We're No Angels
Tags: comedy

Plot synopsis:
Three convicts – Joseph, Albert and Jules – escape from prison on Devil's Island just before Christmas and arrive at a nearby French colonial town. They go to a store managed by the Ducotel family, the only one to give supplies on credit. While there, they notice its roof is leaking, and offer to fix it. They do not actually intend to, but decide to remain there until nightfall, when they will steal clothes and supplies and escape on a ship waiting in the harbor. As they wait, they find that the small family of Felix, Amelie, and daughter Isabelle, is in financial distress and offer their services to hide the trio's all-too-sinister ruse. Joseph even gets to work conning people and falsifying records to make the store prosperous. However, the three felons begin to have a change of heart after they fix a delicious Christmas dinner for the Ducotels made mostly of stolen items.
Tensions heighten after store owner Andre Trochard arrives from Paris with his nephew Paul, the light in Isabelle's eye. The Trochards plan on taking over the store, which they perceive is unprofitable due to its use of credit. It turns out that Paul is betrothed to another woman, to Isabelle's dismay. Before any action can be taken, both men are bitten by Albert's pet viper, Adolphe, and die nearly instantly. Isabelle finds another love, and the family is happy as the convicts finally ready for their postponed escape. However, while waiting on the docks for their boat to arrive, the threesome reconsiders. Judging that the outside world is likely to be worse than that of the prison, they decide to turn themselves back in. As they walk toward it at film's end halos appear over their heads...followed by one above the cage of Adolphe.

Review: The acting is perfect for this script, DeNiro and Penn are so funny and also serious when is needed.
For the people of our days a comedy is something like Scary Movie or a movie that makes you laugh every minute because of something stupid.
But "We're No Angels" is funny, is romantic, is serious, is educative, is simply GREAT MOVIE.
With practically no resemblance to the 1955 Humphrey Bogart movie (nor to the play it was adapted from), film-buffs might find themselves perplexed as how to take this remake: two convicts escape prison and find themselves in a border town disguised as priests.
Demi Moore, as a single mother of ill repute, gives one of her best performances here and works very well with Robert De Niro, while Sean Penn takes a while to get warmed up (and his thick accent is mildly irritating).
Reilly has a fantastic supporting bit as a novice priest who worships Penn, and there's a cute little girl in the movie who never acts like a movie kid (she's a natural).
Simple, yet funny film, good acting.
We're No Angels,First-Viewing, owned VHS,(Neil Jordan)- Robert DeNiro, Sean Penn, Demi Moore, John C.
DeNiro and Penn play escaped convicts who disguise themselves in a small town.
Although DeNiro is great, and in certain scenes definitely shows his superiority as an actor, Penn overall gives the better performance.
One of Demi Moore's best (yet small) roles (I'm not a big fan of hers.)  Great script (Mamet).
In the same way that '21 Grams' works a fairly serious portrayal of a crisis of faith into a tense melodramatic thriller, 'We're No Angels' actually masks some serious thoughtfulness about the importance of faith and hope into a decently funny comedy of mistaken identity.
A pleasant comedy with fine acting and an occasionally laugh-out-loud script by David Mamet.
It's far more serious and moralistic than I had ever imagined, and Robert De Niro and Sean Penn essentially run around posing funny faces for the camera throughout, whilst the Catholic religion is used as a structural backdrop.
This time the loser is equal to a pair of two escaped convicts and the teacher position is likewise that of priests.The story all begins with Ned (De Niro) and Jimmy (Penn) escaping from a northern jail circa 1930.
Luckily for the duo, right before they come to the Canadian border, they are mistaken for two long-lost Catholic priests, Fathers Brown (Penn) and O'Reilly (De Niro).
So you can imagine the fear that Jimmy experiences when he is asked to lead the church in a pray prior to a meal.Meanwhile, the mandatory romance is inserted into the movie, using Demi Moore's single, rough, over-protective mother as the love angle for De Niro's character.
