called nunsploitation. It focuses on nuns - usually in a medieval or Renaissance setting - and their sexual repression. Jeff Baena's oddball movie "The Little Hours" takes this genre and turns it into a black comedy. The setting is a convent in 1347 Italy, and the main focus is three nuns who see their vows challenged when a man gets hired in the convent.

This is definitely NOT a movie for everyone. The slow pace and understated humor is guaranteed to turn a lot of viewers off. To be certain, nothing about the movie is intended as serious. Far from the sorts of movies wherein every medieval character has an English accent, most of the nuns here talk like valley girls!

Anyway, it's a weird but funny depiction of cloistered life in the Late Middle Ages. I think that you should check it out, even if you end up not liking it. The cast includes Alison Brie (Ruth on "GLOW"),Kate Micucci, Aubrey Plaza, John C. Reilly, Dave Franco, Molly Shannon and Fred Armisen.