Review of Mrs. Henderson Presents (2005) by Kevin M. W — 29 Aug 2014

The Windmill Theater in London was infamous for shaking up that famous British stiff upper lip with their girly revues and bawdy shows, and that story is told here (however informed by Hollywood musicals). So the background story is laid out about a rich society widow sponsoring an showbiz venture, unusual in Britain upper circles, and the eventual success of that venture, but the real film lies in the re-creation of the stage shows put on in those years.

The whole is not bad, yet lacking the bite the real story, a British story, of the impact, humanity and courage even prostitutes must've had during the wartime blitz. For a work purportedly celebrating those people, this film shies away from who those people were.