Customer Reviews

Calendar Girls

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

what a hoot and holler with this very funny movie and hilarious story line. Even thought of bringing that idea
into my town and get a group of gal friends and make a calendar...you'll enjoy this and laugh and react
to the friendship this town has and some very stiff gals that is against it at the beginning. Imagine baring all
for a calendar, I'd do it, it's so laughable in the families and the men!....well you know how they'd react
and that's even greater in the storyline....Amazon has all you need in books and movies and always you can find
something good especially Calendar Girls -

I like to see movies where ordinary folks do extraordinary things, and Calendar Girls pulls this off with a little heart and a twinkle of the eye.

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.

Telling a story about a group of people is difficult. It can be hard for a story to find focus and it can be hard to wrap up without seeming to leave subplots dangling. That, in a nutshell, is what I found problematic about this movie.

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 incredible story of "Calender Girls" is based on the truth. In 1999, the fifty-something women in small Yorkshire town decided on making an annual calender for the local Women's Institute ... this time, in nude. In spite of the husbands (who just didn't believe they mean it), the plan turned out a great success, selling more than 300,000 copies that year. In "Calander Girls" able all-British cast bring the life and charm into this story, making it a very funny comedy drama.

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?

Calendar Girls (Nigel Cole, 2003)

Nigel Cole's first feature to find wide acceptance on the left side of the Atlantic is a true gem, the kind of film we don't see nearly enough of (and, as Cole's next feature stars Ashton Kutcher, are not likely to see again in the foreseeable future).

Annie (Julie Walters; all you need to know is she played the Wife of Bath) and John (John Alderton, who divides his time evenly between comedies of this stripe and television mystery miniseries; also played James Herriott a while back) have been married pretty much forever and are the best of friends. John, however, is in the terminal stages of leukemia, and kept it a secret from Annie until very close to death. Annie and her closest childhood friend, Chris (Prime Suspect douenne Helen Mirren), hit on an idea to raise money to buy a new couch to replace the horrible one at the hospital: they'll recruit some of the other Women's Institute crowd and do the world's first nude calendar featuring, shall we say, women who have gotten on in years.

It is hysterically funny, tear-inducing, and moves exceptionally quickly; when the shooting happens twenty minutes into a hundred-minute film, the viewer is left wondering how on earth they're going to fill another eighty minutes. And here is perhaps the film's biggest and most wonderful present to the viewer; the last eighty minutes of this film fly by at light speed. Getting to the photography (and Helen Mirren unclothed, which has been a welcome sight in cinema for the past quarter century) was the hard part. Once you get past it and into the lives of these women, the movie becomes utterly absorbing.

Much of this has to do with the amazing raft of talent assembled for this film. When Graham Crowden (of Waiting for God fame) is relegated to a minor role and gets less than two minutes of screen time (albeit with one of the movie's dead funniest lines), you know you've got a major cast. They happen to include Celia Imrie (Gormenghast), Annette Crosbie (Underworld, Wyrd Sisters), Linda Bassett (The Hours), Ciaran Hinds (Prime Suspect), Geraldine James (White Teeth), and I could go on for a thousand words just like this.

Don't expect anything terribly deep, of course. But for sheer entertainment value, Calendar Girls is easily one of the best films to have been released in 2003. ****

I am finding whenever this movie, Calendar Girls, is being discussed, there is no middle ground opinion wise-- you either loved it or you hated it.

For those who loved it, bravo and hurry up and buy this DVD. For those who "hated" the concept or the movie, Calendar Girls, I strongly recommend you watch it again and take the blinders off this time around! You may actually learn something and enjoy it in the process.

To dismiss "Calendar Girls" as just another fluffy and meaningless "chick's movie" is to miss out on a movie that is making a very powerful statement on what can be done when women of a "certain age" set their minds to it.

The fact that this group of plucky ladies managed to raise over a million dollar for leukemia research is an awesome thing in itself, but also that they are able to show successfully that older nudity can be beautiful as well is what makes this movie special. Forget all that "MILF" crap..."nude" is definitely better and more dignified than mere "naked" will ever be. I agree with what "John Clark" says about we older women and sunflowers: the final stage is the most glorious! And like sunflowers, it is time that we stand tall and proud and "strut our stuff" wrinkles, cellulite and all...both on film and in real life. Not every woman is Joan Collins nor wants to be pressured to look like her. I, for one, am happy to see Julie Walters and Helen Mirren starring in this flick. I think they do an excellent job of throwing off the stereotype of the "disappearing, uninteresting stodgy 50-something" and I am especially pleased that they are not trying to look like 50 going on 21.

As far as I am concerned,this movie is a beacon in a foggy mist of information regarding midlife, and it's leading the way for those of us who are venturing into midlife and offering uplifting and positive yet realistic alternatives of how to look at our selves, our bodies, our values, and our goals.

Most importantly, I am pleased to see that there are more and more films being produced that don't allow women over 40 to just "disappear." We don't disappear in real life, so why should we "just go away" on film? Of course, one has to wonder why folks are suprised when 40-50-60 or even 70-somethings have interesting lives. After all, aren't they the generations who took to the streets and marched for civil rights, women's liberations and other rights we enjoy today?

One warning, though: watching this movie will make you tempted to walk around speaking in a "Yorkshire" accent, and start secretly looking up the telephone numbers for "glamour photographers" in your local yellow pages LOL. Just kidding. No, it won't but watching it will give you a more positive impression on women in midlife and how we are handling our "power surge!" but don't just listen to me-- rent it, and better still BUY the movie as well as the charity calendar for which the topic of the movie is about!

