Holy Days review: these nuns on the run deserve better than undercooked road trip through New Zealand

No-one sets out to make a bad film. Really, it’s a miracle that any film actually gets made at all, and, on paper, the new gently comedic road movie Holy Days should have had a head start in the quality stakes. It’s based on the best-selling novel by Joy Cowley, stars a trio of respected screen veterans in Judy Davis, Jacki Weaver and Miriam Margolyes , and benefits from New Zealand’s abundant natural beauty adding free production value. Set in 1974, the plot of this Nathalie Boltt-directed flick involves three nuns - Sister Agnes (Davis), Sister Mary Claire (Weaver) and Sister Luke (Margolyes) - who hit the road with their young chum, Brian (Elijah Tamati), on a last ditch mission to save their crumbling convent, which is in imminent danger of being sold out from under them by the bet-happy Father Findlay (Jonny Brugh) and less than benevolent Bishop Chaytor (John Bach). To make matters worse, the doting Sister Luke is to be put out to pasture at the grim sounding Nazareth House, “where they tie people to the beds”. Brian is struggling to come to terms with the death of his mother, and has thus befriended the aforementioned holy trio via his daily visits to her grave in the cemetery adjacent to the convent. Read more: Tony review: Dominic Sessa sizzles as teenage Anthony Bourdain finding his true calling amid the drunken chaos of summer 1975 Holy Days is in cinemas from today Sadly, somewhere between page and screen, the wheels have come off this cinematic road trip, which is clearly supposed to be a joyous, freewheeling Sunday drive of a movie but ends up limping onto the screen like a car with a punctured radiator hose and a flat tyre. As with so many ill-fated journeys, the problems can be traced back to things that should have been addressed well before setting off - like a decent script. Holy Days is an awkward mishmash of broad, silly comedy (nothing wrong with that, it just needs to actually be funny) and whimsical sentimentality that fails to gel properly. Read more: Jacki Weaver: I do love seeing men transform themselves into drag At least there is some lovely scenery in Holy Days Will the nuns save the convent? Will Brian finally make peace with the loss of his mother? We already know the answers, but sadly Boltt and co fail to find other ways to maintain our interest in lieu of actual dramatic tension. Under-cooked and overly long, sadly, Holy Days can’t hold a candle to Sister Act - or, indeed, Nuns on The Run. Rating: 2/5 Holy Days (12A, 101mins) is in cinemas from today