time off ciao needed for summer , maybe back later on..:)
time off ciao needed for summer , maybe back later on..:)
Member since:30.10.2003
Reviews:23
Members who trust:59
I watched this at the cinema when it came out last year because I was staying with my auntie for ages and she wanted to go and see it, because she’s really into things like groups like the Women’s Institutes. I never realised it was a true story until I went to see it either. It was really enjoyable and I saw it again lately because it has now been released on DVD since February.
The film is based on a true story and it takes place in a village called Napeley, near Skipton in Yorkshire. There are loads of well known actresses in this film like Julie Walters, Helen Mirren and Annette Crosbie who was in “One Foot in the Grave”.
A lot of scenes take place in the village hall in Napely, where the WI meet very regularly, and sing Jerusalem as their sort of anthem. They also have to listen to boring speeches from people who talk about things like the Milk Marketing Board, rug-making and even broccoli (bleagh). Julie Walters who plays Annie, and Helen Mirren, who plays Chris, are very old friends and they find the organiser of the WI a bit boring and humourless they don’t
find the topics she finds for them to listen to very interesting.
Annie’s husband John Clark was a keen gardener and he agreed to do a talk at the WI, which he prepared, but before he has time to do it, he is diagnosed with leukaemia and shortly afterwards he dies. After their shock has died down, it is Chris who does John’s presentation to the WI members. But although this went down well she is still a bit bored with how things are always staying the same and they never do anything different. They have a discussion about the annual calendar and what should go on it and normally it raises about £50 for the WI.
While Chris is out in a local mechanic garage with her son she sees a calendar which has nude models in it and she gets an idea for a calendar, with all the WI ladies in it. She gets this idea because John Clark, whose speech she delivered to the WI, said that it was “The Last Stage of the Flower that is the most Glorious” which he meant could apply to the WI ladies as well as the flowers. But Chrissie has to get all the volunteers for the 12 pages first, and she has to find a photographer too. They want to raise money to buy a new sofa for the relative’s room for the hospital, because the one they had to sit on when John was dying was very old and broken.
This film is quite funny in lots of places and it isn’t sad at all, even though it has a death in it. Some of the scenes with Chrissie and the WI ladies and the organiser are hilarious, especially the way they all come together to support the idea, when the organiser is dead against it. The scenes with the young photographer are also very funny, because some of the women are worried about getting undressed in front of him but eventually they forget about that, and all the husbands are all lost because of what their wives are doing. Chrissie has a son who is about 15 who comes back from school with his friend and finds his mum undressed in the kitchen with a basket full of fruit, and other things happen which make him think his mum is getting too embarrassing for words. But Chris soon starts to put the calendar ahead of her family and her husband gets duped by a reporter. And her son gets depressed with her behaviour and even gets arrested for allegedly possessing drugs too, which is really funny too.
The women, especially Chrissie work very hard to make their calendar a success and get it sponsored by businesses so they can print them, and they are sold immediately. It is very touching when they start receiving sack loads of letters from people who have also had their relatives suffer from cancer, and before too long they are international stars too and they end up in America on the Jay Leno show, and are treated like celebrities.
The fact that it is a true story and the amount of money that the ladies did manage to raise for charity was very impressive, and there are some very touching scenes in it without it being too much of an emotional film. It’s a good film to watch, (especially for the females) although I did found it was a little bit long and I didn’t enjoy the story line as much when they were in America, even though this is important for the overall film too.
And now the hospital has its new sofa too.
(It's a 12 rating and lasts under two hours.)
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Comedy - Director: Tony Dow - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: John Challis, David Jason, Nicholas Lyndhurst, Tessa Peake-Jones, Gwyneth Strong
Comedy - Director: Richard Boden, Mandie Fletcher, Martin Shardlow - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Hugh Laurie, Miranda Richardson, Stephen Fry, Brian Blessed, Tim McInnerny, Tony Robinson, Rowan Atkinson
Comedy - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: Tessa Peake-Jones, Buster Merryfield, David Jason, Nicholas Lyndhurst
I like the sound of this film thanx to your review! I think I might have to hire it out! Or hijack a friends house 2 watch it! Thanx, j x
SRowlands 04.05.2004 00:54
I really wasn't keen on seeing this film - it's not exactly a film for the guys.... but surprisingly I actually quite enjoyed it. Just good, clean "titalating" humor !!
fantasybeliever 24.04.2004 21:46
Can't believe I still haven't got round to watching this! Nice op. Cheers. Christina ;-) x
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Mar 22nd, 2004
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