Calendar Girls (DVD)

Calendar Girls is one of those feel-good, gentle comedy movies which one can actually enjoy quite unashamedly as it doesn`t err to heavily on the side of simplification. Moreover, it is based on a true story (which received a lot of publicity in its time) which nicely deflects any complaints of providing a rose-tinted view of reality. The starting premise, albeit amusing in a one-off way, is not that terribly promising: a dissident faction of a ...
...the annual calendar by posing for it naked. No, excuse me, not naked: nude. What resulted, however, is an account that is well-scripted and well-played, funny, heart-warming, entertaining and even providing some mild food for thought. The story develops very briskly, and despite being largely charcter-driven, the film maintains a surprising amount of suspense. Even a viewer familiar (as it was with me) with the general outcome would often be, perhaps ...

magdadh 26.10.2004 · Read full review
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Review of Calendar Girls (DVD)

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 ...
...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 ...

Mattroberts 11.03.2004 · Read full review
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Review of Calendar Girls (DVD)

...there's a difference you know) calendar for charity. Thus the two dissidents of decorum set about conscripting the help of their (mostly) reluctant WI friends, and before we know it we're in Annie's kitchen watching an emancipated, if somewhat abashed Celia (Celia Imrie) concealing her modesty behind an extremely amusing composition of iced buns. Before long the calendar turns from local commotion to national sensation, and eventually international, ...
...is only hinted at in the film, as are many of the more major issues which the story raises concerning the impact of the sudden and unexpected celebrity status of these otherwise respectable, and fairly normal women. Despite this however, the film remains immensely pleasing from start to finish, and succeeds because it does simply what it sets out to do; tell the story of a few otherwise ordinary women doing something quite remarkable for a cause ...

Spiderkid 08.09.2005 · Read full review
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Review of Calendar Girls (DVD)

...imagine us stuffy Brits .’ Calendar Girls’ was that 2003 flick!. Unlike ‘Four Weddings’ and ‘Bridget Jones’, this is based on a true story as most of you will know, so avoided feeling like three tiresome Middle Class situation comedies stuck together with Tescos ‘super-grip’ glue like the above. Yes some English girls do have big bottoms and go to lots of weddings looking for suitors and Chardonnay, ...
...at best you know guys, Calendar Girls has genuine wholesome belly laughs!. # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # The Plot # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # Chrissie (Helen Mirren) and Annie (Julie Walters) slouch on the back seats of the local Napely W.I, bored with making jam and knitting tea cosies. Chrissies mission to liven up things with vodka tasting evenings and cutting very big corners in the national sponge finals are not everyone’s cup of ...

talktothehand 19.03.2004 (20.03.2004) · Read full review
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Review of Calendar Girls (DVD)

...local WI prints a fund-raising calendar featuring innocuous photos such as churches and flowers that earns the group about 40 quid. Inspired by her teenage son’s pornographic magazine and a Page Three Girl calendar in the local auto body shop, Chris decides to create a sexy calendar featuring middle-aged women. The idea scares many of the women in the WI at first, but Chris assures them, “It’s not naked; it’s NUDE!” In addition to struggling to recruit ...
...the actual shooting of the calendar occurs fairly early on in this film. I guess director Nigel Cole figured that many people would be familiar with the story of the real life calendar girls (the film is based on a true story), so it would be pointless to try to make the movie suspenseful. So, for those of you looking for an action-filled movie, you’re looking in the wrong place. The conflicts are mainly interpersonal, as we know from the start that ...

OKkaraoke 23.02.2004 · Read full review
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Review of Calendar Girls (DVD)

...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 ...
...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 ...

ickkate 03.08.2004 · Read full review
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Review of Calendar Girls (DVD)

...but in the case of Calendar Girls she was so adamant that I would like it that I eventually gave in to her constant quizzing as to why I still hadn’t watched it. The film is based on a true story about how a small group from the Women’s Institute decided to add a bit of spice to their ordinary calendar in an attempt to raise money to purchase a sofa for the local hospital where Annie’s (Julie Walters) husband John (John Alderton) lost his fight ...
...incorporate the old WI style calendar containing photos of cakes, knitting and the like but for her and her fellow members to pose nude in the photographs to raise the profile of the calendar and with it enough money to fund their goal. What I liked about the film is that rather than dwell on the tragic death of John and the disease itself they concentrate on making the film a celebration of the extraordinary achievements of the women and the sales ...

Benniash 24.02.2004 · Read full review
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Review of Calendar Girls (DVD)

...from the WI's president, the calendar gets the go ahead and is created. Too their surprise, the calendar is a huge success and causes quite a stir both in England and across the waters in America. As the media frenzy around the calendar reaches fever pitch, the strain starts to take its toll on the friendship between Chris and Annie. Calendar Girls is loosely based on the true story about the ladies of the Rylestone WI, who back in 1999 set about ...
...In the case of the Calendar Girls, the use of poetic license is more than justified, as it helps to make this film a very enjoyable and warm tale. What is really enjoyable about this film and true stories in general, is that the plot is on the whole original and unique, which makes a change from the formula driven films which are the mainstay of the movie industry. The film is a whole mixture of genres with the emphasis being on the subtle comedy, ...

