You may not quite know the name Jeff Baena, but you kind of do already. Baena helped co-write “I Heart Huckabees” with David O. Russell and if you were paying attention, you’ll also know he directed his feature-length indie with “Life After Beth” in 2013 — a hilarious rom-zomcom starring Aubrey Plaza as the zombie girlfriend from hell. He’s also been working at a ridiculously fast clip. 2016 brought the comedy “Joshy,” with Thomas Middleditch (“Silicon Valley”), Adam Pally, Alex Ross Perry, and more. And this year, “The Little Hours” premiered at Sundance to much acclaim, and it’s arriving in the summer.
A raunchy tale of medieval nuns, “The Little Hours” is based on “The Decameron” by Giovanni Boccaccio, and stars Alison Brie, Dave Franco, Kate Micucci, and Baena’s girlfriend Aubrey Plaza. Here’s the official synopsis:
Medieval nuns Alessandra (Alison Brie), Fernanda (Aubrey Plaza), and Ginevra (Kate Micucci) lead a simple life in their convent. Their days are spent chafing at monastic routine, spying on one another, and berating the estate’s day laborer. After a particularly vicious insult session drives the peasant away, Father Tommasso (John C. Reilly) brings on new hired hand Massetto (Dave Franco), a virile young servant forced into hiding by his angry lord. Introduced to the sisters as a deaf-mute to discourage temptation, Massetto struggles to maintain his cover as the repressed nunnery erupts in a whirlwind of pansexual horniness, substance abuse, and wicked revelry.
Also featuring the all-star collective cast of John C. Reilly, Molly Shannon, Fred Armisen, Jemima Kirke, Nick Offerman, Adam Pally, Jon Gabrus, Lauren Weedman, Paul Weitz and Paul Reiser, indie distributor Gunpowder & Sky will release “The Little Hours” in theaters on June 30th.
