Make a date with the Calendar Girls

Calendar Girls

Director: Nigel Cole

Cast: Helen Mirren, Julie Walters, Penelope Wilton, Celia Imrie, Annette Crosbie, Ciaran Hinds, Linda Bassett, John Alderton, Philip Glenister

Cert: 15.

This is a film in the tradition of those gentle Ealing comedies of a long-lost era - a film only the British could have made.

The British have cornered the market in films that capture a particular spirit, (setting up independent republics in London, racing vintage cars to Brighton or saving struggling railway lines), even when it comes to a group of ladies of a certain age getting 'em off for a calendar.

The film is based on a true and inspiring story - albeit with much 'fiction' added to the script - about the ladies of a small Yorkshire village, members of the local Women's Institute, who pose in the nude to raise money for charity when one of their husbands dies of Leukaemia.

The photographs were taken under the most respectful of conditions. The ladies were placed discreetly behind flower-pots, cooking utensils and ironing-boards, and the calendar became a worldwide hit. The ladies had intended to raise about £900 for a new sofa for the local hospital. They raised over £600,000!

Cole's easy-going film, with the massive help of some of Britain's finest actresses, traces the story of the famous calendar, and what happened afterwards. It is a film to wallow in, though you must also be prepared to overlook weaknesses in the writing.

The whole cast is excellent and no character is lampooned. The calendar now seems such a natural thing to do, however unlikely the models appear at first. It sure makes a change from mulching endless pots of jam and arranging flowers.

Mirren and Walters are outstanding as the leaders of the group, particularly in their initial campaign to get their friends to join in. The men in the film are treated with unusual respect.

There is, by the way, a plan for a new calendar for 2004. Place your order now and enjoy a fine and heart-warming film.

Star Rating: 4/5