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Hearing medieval nuns swear is good for a laugh or two — but it's not enough to base an entire movie around, as the scattershot comedy "The Little Hours" does.

Set in 14th-century Tuscany — and ostensibly based on Giovanni Boccaccio's novel "The Decameron," from the same era — the story centers on three young nuns in a cloistered convent. Sister Allesandra (Alison Brie) is the spoiled daughter of a wealthy merchant (Paul Reiser) who donates heavily to keep the convent going. Sister Fernanda (Aubrey Plaza) is a foul-mouthed woman who sneaks out of the convent to meet her childhood friend Marta (Jemima Kirke, late of "Girls"). And Sister Ginevra (Kate Micucci, of the comedy team Garfunkel & Oates) is a nosy busybody who tattles everyone else's sins to Sister Marea (Molly Shannon), who runs the convent alongside Father Tommasso (John C. Reilly).

Elsewhere, a servant named Massetto (Dave Franco, Brie's real-life husband) is on the run from his nobleman, Lord Bruno (Nick Offerman), who caught the laborer in bed with his lordship's wife, Francesca (Lauren Weedman). Father Tommasso, in need of a new servant after the sisters ran off the last one, finds Massetto and offers to shelter him at the convent — provided he works for his lodging and pretends to be a deaf-mute. But Massetto's sweaty virility may be more than the celibate sisters can handle.

Director Jeff Baena, who made the Sundance Film Festival hits "Joshy" and "Life After Beth," pushes too heavily on the anachronisms of medieval characters talking in 21st-century cadences, with diminishing returns as the movie goes. With only an outline for a script, Baena counted on his cast to improvise the dialogue — and it turns out all these funny people don't automatically make for a naturally funny movie.

The notable exception is "Portlandia" co-creator and "Saturday Night Live" alumnus Fred Armisen, who delivers a deeply funny performance as a bishop who is shocked at the bad behavior he finds in the convent. Armisen is funny because he creates a fully realized character and because he keeps to a certain structure for making the jokes work — a structure that's in short supply throughout "The Little Hours."

Twitter: @moviecricket —

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'The Little Hours'

Medieval nuns complain and swear in an improvised comedy that wastes the talents of some truly funny people.

When • Tower Theatre.

When • Opens Friday, July 14

Rating • R for graphic nudity, sexual content and language.

Running time • 89 minutes.