Review of Calendar Girls (2003) by J D — 09 Jan 2008

Funny, delightful movie about friendship, female empowerment, and the superficiality of Hollywood (not that that's much of a stretch). As with most English comedies I've seen, the humor (or humour, as it were) really hinges on the characters themselves, placing "proper" English ladies in an "improper" situation.

Helen Mirren and her friends are sly, droll, and what's really great, naturally sexy. It's refreshing to see a movie where middle-aged women are treated as real women and not just caricatures of middle-aged women.

Movies abound with male actors very long in the tooth (see Jack Nicholson or Sean Connery) who are still treated as attractive and desirable, but there's a dearth of those same roles for women. This one's a nice addition to help balance out the inequity.

Fun and funny throughout.