| Product: |
Calendar Girls (DVD) |
| Date: |
02/10/03 (1519 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: A strong cast, Mature women bearing all and looking great, British comedy done well
Disadvantages: A loss of focus towards the end of the film, Longevity of the film may be dictated by how quickly people forget the real story, Sub-plots could have been better explored to reach the full running time
There are some films that are quintessentially English in their mixture of pathos and humour. When done well, these films hold a certain charm and inoffensiveness that can appeal to a large range of audiences, often including those located on the other side of the fishpond. Problems sometimes arise when these type of films attempt to cater to our American friends a little too much, and don't quite manage to hit that the tricky balance that makes the film truly appealing to either audience. Thankfully, with 'Calendar Girls' director Nigel Cole has managed to hit the spot, doing justice to a film based on the real events of Rydesdale, Yorkshire, that appealed to the media and general public alike.
Tipped as the next 'Full Monty', this film comes the closest to any of the many films that have been given that tag in recent years. Not only does it contain mild nudity, and a superb cast, but it also utilises a script that wittily pokes fun at British hang-ups about the decency in exposing our bodies. Although the story does contain moments of sorrow that give the story depth, this time social commentary isn't its focus; managing to give the story a lightness that never becomes bubble-gum or saccharine sweet.
The story starts with Chris (Helen Mirren) and Annie (Julie Walters), laughing like school-children at the mind-numbingly dull lectures that fill their local WI's schedules. As the month's pass by tragedy begins to fall into their generally happy lives. Annie's husband, John, contracts cancer and dies. Soon the yearly WI calendar is being planned and Chris begins to hatch a plan that will hopefully raise enough money to buy a new sofa for the family room of the hospital in which John died. Needing to raise more money than last year's local churches calendar the duo attempt to do justice to John's memory. His view was that Yorkshire women and flowers are similar because the last stage is the most
beautiful. Time to strip ladies - in a tasteful fashion of course! The only problem may be finding enough women willing to fill the calendars pages... and getting the stuffy WI to allow them to go ahead.
The quality of the acting within this film is the major key to 'Calendar Girls' success. Not only are Walters and Mirren exceptional in creating a pair who you truly feel have been friends for years, but casting each against type is wonderfully refreshing. In this case it is Mirren playing the loud, brash and charismatic Chris, and Walters providing the emotional depth as the quieter, slightly more introverted Annie - providing true heart to the story through their effortless relationship on screen.
Complementing the two main players are a cast of Britain's most wanted mature actresses. Annette Crosby ('One Foot in the Grave'), Celia Imrie (Bridget Jones' Diary), and other instantly recognisable actresses such as Penelope Wilton and Geraldine James. Each help to evoke a feeling of female camaraderie in the calendar girls' relationships. (And leaving me wondering if the fact that these women had undoubtedly worked together before had added to this atmosphere.) The able support is not only provided by the women, but also by the 'husbands', who include Ciaran Hinds as Chris' neglected husband and a touchingly humorous John Alderton as Annie's dying husband.
A great deal of the appeal of this film is that the events depicted are familiar to most, if not all viewers - with the calendar girls receiving enough media attention that they even achieved some publicity Stateside. Many will feel a certain fondness for a real story that caught the public imagination. (Although this may also limit its long-term appeal, as the story disappears from public consciousness.) At the time it was refreshing to see that real women, with curves and wrinkles that made them equally as stunning as their page
their
counterparts, were confident and proud enough to show their bodies for the sake of a good cause. Not only that, but in a society that idolises youth, they proved that maturity is beautiful.
Despite this being, on the whole, an excellent film that is well executed, it does suffer a little loss of focus when many of the women depart from their sleepy North Yorkshire village. It almost felt like a little padding had been slipped in to make the film reach its 108 minute running length despite some interesting sub-plots that could no doubt have been extended. However, this slight flaw is one that can easily be forgotten due to the satisfying feel of the films final stages.
Only Nigel Cole's second feature film, (the first being 'Saving Grace'), it may come as no surprise to many that he directed the first series of 'Cold Feet'. Mainly attracting a female audience, this is a film that will interest those who enjoyed that series for its particular brand of humour, and also to many who have been looking for a genuine successor to 'Full Monty'... just minus grit and blokes...
...oh... and some may quite like to see Mirren's breasts and a few assorted fruity buns!
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