But I figured De Niro and Penn couldn't be that bad, and I was right.I think part of the reason so many people like to ignore it is that it doesn't poke fun at religion.
The spirituality affects Penn's character, Jimmy, and his final decision on the bridge that separates Canada from America is one that we have sensed was long coming since his fascination in the church grew.De Niro and Penn have two of the best faces in Hollywood, and a movie like "We're No Angels" uses this to its advantage.
Most of the time throughout the film, De Niro shrugs his shoulders a lot and emits low, agreeable groans from his throat in response to questions, while Penn looks confused and bewildered.
Reilly) asks "Father Brown" something about his book, and Penn sort of stares at him for a few moments with searching eyes, trying to find a way out of the situation.
This movie really got me thinking about how short life is and how we should spend it the best way possible, which Sean Penn did at the end of the movie, which is to love and serve God..
I admire the story, first; I admire wonderful text and phrases and use to quote them; but, what is the most important about this movie, it's really an example of GOOD, nice and gentle, Christian humor.
I loved the atmosphere of the movie, and the characters, and again and again, this gentle humor, so you can laugh and think about belief things...
I always look for the beginning choices of an actor,Demi Moore stays constant in her choice of roles(outsider),Sean Penn with his usual dichotomy of hard guy/softie and De Niro himself but with a twist of humour.I enjoyed the epoch and the guilt and penitance idea of choices we make in life.I just liked the film and I could see a few times Demi Moore trying to keep a straight face which made me laugh..
We're No Angels (1989) *** (out of 4) Remake of the 1955 film has Robert DeNiro and Sean Penn playing escaped convicts who hide out as priests in a small town where they try to sneak across the border into Canada.
Most of the reviews you read for this film will probably be negative but I've always enjoyed what the movie has to offer even though there's no way of denying that it could have and should have been a lot better than it turned out.
Demi Moore has a supporting role, which brings in more darkness that really isn't needed but Bruno Kirby and John C.
You really don't expect to see DeNiro and Penn in a movie like this but they both pull it off very well and make it worth viewing..
In all respects; casting, acting, direction, production and screen writing, We're No Angels is one of the best movies I have ever seen.
I was on the edge of my seat, hoping that Penn and DeNiro make-good their escape to Canada, while at the same time, noticing the relaxed, comfortable overall feel of the movie.
His totally-failed attempts at acting "priest-like" are hilarious, especially as he trades barbs with Demi Moore's irate character.Bruno Kirby is wonderful.
At the end of the movie, we are rewarded for our faith in DeNiro's and Penn's characters, for they risk all for a child they have been entrusted with.
"We're No Angels" is a movie made for those faces, and one of the pleasures of watching the film is to see them looking sidelong at each other as they try to figure a way out of the complicated mess they're in.
The movie has a lot of other good stuff to look at (including dramatic period locations in a small Canadian town) and to listen to (dialogue by David Mamet), but I can think of no other recent movie in which so much of the pleasure lies in watching the expressions on the faces of the actors - especially when they're reacting, not talking.
Mamet and Neil Jordan, who directed the movie, wisely remember the most important thing about any mistaken- identity comedy: The fact that someone's identity is mistaken is not always funny even the first time and rarely thereafter.
Movies that depend on mistaken identities for their laughs are among the slowest, dreariest slogs through cinema.Too bad that the film came out to be both simplistic and ordinary despite of the talent involved especially when it features De Niro and Penn,two of the best actors in Hollywood; and Jordan,one of the finest director of the industry.There were a lot of boring moments.Also,it just turned out to be somewhat corny and provides minimal laughter in a lot of scenes.Overall,it was definitely a misfire from the cast and the director involved as it does not live up to its potential.Overall rating: 6 out of 10..
Take DeNiro's unhumorous mawkish clown faces, Penn's tongue-in-cheek, insincere innocence, and add Demi Moore's heart-rending desperation, and you end up with two hours it would be more pleasant to spend in the Dentist's chair.
