Raising Money... Shirts... And Eyebrows!
 Mar 11th, 2004
Advantages:
Splendid story to tell and lovely acting .
Disadvantages:
DVD extras aren't brilliant .
Recommendable:
Yes
Detailed rating:
Did you enjoy it?
Story
Characters / Performances
Special Effects
How does it compare to similar films?
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  Mattroberts
About me:
"There are two things I don't like about you - your face. So why don't you shut both of them&qu...
Member since:13.08.2002
Reviews:207
Members who trust:157
Review rated by 88 Ciao members on average: very helpful 
With an all-star British cast Calendar Girls was bound to be good even if it didn’t have a good story to tell! Julie Walters, the Queen of British Comedy/Drama, and Helen Mirren, the Briton who made it in America, were bound to give a boost to any comedy whatever it was like. Well this time they could have had any Tom, Dick or Harry and it would still be a marvellous films. It would still be comedy genius and one of the best things to come from us Brits for years. It’s the sort of the film that reminds you of home comforts. That reminds you of people you know. And that’s the brilliance about British films – you can relate to the characters much more than in American films. Calendar Girls is yet another British hit to add to the ever-growing list. It’ll be around in years to come and will be a favourite for all… I first intended to see Calendar Girls last October (2003) when it was first released. I’d read the reviews; I’d read about it for months before that, I even remembered reading in the paper about the real thing happening, so I was really looking forward to see it. After a few months of “I’ll go and see it next week…” I found out it wasn’t being shown any longer. So, I eagerly awaited the DVD release to buy it and finally get the chance to see it. After finally getting hold of the DVD I, at long last, had the chance to see it, and on a quite non-eventful afternoon I finally sat down and watched it… and boy was I glad I did!
■■ Buns on Show ■■
Calendar Girls is based on the true events that occurred several years ago in a small town in Yorkshire. It’s a touching tale that anyone will fall for the first time they see it. When Annie’s (Julie Walters) husband dies of Leukaemia, her and best friend Chris (Helen Mirren) aim to raise money to buy a new sofa for the local hospital after suffering hours of discomfort in the uncomfortable falling-to-bits chair that was there already that they suffered in for hours whilst waiting to see John (Annie’s husband). Being loyal members of the W.I. there wasn’t much they could do to raise money quickly and after raising only £80 on their last Calendar, what could they do? So, when Chris came up with the idea of them posing for the calendar everyone thought
it was a great idea. Until they found out there’d be lacking one little thing in the photos… their clothes! And here the madness, fun and wit of Calendar Girls really begins. The highs the lows and the fun of the 11 middle-aged women posing nude for a calendar. All of the women are petrified, so when it comes to “gowns off girls” it isn’t so easy as it seems. But when the Calendar becomes really big that is when their friendship is really put to the test…
■■ Raising Money… And Eyebrows ■■
The best part of Calendar Girls is the reaction of the locals in their hometown. Some are very proud of what they’re dong and others aren’t too pleased. Each woman’s marriage is put to test and we see how each husband deals with his wife’s newfound “fame”. The most interesting of marriages was that of Ruth’s (played by Penelope Wilton). We can see there is trouble between her and her husband before she does the calendar yet it all isn’t brought to the surface until afterwards. It’s as if, after doing the shoot, Ruth has found strength to do what she’s always wanted to do but hasn’t been able to – stand up to her husband. It does give each woman a new essence – a new beginning in a way. Because even if their lives don’t change (and most of their does) they have found a new friendship between eleven people who will share a bond for the rest of their lives. And that’s why you’ll find that Calendar Girls is much more than women “past their sell by date” stripping. As it’s rightly put in the film it’s art. And it’s also life changing – in a good way.
■■ Talented Girls ■■
Something that made the film even more special than it already was was certainly the acting. Annette Crosbie came across wonderfully in the film as the innocent OAP who wanted her last crack at fun. And that’s what each and every woman in the film did well. They played the naivety of the characters wonderfully. Celia Imrie was wonderful as the middle-class woman who was the most scared out of them all. A great scene was when she was posing in front of ice buns and when she took off her robe Chris joked – “I think we’re going to need considerably bigger buns!” Helen Mirren did play her part well. I was surprised that she was the witty one. She was the one that had the laughs while Julie Walters was the more serious one. I’ve seen Julie do serious acting many times, but I was surprised that she was serious in a comedy. I don’t think that Helen Mirren did as well as Julie could have done, but she was a good substitute. She was the character I probably liked least, but she did play her part excellently.
