Oh My Goodness! Review - French Comedy Delivers Big Laughs

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Category: UK A&E, Lifestyle, Culture

Published on Tuesday, 18 March 2025 11:47

Written by Janet Walker

Oh My Goodness, from Tull Stories, brings to the screen a laugh out loud story of five nuns, in financial straits, living in a rundown monastery, who decide to enter a bike race for the prize money.

The film begins, in a tranquil French village, as Sister Beatrice, played by Guilaine Londez is tending the garden, and what she sees causes her to lose track of her duties, and in a state of elation runs to notify each of the others.

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Through this mad dash through the halls we meet Sister Augustine, played by Camille Chamoux, Sister Bernadette, played by Claire Nadeau who we realize has taken a vow of silence, and Sister in Training Gwendoline, played by Louise Malek, until she finally reaches the door of Mother Superior Veronique, played by Valerie Bonneton.

What has so fascinated her is the belief that the rarest of flowers has somehow grown in the gardens of their modest monastery. When Mother Superior Veronique explains the easiest way to discover if this flower is the rarest of all is to take a picture and go and speak with the horticulturist at the hospice center.

So, the Gwendoline accompanies Sister Augustine, Sister Beatrice, and Sister Bernadette to the hospice home, where we see the place is run down, and needs a complete remodel. The women leave with a burden to try and find the money to pay for the repairs. Gwendoline explains, it's simple just ask the city for a subsidy. So, they create a proposal and decide surely, as good in their intention, God will provide.

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When they get to the office, the government official explains this year's subsidy was used to fund the bike race, and the women, armed with faith, realize this is how they will make the money they need.

When they return to explain to Mother Superior Veronique, her reaction is less than enthusiastic and when Father Abbot, played by Jean-Michel Lahmi, arrives and he thinks the idea is fabulous, the women set out on deciding which of them is their champion rider.

As the date of the race nears, we see the sisters are not quite ready for a grueling race through the French countryside, and our nun-in-training Gwendoline seems to be the only one who can ride with the wind. Soon Mother Superior Josephine, played by Sidse Babett Knudsen, arrives, and as we see the tension between the Veronique and Josephine is comedically palpable.

Josephine runs a tight ship, and the sisters in her charge are crisp, sharp and ready for the grueling challenges; Veronique is somewhat more relaxed, and the sisters in her charge are a ragtag band of hopefuls, pieced together by Jerry-rigging and faith.

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Throughout, and through flashbacks and dream sequences we are introduced to each of the sisters in their previous lives and their stories of transformation as well as their aspirations, which adds to the madcap escapades.

So, what follows are the comical exploits and antics as each team of nuns try to eliminate the other from competition, as well as remove the team of professional cyclers who arrived adding mayhem to the chaos.

Oh My Goodness!, a laugh out loud comedic drama, is filled with the misadventures, tricks and capers with a dash of divine inspiration and saintly wisdom.

Oh My Goodness! a zany, hilarious, screwball comedy with a twist, is playing in theaters across the UK, Ireland, and France. See it.

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Country: France.

Language: French with English subtitles.

Runtime: 86 minutes.

Directed By: Laurent Tirard.

Written By: Cécile Larripa, Philippe Pinel.

Produced By: Olivia Lagache.

Cast: Valérie Bonneton, Camille Chamoux, Claire Nadeau, Guilaine Londez, Sidse Babett Knudsen, Louise Malek, François Morel, Jean-Michel Lahmi.

Janet Walker is the publisher, founder, and sole owner of Haute-Lifestyle.com. A graduate of New York University, she has been covering international news through the Beltway Insider, a weekly review of the nation's top stories, for more than a decade.  A general beat writer/reporter and entertainment/film critic, she is also an accomplished news/investigative news/crime reporter and submitted for Pulitzer Prize consideration "Cops Conspire to Deep Six Sex Assaults" in the Breaking News Category and was persuaded to withdraw the submission. Ms. Walker has completed five screenplays, "The Six Sides of Truth," "The Assassins of Fifth Avenue," "The Wednesday Killer," "The Manhattan Project," and the sci-fi thriller "Project 13: The Last Day." She is completing the non-fiction narrative, "Unholy Alliances: A True Crime Story," which is expected to be released in early 2025. She is a member of the Los Angeles Press Club, the National Writers Union, and a former member of the International Federation of Journalists.