Movie Review – Calendar Girls (2003)
Principal Cast : Helen Mirren, Julie Walters, Linda Bassett, Anette Crosbie, Penelope Wilton, Geraldine James, Philip Glenister, Ciaran Hinds, John Alderton, George Costigan, John-Paul McLeod, Harriet Thorpe.
Synopsis: Best friends Chris and Annie are members of a charitable institute. When Annie’s husband succumbs to leukemia, the friends decide to pose nude for a calendar to raise funds for a local hospital.
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If The Full Monty proved that everyday men could successfully headline a film in which they got their gear off, then Calendar Girls does the same for women: in particular, a group of ageing small-town British woman trying to raise money for a new couch to install at the local hospital’s cancer ward. While a nude calendar premise might seem salacious, and a tad prurient for the over-60 crowd, Calendar Girls is based on the true story of a group of women from Yorkshire, England, delighting in its comedic wit and heart-warming messaging. Helen Mirren, Julie Walters and a brilliant all-star cast form the soul of this genuinely entertaining story of female empowerment (and notably body image and autonomy), ageing and friendship, and more particularly grief and loss as it relates to age. Supporting roles to Philip Glenister (Life on Mars), Harriet Thorpe (Absolutely Fabulous) and Ciaran Hinds (Belfast) add to the genteel, almost bucolic feel of the film’s nostalgic British tableau, set in a cute-as-a-button UK village and brimming with sublime British humour mixed with tears.
Saving Grace director Nigel Cole inestimably brings his substantive cast together in a way that feels almost effortless, and half the pleasure of the film is watching these living legends deliver truth to the sparkling Tim Firth/Juliette Towhidi screenplay in a way that evokes sheer joy. Mirren and Walters have the heart and soul of the best friends enduring unimaginable tragedy together, but Cole’s ability to weave a number of subplots and comedic arcs throughout the release of grief in such a profound way is the film’s strongest element. This isn’t an ostentatious movie by any stretch – not until the film’s third act in which our troupe of ageing uber-models voyage to America for a promotional tour, whereby a number of cameos appear! – but rather a reflective one that ruminates on a number of themes prevalent to older viewers. A funny running gag involved Mirren’s on-screen son, played by John-Paul McLeod, continually interrupting his mother at home in a various states of undress, causing him constant teenage embarrassment.
While it might not be an absolute barn-burner for the big screen, Calendar Girls is a charming, heart-in-the-right-place example of terrific British filmmaking that makes fun of itself while also delivering a solid message of uplifting, life-affirming joy. Throw off the shackles of expectations, take on the fear that confronts you, and live life to the fullest every moment you can – hardly a dour sentiment in this cynical, post-terror world, but one that avoids cloying sentimentality by being truthful with just how painful loss and grief can be. A rewarding watch, in every respect.
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