Disney won, and the resulting film, “Calendar Girls,” has been warming hearts and heating up box offices all over Britain since it opened in September. It earned [Pound sterling]1.8 million on its opening weekend alone, and is expected to be this year’s biggest British-filmed hit when it arrives in America in December. Starring Helen Mirren and Julie Walters, “Calendar Girls” is a female version of “The Full Monty,” featuring bold middle-aged women (they range in age from 45 to 65)–and with just as much fictionalization. New scenes were added for dramatic clarity and others–like conflicts among the women–have been resolved on celluloid, if not in real life. It’s the kind of upbeat, predictable movie you could watch with your mother. Of particular note is the cinematography; director Nigel Cole skillfully balances the actresses against the picturesque Yorkshire countryside to give the film a rich, artsy feel. Walters (whose character, Annie, is based on Baker) and Mirren, who plays Chris (based on Baker’s best friend, Tricia Stewart) portray their characters with a fierce honesty, allowing viewers to see the good, the bad and the greedy in them.
The sweetest moment in the film occurs when Mirren makes a compelling, if inarticulate, speech at the national Women’s Institute meeting about the death of her friend’s husband and why it’s essential that they be permitted to release the calendar. Though the scene never took place (the national board actually approved the calendar from the start), it soundly evokes the themes of the movie: that good deeds can help overcome adversity, and friendship sustains people during difficult times.
But as the calendar’s popularity increases and the women become celebrities, the script veers into banality. Through no fault of Mirren’s, Chris becomes a shallow, one-dimensional character, so overtaken by her newfound stardom that she puts the calendar’s success ahead of her family. There is a particularly maudlin scene in which the two women, sent to Hollywood to appear on a chat show, have a fight against the backdrop of a movie set. But despite the schmaltzy moments, “Calendar Girls” is a tough movie not to like. And its certain success guarantees that the town of Rylstone will never be sleepy again.
