It's not naked it's nude. When Annie Clarke's beloved husband succumbs to leukaemia, her best friend Chris comes up with a unique idea for raising funds for the hospital that cared for the dearly departed John. They, and fellow members of the Knapely Womens Institute, will pose in some strategically nude pictures and sell them as a calendar! Based on a true story, and following on from the roaring success of 1997s The Full Monty, it was a story just begging to be adapted for the big screen. Also boasting a shot in the arm for actresses of a certain age, who sadly are bereft of decent cinematic parts, Calendar Girls may not be a masterpiece of homely cinema values, but it certainly warms the cockles and hits an entertaining spot in spite of the laborious last third. The cast are uniformly excellent, Julie Walters, Helen Mirren (gorgeous), Linda Basset, Annette Crosbie and Geraldine James are particularly memorable in telling this tale of a close-knit village quite unsure on how to deal with a touchy subject. From there the press sensationalism arrives and this shifts the girls (and sadly the film) to another plane. The picture manages to be that rare old thing of a comedy drama actually impacting heavy on both fronts. The comedy moments are joyous and flow frequently for the first two thirds of the picture, whilst the touching drama, of what is a serious subject at its core after all, really touches a nerve. Sadly as we enter the final third, the makers tag on an unnecessary dissection of friendships and relationships, and it nearly costs the film dear. It does survive, mainly due to the wonderful cast and the integrity laden point of view, making it a film that once viewed is clearly not going to be forgotten. So in the main we should all hail those wonderful Calendar Girls. 7/10
Another one of those movies I watched decades ago and recently revisited. I enjoyed it just as much as I did the first time. It reminds me of Waking Ned Devine in a way. It contains witty and realistic dialogue and a good percentage of the actors are older. There is a bit more drama in Calendar Girls, but it never submerges into melodrama. I am glad I watched it a second time. It has aged well and is a classic feel old movie.
Another one of those movies I watched back when it came out and recently watched again. Like the women who pose for the calendar, the movie has aged well. My wife and I watch a lot of British tv (for Americans) so we have seen the actresses in many other excellent performances. Calendar a Girls reminds me of another great movie, (Waking) Ned Devine. There is humor, a feel good plot, and a fine ensemble cast. There are a perhaps a couple of more serious subplots in this film, such as Alderton’s character’s illness that gives birth to the calendar fundraiser. The movie is of course based on an actual fundraising calendar undertaken from women aged 45-65. I didn’t research it to see how accurate the plot is as I do in some reality based films, because I just watched it for is entertainment value. So should you.
My dad worked in the motor trade when I was a kid, and I was forever seeing Pirelli or Michelin calendars with scantily clad women on them; hell even the beer cans had them too! Well, it's in a garage that "Chris" (Helen Mirren) spots one and it gives her inspiration. Why? Her best friend "Annie" (Julie Walters) has recently become a widow following the death from cancer of her beloved husband "John" (John Alderton), and they are trying to organise a fund raiser to buy a new sofa for their local hospice. With another vodka tasting already ruled out by their slightly prudish WI President "Marie" (Geraldine James) they have to think out of the box, or in this case out of the bra! Yep, she decides to recruit another eleven of her friends and then rope in Richard Glenister's "Lawrence" as the photographer to create a tasteful yet provocative showcase for their beauty. Of course this isn't a straightforward procedure, there are reservations from "Marie", their husbands and even themselves in the beginning but once they've decided... Up to this point, this grand assembly of British stage and screen talent delivers a pithily written, even brave, look at sexuality amongst the older generations. The dialogue is funny and acutely observational at times, and a really solid cast with Celia Imrie, Annette Crosbie and Penelope Wilton all delivering well into the humorous meleé comes across really well. It's the second part that doesn't work quite so well. A trip to star on the "Tonight" show with Jay Leno sows some seeds of martial and familial discord, and this all rather slows the pace down. Though doubtless faithful to this true story, I just felt we could have done without it and just focussed on the joy - and there is plenty of that - of the thing. There's a good dynamic between Mirren and Walters and even now, twenty years later, this has a potency that has to question whether anyone would do it at all nowadays. It's good fun, this.
Based on a real event, twelve dead bodies are found in the Tula River, we see the events that lead up to the massacre in a tale of crime, vice, corruption and sleaze.
Movie Star Rating : 6.2 Read More
A troubled woman seeks out the child she gave up for adoption; a gay motel owner takes in a handsome drifter; and the wife of a preacher frets that a gay couple has moved in across the street. All of their lives will intersect as Loggerheads subtly draws out their secret losses and desires.
Movie Star Rating : 6 Read More
Six days in the life of Wilhelm: a detached man without qualities. He wants to write, so his mother gives him a ticket to Bonn, telling him to live. On the train he meets an older man, an athlete in the 1936 Olympics, and his mute teen companion, Mignon. She's an acrobat in market squares for spare change.
Movie Star Rating : 6.7 Read More
The true story of John Chapman, a college president who took a sabbatical and went out and got a job as a general laborer, to try to experience life outside his well-ordered but insulated college environment.
Movie Star Rating : 6.5 Read More
Bobby Griffith was his mother's favorite son, the perfect all-American boy growing up under deeply religious influences in Walnut Creek, California. Bobby was also gay. Struggling with a conflict no one knew of, much less understood, Bobby finally came out to his family.
Movie Star Rating : 8.1 Read More
Taking over Leeds United, Brian Clough's abrasive approach and his clear dislike of the players' dirty style of play make it certain there is going to be friction. Glimpses of his earlier career help explain both his hostility to previous manager Don Revie and how much he is missing right-hand man Peter Taylor.
Movie Star Rating : 7.2 Read More
Kingdom of Hawaii, 1866. Fearful that leprosy would spread throughout the archipelago, the king banishes the sick to the island of Molokai. In 1873, the Belgian Catholic missionary Damien de Veuster arrives on the island to help improve the lives of its unfortunate inhabitants.
Movie Star Rating : 4 Read More
During WWII, the United States set up army bases in Great Britain as part of the war effort. Against their proper sensibilities, many of the Brits don't much like the brash Yanks, especially when it comes to the G.I.s making advances on the lonely British girls. One relationship that develops is between married John, an Army Captain, and the aristocratic Helen, whose naval husband is away at war. Helen loves her husband, but Helen and John are looking for some comfort during the difficult times.
Movie Star Rating : 6 Read More
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