Calendar Girls (Helen Mirren, Julie Walters)

(Amazon UK link)

It’s ten years since we saw the now classic film ‘Calendar Girls’. We remembered liking it, and of course we remembered the basic outline of the story. But we had forgotten all the detail, so it was more than time to see it again.

The opening scenes show a respectable village, with a thriving Women’s Institute. At every meeting the group sings the song ‘Jerusalem’, accompanied on the piano. The women involved take part in village fairs, and cake-baking contests, and other traditional WI activities.

But two women, good friends, stand out a little from the crowd. They don't really fit in, and they find some of the ceremonies and practises a tad ridiculous. Julie Walters plays Annie, who is worried because her beloved husband is very ill. And Helen Mirren plays Chris, who is something of a rebel. She doesn’t bake, or do anything traditionally associated with the WI. She only belongs to the group as a way to socialise.

Annie’s husband dies, and she wants to do something constructive to raise money for a sofa for the local hospital. A calendar is suggested. The rather dull WI chair has proposed a thematic calendar with local churches. Chris spots a playboy type calendar in a local garage, and suggests that perhaps some of the WI could do something similar, albeit more tastefully. This was the part of the story we remembered and is the main focus of the film.

There’s a lot of humour; Helen Mirren and Julie Walters work well together, with excellent give-and-take. Both are talented actresses, and these roles are very different from others where they are perhaps better known. Despite the sad catalyst for the calendar, the women who agree to be photographed have a lot of fun together. The photographer helps them by suggesting suitable poses, and it all works well. Then they must publicise it, and try to sell at least a thousand in order to break even…

The acting is excellent, the timing is great, and the script is superb. There are some poignant moments early in the story, and also when Chris’s teenage son becomes embarrassed at what’s going on. Then her husband is very tolerant but their business selling flowers is starting to suffer. There were places where we chuckled, several places where we smiled, and more than one place where I felt quite choked up.

All in all we thought it an excellent film. It’s the kind of thing which would perhaps be considered ridiculous… except for the fact that it was based on a true story. One of the ‘extras’ includes interviews with some of the original ‘Calendar Girls’, which we thought was very interesting, and added to the enjoyment of the film.

Definitely recommended. The rating is 12A in the UK, PG-13 in the US. Given that there’s partial nudity (though entirely non-sexual) and some minor bad language, that seems about right. It’s unlikely to be of interest to children or younger teens anyway.

Review copyright 2019 Sue's DVD Reviews