If I didn't know better I would say that DeNiro and Penn were deliberately doing bad acting.
Neither is Sean Penn  who at the time was better known as a B movie actor who was previously married to Madonna and who liked to punch journalists who took his photo without asking .
The only two performances I can describe as bad are Demi Moore who`s even more unconvincing here than she usually is because she`s playing a character that requires acting , and veteran Irish award winning actor Ray McNally who is playing a sadistic caricture of a prison warder .
Robert De Niro, Sean Penn, David Mamet, and Neil Jordan combine their considerable talents to produce this sorry little mess of a film.
While the plot has terrific potential to be a good comedy, very little actually works here.
Sean Penn is little better, using a wide-eyed, lost-little-boy expression throughout the film in an attempt to convey his character's wise-simpleton persona.
I'm not sure if it is just because it hasn't aged well but seriously I have never been so disappointed in a movie choice from Robert De Niro or Sean Penn until this moment.
I thought I was in for an old-time laugh out loud comedy but not so; I didn't laugh once through the entire thing.It looks like from the other comments that the only people who enjoyed this movie have some sort of religious affiliation or belief.
This movie is shocking: it drains a huge amount of talent (Moore, Penn!, De Niro!!) in a stale non-story.Moore acts as a single, prostetuting herself to make some money for her ill child.
Although the decision to take part in this film must have given her the proper mindset, one is left with the impression that Demi got stuck in her first attempt.Penn is a bit like Stan, but only a bit.De Niro seems to have thought that making faces and funny gestures should be enough for a comedy; it isn't.Why do people participate in a film like this?
Mr Penn gives a good Stan Laurel-like performance and Mr de Niro keeps on amazing me.
Nice bit of film, a treat on the eyes and nostalgic to see John C Riely and Demi Moore as young actors whom played respectable roles..
I really interested by watching it, it is a very good movie..
Penn's Performance seemed sound from what i could see through my red mist and basically saved the film, he also resisted from picking up this head bobbing method under immense pressure to do so, I wasn't so lucky for three days i couldn't keep it still.
I watched this movie dubbed on TV in Turkey some two years ago and was shocked to see De Niro and Penn in this rubbish.
But it's natural and acceptable that people like Penn and De Niro sometimes need bull**it.
I can't believe DeNiro and Penn made this movie.
You'd think actors of their caliber might have managed to save this film, but DeNiro, especially, sunk it.
Terrible film that has two of the greatest actors of our time (Robert DeNiro and Sean Penn) acting like idiots as they escape prison and pose as two Catholic priests to hide away from the authorities.
I mean no criticism by that - it is a very good film that is marred by some terrible choices that feel to me like they should be blamed on production/direction, not the material, cast or setting.It could have been great.
- If you can just imagine Robert De Niro and Sean Penn (with matching hairdos, no less) being totally confined to have to work with a lame script and having to ultimately play a couple of really lunk-headed convicts on the run, then I think you get a fairly clear picture of what this film's got to offer when it comes to entertainment value.Set in the 1930s - Ned and Jim (2 of the most idiotic convicts you're ever gonna meet) inadvertently get the chance to escape from prison, and then find that once on the outside their only saving grace is to pose as priests visiting a monastery near the Canadian border.De Niro, who also served as Executive Producer for this goofy misfire, mugs his way through the story like you've never seen him mug before.We're No Angels also stars Demi Moore, who plays Molly, a piece of white-trash with a heart of gold (natch), who helps our 2 dimwits out of a fix and also provides the sappy love-interest for convict Jim.Personally, I think that there should be some kinda law protecting viewers from comedy as bad as this one.
Got this DVD as a birthday gift and watched it.It is like "Heaven Help Us" in the sense that the nuances of the religion really are key to the comedic effect best portrayed by a look or a line that is subtle.Sure it could be better but depending on Budget and schedules not every movie can be Titanic, Longest Day, Gone with the wind,etc.If you like Deniro, or Penn...you'll like it.If you are from a Catholic or parochial upbringing you will like it.I'm not Siskel or Ebert; but I liked it.Close to the Canadien border and being set as other than the height of summer I'm surprised there we're ANY daylight scenes.
