Calendar Girls

Helen Mirren as Chris and Julie Walters as Annie lead the exceptional cast.

The ladies of the local chapter of the Women's Institute meet regularly where they hear lectures from horticulturalists and others who speak on topics that aren't exactly exciting. Annie's Husband John is a nice chap who develops leukemia. Annie and her family and Chris spend a fair amount of time at the hospital waiting on an uncomfortable sofa - the kind of sofa that matches a hospital waiting room with magazines spread out from years past.

The Women's Institute does a calendar every year - usually on some agricultural theme. When John passes away Annie and Chris get the idea to do a different calendar. They want to take tasteful nude photos of themselves and make this the new WI Calendar. Any proceeds they plan to use to replace the worn out old sofa at the hospital.

The Calendar becomes a huge hit, sells tens of thousands of copies, and suddenly the 50-something homebodies are juggling their previous domestic lives along with reporters and offers from Hollywood. The narrative conflict begins in the second act as the families feel neglected and the women begin to have a little friction (Annie, who has just lost John, thinks that Chris is shamefully neglecting her still-living husband.) The third act feels a little rushed. There are many movies that are made a little loooooong, but this film wraps up as if the writer, director and editor looked down at their watches and said "well, we've only got ten minutes left, lads, better wrap things up!" Things are wrapped up - and pleasantly - so I recommend this movie. It probably misses the under-30 demographic entirely, but for anyone who likes the idea that a woman over 50 could be sexy, this movie is a nice shot in the arm.

Viewers might also want to know that the story moves on from broad comedy (no pun there, but thanks) to something rather sad. The conclusion seems almost sit-com-esque in a sudden reconciliation of several relationships, which seems a disservice to the characters.

Given these reservations, why four stars? There's an absolute dearth of "Oceans Eleven" type flicks for women. This is probably as good as is gets for a while, so we may as well enjoy. In addition, Julie Walters is in top form -- worth it just to see her performance. The aristocratic performance of Annette Crosbie ("No front bottom!") added a great deal, as did that of other supporters Linda Bassett, Celia Imrie, Geraldine James, Penelope Wilton, Philip Glenister, and delicious John Alderton. So, in a sense, I award four stars -- if not full stars -- simply for getting this talented and charming lot together.

I viewed this on a home theater with a very large (133") screen and large complement of speakers. Even so, it was difficult to catch all the dialogue. Anyone with the slightest hearing impairment will probably want to use the subtitle feature on the DVD. The large screen was a treat for catching wonderful wide shots of English countryside.

"Calendar Girls" is certainly worth a look, though to my surprise I doubt it is a film I will care about seeing again soon. The film's limitations, despite the hilarious premise and stellar cast, will relegate this one to the back of the shelf.