Stars: Julie Walters, Helen Mirren, Linda Bassett, Annette Crosbie, John Alderton, Penelope Wilton, Celia Imrie, Penelope Wilton

Director: Nigel Cole

Summary: Based on a true story, this is the tale of Chris Harper and Annie Clark, members of the Rylstone Women's Institute in North Yorkshire. When Annie's husband is diagnosed as having leukaemia, the members of the WI decide to raise money for a new leukaemia unit at the local hospital. A nude calendar featuring the ladies is produced and quickly becomes a best selling hit...

Based on a true story, Nigel Cole's CALENDAR GIRLS has a mix of comedy and heart-tugging emotion that compares with the comedies FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL and THE FULL MONTY. Annie (Julie Walters) and Chris (Helen Mirren), of bucolic Yorkshire, belong to the Women's Institute (WI), which preserves traditional homemaking practices. While they're just as dedicated as the other ladies in the group, Annie and Chris are adventurous personalities, and they poke fun at the WI's tedious lectures on broccoli and fabrics. In an effort to raise money for the local hospital while also spicing things up at the WI, the ladies decide to put a new spin on the WI calendar, which usually depicts landscapes or churches. The women will pose nude for the calendar while performing traditional activities like baking and gardening. It's no surprise that the finished calendar is a wild success, bringing the ladies instant notoriety and adoration.
Stellar talent carries the story, especially from glorious Mirren, who portrays yet another daring female character, as she did in past films like THE COOK, THE THIEF, HIS WIFE, AND HER LOVER. Staying true to the real-life story, the film closely matches the original calendar photos, and provides a funny, touching, uplifting tale.

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In the sensible yet elegant hands of actresses Helen Mirren and Julie Walters, Calendar Girlswalks a fine line between sappiness and snickering and ends up both wonderfully funny and gently touching. When her best friend Annie (Walters) loses her husband, Chris (Mirren) cooks up a scheme to commemorate him: they and their friends--all fiftysomething women--will make a nude calendar to raise money for the hospital where he died. The calendar becomes hugely popular, but the success may drive a wedge between the two women's friendship. Based on a true story, Calendar Girlscarefully balances the stories of several women as it follows the calendar's media explosion, becoming a surprisingly moving fable of loss, determination and the perils of fame. And let's face it--Helen Mirren is one of the wittiest and sexiest women alive, clothes on or not. --Bret Fetzer

Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Deleted Scenes, The Naked Truth, The Naked Calendar
Year:	2003
Release Date:	February 9, 2004
Runtime:	105 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	B E D 881147
Keywords:	Girls, Comedy, General, Calendar
Genre:	Comedy