Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie''s plot.  
I've got to admit that the first time I saw the trailer for Calendar Girls I wasn't exactly charged with anticipation. The trailer did manage to make the film look fun, but the concept strongly reminded me of The Full Monty, which is a film I personally found a little overrated. If I wanted to add further concerns I could tell you about how I decided to search Epinions for some reviews on the film, and my search revealed nothing but a small selection of more, adult titles. Nevertheless I recognized that not only did the trailer look fun, but I had been pleasantly surprised by another British comedy that didn't appeal to me, Bend It Like Beckham. With those thoughts running through my mind I decided to throw caution to the wind and go down to the local cinema to see Calendar Girls.  
 
I'm glad I went to see it now, because the film has remained just that. Fun! It tells the story of 2 friends named Chris and Annie who are members of their local Womens Institute, but when Annie's husband comes down with Leukemia their lives are shattered. Before he died he wrote a poem about his flowers, and mentioned how flowers are like Women, they get more beautiful with age (note-this does not necessarily reflect my own opinion). After he's died the 2 of them decide to try and raise some money for a comfortable sofa in the hospital waiting room so that other grieving families can at least have a little comfort. However since the women's Institute never makes money off their sales Chris decides to try a different approach, and gets a few of the other members to join her in making a nude calendar. That's nude, not naked, because they think that as long as they keep themselves covered behind fruit and things then it will be OK. Needless to say the Calendar is more than a local success, and by the time Hollywood beckons they have enough money to buy a settee and still donate 99% of their earnings to cancer research. Yet was the cost worth it?  
 
As with most comedy's of this type the main reason is succeeds is it's absolutely charming cast. The 2 main characters alone are played by award winning actresses, Chris by Helen Mirran (The Madness Of King George) and Annie by Julie Walters (Educating Rita) and both give wonderful performances. Mirran absolutely nails the role of the fun loving Chris who has to remain down to earth for the sake of her companions. Walters gives a touching performance as the grieving widow determined to do anything to make money for others in her situation, but together their partnership becomes even more than the sum of it's parts. They display an amazing amount of chemistry and play off of each other's style just enough to keep the characters believable.  
 
They're supported well by an absolutely stellar cast though. The cast features such names as Penelope Wilton (Carrington) Celia Emrie (Bridgette Jones Diary) and Ciaran Hinds (Tomb Raider 2) among others. Yet most memorable of the entire cast is One Foot In The Grave's, Annette Crosbie, who plays Miss September, Jerssie. I remember seeing her and just expecting her to be playing an uptight, prim and proper lady. Especially when she came out talking with one of the most believable posh English accents yet filmed. However this confusion was the cause of some of the films bigger laughs as she was one of the more supportive characters.  
 
Crosbie and the other actresses didn't have to rely on just themselves though because they had the support of some good writers. The film featured quite a few genuine laugh out loud moments, such as the scene where Chris's son and his friend walk in whilst she's demonstrating the modeling. That and other jokes had the audience literally roaring with laughter. Yet what I liked best about the writing was not the jokes themselves, but with the way the material was handled. It's based on a true story, but that hasn't prevented historical inaccuracies in the past, and whilst I don't really know anything about what really happened, I do know that the film is more than just another feel good comedy. It actually gets the whole central story of making the calendar out of the way surprisingly early, but then goes on to examine the effects that modeling nude had on their lives. Chris's teenage son feels so humiliated by the calendar that he turns to, what he believes are drugs; and another of the women arrives home to find her husband leaving her for another woman. Then as calendar really finds success they find themselves being exploited by people who have come to expect nudity from them. Throughout the film the material was sensitively and honestly handled in this same manner.  
 
Before I finish I will give mention to the films nudity. It's never strong or prolonged but there are a few moments of nudity in the film that will likely earn the same sort of childish comments as Cathy Bates infamous scene in About Schmidt. I'll try to avoid those sort of comments here, but needless to say there will likely be some going in who wont be expecting any real nudity. For example I went in knowing the concept and was hoping that the nudity would remain what you see in the photo's, but in between the shoots there is some brief nudity, and the shoots themselves get a little close to the bar of a 12 rated movie. However you feel about nudity in films, it's unlikely that many people will actually want to see this so I posted this little warning here. If you don't think you'll mind some mild nudity involving older ladies though, then Calendar Girls is a fun, well acted and at times emotional movie that's worth seeing.  
 
Calendar Girls is rated 12A, for mild nudity and some bad language  
 
