Calendar Girls (2003)

Women from rural England, members of the Women's Institute, released a saucy calendar of themselves in various stages of undress as a fund-raiser for medical causes. They had a good laugh doing it, and the calendar had its 15 minutes of fame, helping to boost the contribution to charity beyond a million quid.

A soundbite of a story, but hardly a film. No matter, as director Cole and screenwriters Juliette Towhidi and Tim Firth assuredly pad out the story with the usual conflicts and obstacles; the supportive husband undone by a mis-placed word, the campaigning middle-aged woman more interested in her own glory than the charitable cause, the pubescent teenager whose mum finds his scuddy mags, the shy photographer suddenly presented with shooting nudes... The triumphs, setbacks and redemptive arcs are all there. Depending on your mood, the film either pays off handsomely on its genre promise, or is clichéd and formulaic. As has become standard in this kind of material (again, depending on your mood, you can thank or blame Working Title), there is a UK-USA contrast, conjured up when the women visit a US chat show and experience the thrill of America, Crocodile Dundee style - big cars, big baths, big everything. The film wears its Britishness on its sleeve; the women enjoy a tai-chi session, but end on the line "Let's go and have chips." Husbands evacuate to the pub. Tabloid journalists are underhand snakes.

Walters and Mirren are a formidable pair, backed up by some seasoned pros such as John Alderton. The film is winsome, almost amusing at times. The tone is light, sentimental (in a good sense), melodramatic. It is based on a true story, and that makes a difference - in fact, the most fun I had was watching the DVD extras when the real Women's Institute ladies talk about their experiences.

Calendar Girls is a genre film, ticking off all the boxes. It is harsh to say that sometimes it seems like an extended Doc Martin episode, but not unwarranted. What some people call twee, others label delightful. Caledar Girls has found its audience, and in spades. Sometimes, I am one of them.

Fmovies: It is unfortunate that Calendar Girls isn't the sort of movie that gets nominated for Oscars because, in my opinion (for what that's worth) this movie would have won hands down!

It is good, clean fun without needing any of the profanity or gratuitous sex or violence that seems to define nominated films these days. Yet is ISN'T "sanitized" or ridiculously "cleaned up" for family viewing - and, what's more, it's based on a true story!

I laughed myself to tears at everyday little incidents that were just SO believable and, to be honest, anyone who didn't thoroughly enjoy Calendar Girls has a severe mental disability where they they live in a fantasy world full-time!

This is one of those very few movies that you can watch again and again and still laugh your head off. Just the thing to brighten your day if you're feeling down.

Although I prefer the older films of the forties and fifties, I was quite touched by this one. Beautifully filmed in the "ee by gum" country of Northern England ( and with the sun, to boot ), this was a real pleasure for the eyes. I went to school in Lancashire so many of the sights were familiar to me ( though this was Yorkshire ) but the countryside is similar and apparently less wet than Lancashire, being to the east of the Pennines. The theme of the film was an interesting one and shows that you don't have to be young to be sexy - I found all our ladies very sexy and the calender had very good taste - it was delightfully erotic and not pornographic at all. The film reminded me of Billy Elliot ( also made in Ee by gum country ) but I liked that less and Full Monty which I found far less interesting. Like French Cinema, British Cinema nowadays doesn't produce many lively and interesting films - that prize falls to the Americans - but just once in a while, a little gem is produced ( other examples are Notting Hill and Four Weddings and a Funeral ). calendar Girls was just such a gem and I was very happy to discover it. I was also pleased to see Annette Crosbie from "One Foot In The Grave" whom I adore as an actress as I do Julie Walters whom I found most attractive in Educating Rita and who seems even lovlier in Calendar Girls. Bravo !

Calendar Girls fmovies. In the small town of Knapely, Yorkshire, England, Annie Clarke (Julie Walters) has just lost her husband, who was ill with leukemia. Inspired in his speech to the local Women's Institute, where he said that "the flowers of Yorkshire are like the women of Yorkshire", and "the last phase of the women of Yorkshire is always the most glorious", her best friend Chris Harper (Helen Mirren) decides to make a calendar with twelve local middle-age women nude to raise funds for the wing of leukemia treatment in the local hospital. The calendar becomes well succeeded, making them famous and affecting their lives.

"Calendar Girls" is a good dramatic comedy, with an interesting screenplay and great performances of Julie Walters and Helen Mirren. It becomes funnier because of the behavior clichés of the British husbands. I found hilarious the scene of the breakfast, when the husband tells his wife that she is nude in the newspaper, and then he asks for the bacon. This movie is a good entertainment. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Garotas do Calendário" ("Calendar Girls")

Greetings again from the darkness. Director Nigel Cole delivers a charming, touching, funny story with a message. Based on the true story of a few society women in England who decide to do a quasi-nude calendar to raise money for a cancer center. The well-known story itself holds few surprises, but the cast is so wonderful and the dialogue so crisp that one can't help but enjoy the film. Helen Mirren ("Gosford Park") and Julie Walters ("Educating Rita") lead the mostly female cast who bare it all ... sort of. As much as I liked the film, I do believe the two leads should have flipped roles to make this even more effective. Also, the pacing is true British, as many of the lines are missed due to U.S. audience out-loud laughter. Be forewarned if you see it in a full theatre ... you will miss a few lines. A wonderful movie for all ages and both sexes!

Based on a true story. There is a Women's Institute in Yorkshire England, a tiny little town. The Institute decides to raise money for new furniture for a local hospital. They decide the only way to raise money is do a nude calendar with members. The problem is all the members are 50+! The calendar is done and is a roaring success. The film focuses on some of the women and how the calendar affects their families and personal lives.

Whimsical is the best way to describe this. It's one of those British comedies that has few laughs, but is very lighthearted and has some serious drama in it. I can't say I loved the movie--the script, while well-written, is scattershot and the light, low-key tone was TOO low-key for me. And some story lines are brought up (one of the women has a cheating husband) and are never resolved. Still, there were some good laughs in it and there is some just beautiful views of (I'm assuming) Yorkshire. Especially incredible is a view of the entire town from on top of a huge rock overlooking the area.

Also we have some wonderful British actresses playing in the lead roles. The two best were Helen Mirren (who's just great--again) and Julie Walters (who looks absolutely stunning). Also this is one of the few films that celebrates the sexuality of women who are 50+. How many movies do you you see like that nowadays? Of course this is a British film--Hollywood would NEVER tell a story like this. Also the film does have some fairly explicit glimpses of female nudity--but they're not sexual in context and ARE needed for the integrity of the story.

I'm giving this a 7.