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.

The story's center is Helen Mirren's Chris, who is fed up with the "respectable" activities of WI. When her best friend Annie's husband dies, however, Chris thinks of a radical idea of rasing money for the sofa to donate to the hospital -- nude calender featuring themselves. She and Annie (Julie Walters, best known as Ron's mom in "Harry Potter"), at first fearfully, then confidently carries on the plan, and around them come nine other ladies to make the unique selection of "Calender Girls."

The story may look as if a rip-off of "Full Monty," but the strength of "Calender Girls" is that it happened in reality. Both films, interestingly, have something to do with liberating themselves from the hundrum life, like the five naked guys in "Monty," the ladies here gradually start to shine. You might say, perhaps naturally: "How come doing nudity can be related to being free in spirit?" Sure, but after watching the delightful sequences of "Calender Girls," you will believe it can.

And the charms of the film come mainly from the cast and very funny (I mean, in the British way) dialogues. The surprise casting of Helen Mirren (NOT Julie Walters) as talkative and rather flamboyant Chris pays off tremendously, as you will see in the many wonderful scenes -- see, for example, how Chris consoles Annie in hospital -- and from these scenes, you soon know the film is going to be a success. And it is.

The film is slightly guilty of over-dramatizing the real-life events, which must have been less eventful as they are described now. The episodes in Hollywood are weak, without which the film could stand on its own.

But the fact remains -- it is quite refreshing to see these ladies (who belong to Women's Institute) changing the conventional images of UK, and in that "Calender Girls" is full of impact, and fun, which is best represented by the line: "I am 55 years old, if I'm not gonna get them out now, when am I?" Charming, isn't it?