We're No Angels (1989)

IMDb plot summary: Two escaped cons only prayer to escape is to pass themselves off as priests and pass by the police blockade at the border into the safety of Canada.

Directed by Neil Jordan. Starring Robert De Niro, Sean Penn, and Demi Moore.

We're No Angels is the 1980s remake of the earlier film of the same name, this time starring Robert De Niro and Sean Penn as two prisoners who escaped along with their much more violent friend and find themselves hiding out in a small town as priests. It's been a long time since I saw the original, but I remember finding it really charming and delightful. For whatever reason, it doesn't work nearly as well here. So much of this hinges on the characters themselves, and there was very little to enjoy in the humor of either our main two or the cast of characters that they interacted with in the town. The jokes were awkward at best, and the character growth and development that you expect on at least some level in this kind of movie just doesn't land at all. All this makes me want to do is go back and watch the original and see if it holds up or if the story as a whole has worn thin. Either way, this one isn't one to prioritize.

How it entered my Flickchart:

We're No Angels < Duel

We're No Angels > She's All That

We're No Angels < Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

We're No Angels < Bridge to Terabithia

We're No Angels > Victor/Victoria (1995)

We're No Angels < The Big House

We're No Angels < Win Win

We're No Angels < Monster

We're No Angels > Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

We're No Angels > The Iceman

We're No Angels < Before I Fall

Final spot: #2589 out of 3617, or 28%.