christianfilmcritic 11.03.2006 · Read full review
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Review of Calendar Girls (DVD)

...watch out for the real calendar girls, who appear in this scene as a rival WI cake baking group! The solid friendship which the two women have is strengthened as Chris becomes Annie's rock throughout John's illness, and ultimately his death. I found this so upsetting, even though after reading press reviews, I knew the idea for the calendar was hatched after the death of one of their husband's, it comes so suddenly, and I actually gave myself a ...
...repaired, she notices a glamour calendar on the wall of the workshop...you know the type, pretty young things, flashing flesh, but leaving enough to the imagination to make it respectable enough for public display. As Chris sees it, we sense the lightbulb in her head has gone off, and a poem John wrotes seems to have been written for this situation, and she soons rounds up some of her WI colleagues, and asks them how they would feel about posing ...

nicanddarrell 14.09.2003 · Read full review
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Review of Calendar Girls (DVD)

...also lots of older couples. Calendar Girls seems to be the sort of film that brings out those who rarely go to the cinema. They made a special trip to see this and by the sounds of the laughter around us, we all loved it. So, what is it all about? For those who don’t know, it follows the true-life story of a group of women from the Knapeley Women’s Institute (W.I.) in Yorkshire. When one of them suffers a bereavement, they feel they ...
...branch has just proposed a calendar featuring photographs of local bridges, they consider something different. Inspired by a speech left by Annie’s late husband, they want to illustrate the beauty of the older woman. Combining this idea with the traditional images of Women’s Institute activities, they plan to produce a tasteful calendar showing themselves in the nude. The film shows how they have to overcome several obstacles to achieve ...

KarenUK 18.09.2003 · Read full review
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Review of Calendar Girls (DVD)

...We went to see Calendar Girls last weekend. The problem with looking forward to seeing a film so much is that sometimes the real thing comes as a huge disappointment. From the first minute, this film does not disappoint and there is a roller coaster of emotions throughout. The time just flew and I can honestly say that it was one of the most enjoyable films I've seen for many a year. What's it about? The movie is based on the real-life story of ...
...and Helen Mirren) conceive the calendar idea. The chair of their WI branch wants to do one with local churches or similar, but instead of the usual WI calendars which feature "village greens, hills, dales and post boxes", Mrs Stewart (who apparently is always having madcap ideas) came up with the idea of stripping off and being photographed in traditional WI poses such as knitting, jam-making and flower arranging. In real life, the pictures, taken ...

ginger59 30.09.2003 · Read full review
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Review of Calendar Girls (DVD)

...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 ...
...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 ...

ClaireG86 22.03.2004 · Read full review
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Review of Calendar Girls (DVD)

CALENDAR GIRLS was undoubtedly one of the biggest hits of 2003 and that rare gem – a good British movie. Most British films appear to be either comedies or arty films about middle-aged women. Calendar Girls is both and it succeeds where many fail. Based on the true story of ladies from a women’s institute in North Yorkshire, Calendar Girls is funny, touching and heart warming. THE STORY The women’s institute is the equivalent of a Good Housekeeping ...
...agrees to the usual yearly calendar featuring cakes, flowers and jam and making a grand profit of around £60. However one-day Annie’s life is turned upside down when she discovers her beloved husband John (John Alderton) has been diagnosed with leukaemia. Watching Annie spend the worst hours of her life sitting in the relative’s room as John’s condition deteriorates Chris decides the place needs sprucing up. A new comfy sofa is needed for starters. ...

Tricia24 24.02.2004 · Read full review
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Review of Calendar Girls (DVD)

...composed mainly of the over-50s, Calendar Girls is primarily the story of Chris Harper and Annie Clarke. Bored of endless dull lectures, and more interested in Tai Chi than milk marketing and broccoli, as shown in the opening segments, they long to really do something new, and the utterly unexpected impetus is, unfortunately, a terrible personal tragedy. Annie‘s husband John, a keen gardener, dies of leukaemia, and the cold discomfort of the relative’s ...
...annual WI calendar to raise money for the hospital. Knowing the usual bridges and landscapes combination brings in little cash and spotting a birds-and-boobs type calendar in the local mechanic’s, Chris hits on the brainwave of posing for a very special calendar… “Say what you like, you’re looking at Miss January.” What follows is a charming story of love, grief, friendship, fame and human nature, as Chris and Annie battle the more staunchly conservative ...

ruth_cole 29.08.2003 · Read full review
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Review of Calendar Girls (DVD)

Calendar Girls Yesterday, I went to see the film Calendar Girls. This was a rare treat to go to the cinema as money has been exceedingly tight of late and both me and mine needed a pick-me-up! I remember the furore back in the late 1990’s, when I was working for a charity, around a calendar that had been produced by the WI that featured naked middle-aged women. At the time my colleagues felt that maybe we should produce one too in order to raise ...
...in the year that the calendar was published, it out sold the official Britney Spears and the Cindy Crawford calendars, according to Unlimited UGC cinema magazine. The film, Calendar Girls, is based on the true story of a Yorkshire village where the local WI decided to use the calendar to raise funds to refurbish the relative’s room in the Oncology department of the local hospital. The story follows the underhanded scheming that needed to go on behind ...

orlando 29.09.2003 · Read full review
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Review of Calendar Girls (DVD)