Altered slightly for maximal cinema effect, Calendar Girls tells the now well-known story of some rural British housewives who made a girly calendar (instead of a calendar with tea towels or flowers or cats) as their annual fundraiser. Annie's husband died of cancer, and her friend Chris (can Helen Mirren do anything less than wonderfully??) is determined to raise money for the hospital where he was treated.
There are some overplayed spots (the woman whose husband was obviously cheating on her from the beginning of the movie, and her reaction), some underplayed spots (the resolution of Chris's husband and teenage son's reactions to her sudden fame/notoriety), and some that feel a fit forced (the wedge that fame drives between Annie and Chris), but for the most part the film treads the line between sweet and treacly with a fine and humorous hand.
Besides the lovely B/W photos (with just the splash of a sunflower in each shot) of the women and the heartwarming storyline itself, there's the lovely English countryside to enjoy. Definitely worth watching.

"Calendar Girls" is a fictionalized account of the events surrounding the publication, in 1999, of a nude calendar featuring the ladies of the Rylstone Women's Institute of North Yorkshire, England. The calendar caused a media sensation in Great Britain and the United States on account of its photographs of women of a certain age performing quaint everyday tasks in the buff. In the film, Chris (Helen Mirren) organizes the calendar to raise money on behalf of her best friend Annie's (Julie Waters) husband, who is dying of leukemia. "Calendar Girls" dramatizes the challenges of convincing a group of middle-aged and older women to pose nude, garnering support for the project, and coping with the resulting flood of international publicity.

The cast is well-suited to their roles. The characters are all appealing. But "Calendar Girls" takes too much time to get off the ground and moves very slowly once it does. This "dramedy" isn't nearly as funny as it should be. It's just bland. The story of the WI calendar is really more interesting than this film.

As for "Calendar Girls" accuracy, this really is a fictionalized account. The characters do not represent real people specifically, except for Chris and Annie, who are based loosely on real women. Any strife between characters in the film is dramatic license. The calendar's photographer was not a stranger, but one of the ladies' husbands. The calendar was indeed intended to raise money for a local hospital's cancer ward on behalf of Angela Baker's husband, John Baker, to whose memory "Calendar Girls" is dedicated. And a similar 2004 calendar featuring the actresses in this film has been released as a further fund-raiser for charity.

The DVD: Bonus features include two mini-documentaries and four deleted scenes. "The Naked Truth" is a 15-minute documentary about the real story behind the infamous calendar. It features interviews with the women who organized and graced the pages of the calendar and its photographer, following the calendar's story from its genesis to this film's premiere. "Creating the Calendar" is a 6-minute short about filming the nude scenes and photographing the calendar for the movie. Captions are available in English, subtitles in Spanish. And dubbing is available in French.

I had read that "Calendar Girls" is the female version of "The Full Monty," but I did not see it that way at all. It is more of a woman's anthem--a strong affirmation of self by middle-aged women who refuse to be buttonholed as "grannies."

Based on a real-life story, the plot surrounds a group of Yorkshire, UK women's club members whose annual charity calendar takes on a new meaning when one of their own loses her husband to leukemia. Instead of the same-old dreary photos of churches and flowers, a maverick group within the club decides to pose nude in the hopes that the calendar will earn enough money to buy new furniture for the family waiting room at the local hospital.

None of these very proper women has stripped before; in fact, many refuse to view their own bodies, let alone show them to others. But despite their real fears and modesty, they do it anyway--with very surprising results.

It's a sweet story with a wonderful ending: The real-life calendar girls, as of the making of this movie, have earned over $500,000 for leukemia research! Which brings me to the extras: I found the interviews with the actual women who posed to be absolutely fascinating. And it's amazing how like the women the actresses in the film turned out to be, especially Helen Mirren, who was brilliant in her role as the "ringleader" of the group.

This DVD is defniitely a keeper, and I highly recommend it.

I went into watching CALENDAR GIRLS dreading it might be a female rip-off of THE FULL MONTY. No need to fear, because the movie is about a lot more than aping a successful indie formula. The movie centers on a group of women of Rylstone Women's Institute in North Yorkshire, England who through a tragedy decide to raise money for a hospital with their annual calendar. The only catch? These well-aged women are going to pose in the buff with strategically placed items of household drudgery hiding the naughty bits and pieces. And when the calendar comes out? They all have to deal with the infamy that comes along with posing nude. And deal with success as well! Or new found confidence.

It is a story rich dramatically and still just plain funny. The nudity is tasteful, and not all that revealing. Think Dianne Keaton's SOMETHINGS GOT TO GIVE flash, and you get the idea. And Helen Mirren and a STRONG cast give it all a dignified English air that plays well. I really loved this movie. It made me smile widely! And hammered home the message that beauty is in ALL forms. Everybody has a shine to them, and the 50 MOST BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE are the ones with the courage to make fun of themselves and smile all the while. No body doubles here either! Yea for them! Brave women with "bigger buns!".

The DVD is a special treat. You get a documentary on the real life CALENDAR GIRLS who look a lot like their film counterparts. You also get to see the movie cast MAKING the calendar! Okay, maybe just TALKING about making it. Also you get some deleted scenes, and assorted trailers.

I'm getting sunflowers for my house just to remind me of people that always reach for the sun! Very nice image. We need more movies like this -- celebrating wisdom and friendship. And hey - it's just simple fun.