Calendar Girls (2003)

Seeing really is believing. Prior to this film I would have doubted very much that a story about older women stripping down could be something enjoyable. Sure enough, Helen Mirren leads a pack of seasoned British actresses to success in a risqué tale with a lot of heart.

After her husband dies of leukemia, Annie Clarke (Julie Walters) receives an outpouring of support from her friends. After spending many a day sitting in the hospital waiting room, Annie decides she wants to raise money to donate a more comfortable sofa to the hospital. Her friends in the social organization Women’s Institute come up with the idea of selling a calendar to raise funds for the donation. Annie’s bold friend Chris Harper (Mirren) sees the need to make the calendar something more exciting than the standard WI fundraiser. Her proposition is to have some of their club members strip down for tasteful, discreet nude pictures while engaged in typical WI activities.

Chris and Annie have a hard time convincing their friends to take part in what seems like a lewd gimmick and an even harder time convincing the WI organization to approve of their controversial fundraiser. Once it becomes a hit, the bonds of friendship are tested as Chris takes center stage in publicizing the calendar. Annie believes she has lost sight of their original mission in awe of her newfound celebrity status.

Even if you’re not a part of the film’s target demographic (I know I sure wasn’t), good comedy almost always prevails. Calendar Girls possesses a lot of witty but dry British humor but it doesn’t over-Brit the comedy. American audiences will be able to snicker, giggle and laugh at all the right moments. Older viewers may find more humor in the subtleties of post-middle age life but the film does its best to stay fresh and accessible to everyone.

Much like the ladies in the calendar, the film is not interested in being an explicit skin parade. Very little nudity is on display and occurs briefly while the women are getting into position for their tastefully risqué poses. While some ultra-prudes may object to even this minimal amount of nudity, a little exposure comes with the territory and it's carried out as tastefully as possible.

The film does get a little bogged down towards the end as Chris’s ego inflates and gets challenged but it would seem a little too conveniently perfect otherwise. This is a conundrum faced by most comedies these days. Do you go all out goofy, forsaking any possibility that the events of the film could actually occur and turn off cynics? Or, is it better to say ‘tough luck’ to the total escapism seekers and add that dose of reality in order to keep the film grounded? Calendar Girls makes the right decision and stays true to its ‘based on a true story’ roots and shows the bumpy road the girls face.

In the end, Calendar Girls will get a few laughs out of you. Just don’t expect it to last in your memory beyond being ‘the one where the old ladies make a nude calendar.’ So like Mirren’s character, even audiences will be hard pressed to remember the original purpose of the titular calendar. That’s not such a big deal though because that will be enough to remind you that it was a sweet and charming little movie.

RATING: 3.25 out of 5