There is a little girl in the Movie who sort of steals the show,A Demi Moore that supports this plot as it builds and Sean Penn makes you believe the ending.If on TV or available for rental; watch this movie for a relaxed comedy..
Ned (Robert DeNiro), Jim (Sean Penn), Molly (Demi Moore), and her daughter.
Obviously, the daughter being able to speak and the affect on Molly (Regaining her faith) was most important, but also how Jim was chosen to give a Sermon, and as he said it was the first time he "Ever won anything." This led him down a path that God had planned for him, which is learning how to become a Priest, and influence others in his new identity as "Father Brown." Ned, gains the least of the four (Although getting Demi Moore is not bad), but his role is the most important because he is the one who jumps in and tries to save the little girl and the presence of the statute of the Virgin Mary saves both of them.
Sadly, said lines are a quote from the film, and not anything anyone has actually ever said about this comedy.With a regular run of comedic roles in the 90s it seemed as if De Niro was taking a dramatic shift away from his regular persona.
But even Laurel and Hardy couldn't string an amusing feature-length picture out of two escaped convicts (as the less than great Pardon Us would attest) so De Niro and Penn are on a hiding to nothing.We're No Angels is well acted, well directed and pretty well written.
Honestly, this film was funny as ****, seriously Robert De Niro and Sean Penn were just brilliant together.
I liked how this was a different story because I never even heard of any films about convicts pretending to be priests.
Never in ages did i have a film giving me laughing pills, it was just unbelievable!I had an idea that Demi Moore was involved in this but I never knew straight away that the woman asking for her deaf child to heal directly to the convicts was actually her!
I generally like De Niro, and generally like Penn, so had high hopes for this comedy of sorts.
Really beautiful scenery.Robert De Niro is Ned and Sean Penn is Jim, they manage an escape from prison and head for the Canadian border.
Had De Niro acted like he should have, he would have blown away Moore in their scenes.
Again I found it hard to believe he and Demi were "getting it on" It was more amusing to me to see Kirby and De Niro in the same scene and envisioned them from way back in The Godfather:Part 2(1974) as Young Corleone and young Clemenza.The late Ray McNally, who by the way this film is dedicated to in memory, did a great small role as the warden.
So all in all these bit character actors made the film better than the main stars!
DeNiro and Penn do great work together, having very good chemistry with one another, and it took a risk by going over the line, but managed to keep it amusing and fun.
It moves along at a decent clip, with an extremely good opening of Bobby|Russo|, Ned|DeNiro| and Jim|Penn| escaping from prison, it was funny and very exciting.
I laughed at the way he got annoyed with Demi Moore's character, or his silly little prayers to get out of trouble, he was a lot of fun.
James Russo is amusing as Bobby, he had good chemistry with Deniro and Penn.Bottom line.
We're No Angels is a comedy that features Robert De Niro and Sean Penn together with Demi Moore,Bruno Kirby,Ray McAnally and James Russo.It tells the story of a couple of 1930's Great Depression-era convicts,Ned and Jim, that were able to escape prison and the death penalty via electric chair that was imposed on them.Both settle on a small upstate New York town near the Canadian border when both disguised themselves as a priests that were expected to arrive at a local monastery.A lot of comedic events happen afterwards especially when they were welcomed by Father Levesque and got involved with the deaf-mute daughter of Molly, a local laundress and prostitute.Neil Jordan directed this remake of the 1955 film of Humphrey Bogart with the same title.Too bad that the film came out to be both simplistic and ordinary despite of the talent involved especially when it features De Niro and Penn,two of the best actors in Hollywood; and Jordan,one of the finest director of the industry.There were a lot of boring moments.Also,it just turned out to be somewhat corny and provides minimal laughter in a lot of scenes.Overall,it was definitely a misfire from the cast and the director involved as it does not live up to its potential.