Calendar Girls: Movie Review, DVD Review (2003)
9/14/2007 Posted by Admin
Nude and loving it (Originally published 2003)
Directed by Nigel Cole, written by Tim Firth and Juliette Towhidi, 108 minutes, rated PG-13.
The Nigel Cole comedy, “Calendar Girls,” is based on the true story of a group of middle-aged Yorkshire women who, in 1999, found the courage to whip off their bras, “get them out” and pose nude for a pin-up calendar.
They did so in an effort to raise money for a hospital charity, one that became close to their hearts after the death of one of their husbands from leukemia.
In the process, the women became internationally famous, selling tens of thousands of calendars, earning the hospital hundreds of thousands of pounds and, at the peak of their fame, landing in Hollywood on an episode of “The Tonight Show” with Jay Leno.
But before fame struck, reality struck first. The women, led by Chris (Helen Mirren) and her best friend, Annie (Julie Walters), whose husband, John (John Alderton), is the man who died of cancer, met the formidable resistance of their women’s club, the Women’s Institute.
It was the WI’s respected support they felt they needed to make their project seem less like softcore porn and more like an honorable endeavor. But wouldn’t you know, a club best known for selling plum jam didn’t exactly fancy the idea of their members baring their own plums for all the world to see.
As written by Tim Firth and Juliette Towhidi, “Calendar Girls” recalls a female version of “The Full Monty,” another British import that dealt with issues of modesty, the difficulty of accepting one’s body image, and the empowerment that can come from realizing that sagging body parts and dimpled buns aren’t the end of the world.
In the recent “Something’s Gotta Give,” Diane Keaton, at 57, also bared it all, thus suggesting that Hollywood might be onto something, a welcome trend of allowing mature women of a certain age to reclaim their sexuality and shine onscreen.
The first half of “Calendar Girls” shines the brightest. It’s spry and mischievous, with Chris, Annie and their small group of daring friends fighting the good fight by agreeing to let it all hang out. The scenes in which they muster the nerve to pose for the photographs are especially funny and crowdpleasing, with the women knocking back a few stiff drinks before disrobing in front of objects--such as frosted, cherry-topped pastries--that artfully conceal what they don’t want to fully reveal.
The second half of the movie isn’t nearly as energetic, as Cole (“Saving Grace”) turns his film into a cautionary tale about the consequences of fame and narcissism. Still, the performances are consistently appealing, particularly those by Mirren and Walter, who ground the movie as often as they send it up. Indeed, these two prove, at least when it comes to calendars, that April doesn’t always have to be the cruelest month.
Grade: B+
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The Nigel Cole comedy, “Calendar Girls,” is based on the true story of a group of middle-aged Yorkshire women who, in 1999, found the courage to whip off their bras, “get them out” and pose nude for a pin-up calendar.
They did so in an effort to raise money for a hospital charity, one that became close to their hearts after the death of one of their husbands from leukemia.
In the process, the women became internationally famous, selling tens of thousands of calendars, earning the hospital hundreds of thousands of pounds and, at the peak of their fame, landing in Hollywood on an episode of “The Tonight Show” with Jay Leno.
But before fame struck, reality struck first. The women, led by Chris (Helen Mirren) and her best friend, Annie (Julie Walters), whose husband, John (John Alderton), is the man who died of cancer, met the formidable resistance of their women’s club, the Women’s Institute.
It was the WI’s respected support they felt they needed to make their project seem less like softcore porn and more like an honorable endeavor. But wouldn’t you know, a club best known for selling plum jam didn’t exactly fancy the idea of their members baring their own plums for all the world to see.
As written by Tim Firth and Juliette Towhidi, “Calendar Girls” recalls a female version of “The Full Monty,” another British import that dealt with issues of modesty, the difficulty of accepting one’s body image, and the empowerment that can come from realizing that sagging body parts and dimpled buns aren’t the end of the world.
In the recent “Something’s Gotta Give,” Diane Keaton, at 57, also bared it all, thus suggesting that Hollywood might be onto something, a welcome trend of allowing mature women of a certain age to reclaim their sexuality and shine onscreen.
The first half of “Calendar Girls” shines the brightest. It’s spry and mischievous, with Chris, Annie and their small group of daring friends fighting the good fight by agreeing to let it all hang out. The scenes in which they muster the nerve to pose for the photographs are especially funny and crowdpleasing, with the women knocking back a few stiff drinks before disrobing in front of objects--such as frosted, cherry-topped pastries--that artfully conceal what they don’t want to fully reveal.
The second half of the movie isn’t nearly as energetic, as Cole (“Saving Grace”) turns his film into a cautionary tale about the consequences of fame and narcissism. Still, the performances are consistently appealing, particularly those by Mirren and Walter, who ground the movie as often as they send it up. Indeed, these two prove, at least when it comes to calendars, that April doesn’t always have to be the cruelest month.
Grade: B+
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