Calendar Girls (2003)

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Directed by Nigel Cole.

Starring Linda Bassett, Annette Crosbie, Helen Mirren, Julie Walters, John Alderton.

Nigel Cole directs the feel-good comedy Calendar Girls, based on the true story of a group of working-class British housewives who became overnight celebrities by posing for a nude calendar in order to raise more than 500-thousand pounds for a new leukemia unit. The film follows the adventures of best friends Chris Harper (Helen Mirren) and Annie Clarke (Julie Walters), both members of the charitable Rylstone Women's Institute in North Yorkshire. After Annie's husband John (John Alderton) succumbs to leukemia, the friends are motivated to take some action. They convince the group to craft a tastefully nude calendar featuring the usual ladies' activities of gardening and baking, as photographed by the young amateur Lawrence (Philip Glenister). Despite the disapproval of the Institute's leader Marie (Geraldine James), the calendar quickly becomes a best-seller and leads the group to Hollywood. Ciaran Hinds appears as Chris' husband Rod Harper. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

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Reviews and discussions

This film needs a fluffer
by usesoap in usesoap Blog

hasn't rated it.

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"It's not that 'The Amateurs' was bad -- how could it be? Just look at that list of names above: Bridges, Danson, Fichtner, Nelson, include Joey 'Pants' Pantoliano and personal crush Judy Greer ('Arrested Development's Kitty). But, man. With two years on the shelf (it was completed in 2005), you would think someone might have been able to, pardon the expression, bring this to a much more satisfying climax.There are bright moments in this tale of a sleepy, no-name town that decides to bond together over making a porno (yes, apparently Yard Sales are so yesterday). It all sounds much crazier than anything on screen, which really feels like a neutered attempt at one of those bawdy-but-sweet British film like The Full Monty or Calendar Girls.It's shy when it should have flirted. It's toothless when it should have a shit-eating grin from ear to ear. And, perhaps most deadly, when it should, ahem, rise to the occasion...it's rather flaccid. " [More]

Calendar Girls
by MovieBabe in MovieBabe Blog

hasn't rated it.

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"By Tricia Olszewski If a movie is based on a true story, can it rightly be accused of ripping off another film? Calendar Girls, it seems, is a case of art imitating life imitating art. The plot follows a group of women, all middle-aged and unashamedly un-nipped/tucked, who decide that the best way to make some money is by taking off their clothes. The women are British and quirky. In their proper Yorkshire town, their brazen act is at first cause for scandal, then celebration. Whatever their inspiration, the real-life women of the Rylstone and District Women's Institute, a social club that gathers for lectures on topics such as "the fascinating world of rugs—and all forms of carpeting," decided to go the full monty in 1998. When John Baker, the husband of one of the group's members, died from lymphoma, the WI added a twist to its annual calendar in order to raise money in his memory: The usual photographic subjects of appropriately decorative sticky buns and pressed flowers ... " [More]

Review by All Movie Guide

All Movie Guide

is neutral about it.

A femme Full Monty (1997), Calendar Girls (2003) mines humor and charm out of the true story of older British women doffing their clothes for charity, despite reverting to perilously trite melodrama in its clumsy second half. Mercifully restrained in portraying the critical illness that provokes these Yorkshire ladies to shake up their comically dull women's club, Calendar Girls lightly builds to the moment of truth, as Helen Mirren's ballsy Chris and Julie Walters' widow Annie corral their friends for the calendar photo shoot that hilariously redefines the meaning of "cheesecake." Once the curse of fame sets in, though, the girls' predictable interpersonal crises and fateful trip to Hollywood sap the energy out of the film, leaving only the performances to save it. Sly, funny, and passionate, Mirren not only turns Chris into a complex blend of ego and sass, but also proves once again that hotness doesn't end at age 40; Walters' low-key strength makes Annie's grief palpable without becoming maudlin. The stellar supporting cast, including Celia Imrie, Annette Crosbie, and Penelope Wilton, deftly shows the fun in throwing modesty (and bras) to the wind. Even with its dramatic weaknesses, Calendar Girls remains enough of a delight for giving so many superb actresses witty, multi-layered roles. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide

Tags: funny , wellplacedfruit , british , Loved-It , naked-old-women
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