■■ From Yorkshire to… Hollywood ■■ I wasn’t sure, when watching, how far the film would go following the story of the women. I was glad that it followed the women to America, because it did give much more insight in to each character and we saw how they dealt with the aftermath of the entire goings on. I thought their visit to America was crucial in understanding the characters. We got to see them deal with fame. Deal with the limelight. There was some change in some of them, and not in the others. All in all, though, they were so shocked that people were treating them so kindly. What Calendar Girls does, more so than other film, is go deeper into people’s relationships. Into people’s characters. After watching the film you’ll feel as if you know the people in it so well, and as if they’re a real friends. Calendar Girls is so similar to real life – in so many ways – that you’ll easily grow to love the characters. Along with the film itself.
■■ DVD extras ■■
■ The Naked Truth ■
The Naked Truth is a fifteen-minute documentary interviewing the real Calendar Girls. They take us along the journey they actually went through and their story is backed up by clips from the film. It’s very insightful; because what I got from the documentary was that there wasn’t much likeness between reality and film. There were certainly things that were similar, but it was merely based on real events rather than the exact imitation of what really happened. As well as interviews with the real Calendar Girls there are interviews with the cast and they talk of their experience with the film. I enjoyed watching this after the film, and I felt that it answered all the questions that were left unanswered after watching the film. It gave me all the facts about what really happened that gave me the right to be able to compare actual events and the film. It was great to watch and a brilliant extra, in my opinion. ■ Creating The Calendar ■
This is a short look at how each actress shot their photo on the calendar, and how it was made to look like the real life photo. Interviews are with some of the actresses and also the photographer himself who spent seven days, in total, shooting only twelve photos. This short documentary isn’t very long (5 minutes tops) and isn’t a very important piece to watch, but is still rather interesting. It’s not something I’d want to see after watching the film, but I suppose it can still be enjoyed if there’s nothing else to. ■ Deleted Scenes ■
I actually found the Deleted Scenes rather interesting. There was one scene in particular that saw Chris late for a funeral, and she was making the flowers for the funeral. The scene sees Chris running through a crowd of people and the coffin and the family car, knocking on the family car and asking them if “this is alright?” and pointing to a flowers printing out “Mum”. To me it seemed very disrespectful and it wasn’t funny but rather morbid. I think to add that to the film would’ve made Chris’ character a completely different person, and would have made her character much more selfish, and I think I’d have disliked her even more. It was going too far. This shows, though, that there was good editing. There are four deleted scenes altogether, each lasting around 3 minutes maximum.
All in the entire DVD extras were satisfactory. I really enjoyed The Naked Truth and parts of the Deleted Scenes, but I felt that The Creating Of The Calendar and Deleted Scenes were only added in for extra reasons. They weren’t really needed, and The Naked Truth was the only element that was really good. Saying this, I give the DVD Extras almost top marks because of how insightful The Naked Truth was. Without it, it would’ve been better without any extras at all.
■■ British Delight ■■
Calendar Girls itself is a film for everyone. Once in a while a film crops up that Granny, Granddad, Dad, Mum, Daughter, Son, Grandson and Granddaughter can go along together and see and laugh out loud and enjoy. This is one of them. Not to enjoy Calendar Girls is almost impossible and despite what some people may say about it not being much cop don’t listen to them. It’s the best thing that Julie Walters has done since Educating Rita, and the best thing you’ll see this year. Don’t miss it. Buy it, rent it, do whatever you can to get hold of a copy; you won’t regret it.
Buy it for £13.99 from Amazon.
© Matt Roberts 2004
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![Calendar Girls [DVD] [2003]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78498835.jpg)
by (24%):
by (1%):
29.12.2005 23:47
good review thanks
23.06.2004 18:10
I think this film is brilliant and so is your review.
03.06.2004 00:29
Another exceptional review of a film that got a lot of good press. I never actually went to see it however, so I suppose I should get the DVD out some time :P - Karl