"The thought of a film about old women taking their clothes off for charity might put you off but you will be missing a gem of a British movie. The ensemble cast is superb. The two lead actresses, Helen Mirren and Julie Walters show what fine actors they really are. With exceptional performances by a top-notch cast and a story that will amuse as well as move you, Calendar Girls is British film making at its very best." Jamie Kelwick THE Z REVIEW "The cast are superb. Matter-of-fact, funny and brave, the women of Napley WI are an enjoyable bunch to spend an evening with. Helen Mirren visibly relishes her role as the glamorous Chris, instigator of the scheme - and first to get her clothes off. Julie Walters eschews sentimentality in the character of Annie, full of common sense and humour but utterly bereft by her loss. Playing her genial and much-missed husband, John Alderton makes his mark on the whole film despite only being present for long enough to establish a reason for the calendar." Caroline Hennessy 2FM ENTERTAINMENT "In an age where talented actresses of a certain age are constantly complaining about unimaginative casting, it is a joy to see a film embrace the more mature woman in such a positive way. And just like the line in the film in which John says that the last stage of the flower is the best, in Calendar Girls women have never looked so beautiful." Claire Simpson OHM REVIEWS "Calendar Girls is a sweet, frequently moving film that’s given an extra boost by its terrific supporting cast... However, the film really belongs to the double-act of Helen Mirren and Julie Walters, both of whom are playing against type. ... an extremely enjoyable, moving film that has a genuine sense of joie de vivre about it and it’s definitely worth seeing for Mirren’s lovely performance." Matthew Turner LONDON CALLING

"Some films confound all your expectations. Some films don't. Calendar Girls is that comforting phenomenon: a film that does exactly what you expect it to. Calendar Girls is warm, likable, unambitious, ever so English - and somehow entirely familiar." Hannah McGill SCOTLAND FILM GUIDE "... the sheer gameness of the superb cast and the real wit of some of the exchanges makes Calendar Girls a treat coated in a gruff earthy lilt. That Helen Mirren, though. It's apt that the character she plays takes any excuse to whip her kit off. And she still does it so well." ENTERTAINMENT IRELAND "The film gets better and better as it goes, which is unusual, since the trend is usually a super start, a flat middle and a disappointing end. Essentially and overwhelmingly British, it will appeal to almost everyone with a heart. Mirren and Walters, not forgetting the ladies and, even, God forbid, the men - are a joy to be with. If only life was like this. Perhaps it is in Yorkshire." The Wolf 10 FILM UK "This genial comedy, directed by Nigel Cole, with an excellent, tightly constructed script by Tim Firth and Juliette Towhidi, accentuates the positive. There's lots of wit and pluck and not much heartbreak. " Peter Bradshaw THE UK GUARDIAN

At A Glance

"Like the ladies themselves, strategically hidden behind their jam jars and Eccles cakes, Calendar Girls does not reveal all." Peter Bradshaw THE UK GUARDIAN

While "Calendar Girls" will have great appeal to the older generation thanks to it's wonderful tale of love, devotion, achievment and daring to make a real statement in ones lifetime, its message will [with the exception of a few young lads who have a fetish or attraction for the more mature ladies] probably evade the attention of the younger brigade. In fact, "Calendar Girls" should be made compulsory viewing for upwardly moblie young people [many of whom think the world is only for those aged twenty five or less] for this is a story full of inspiration, of succeeding in the face of great odds, of sticking to one goals no matter what your age may be and not giving up. But lets face it, whether you're a young buck [fit as a mallee bull with a washboard stomach] or a young lass [with a figure to die for, a face to match and a tight cute butt], the last thing you'd want to see is a film that shows you your fate in later life. The guys don't want to sit through a film and see what the missus may look like in thirty years time, hell they'd be out of there like a shot out of a gun. They think their partners going to stay young and pretty all through the long years of marriage. The sight of a voluptous older lady with a thirty six inch bust [and I don't mean measured around the chest] would scare the livin' begeevers out of them. And the young ladies? The sight of stomachs which match the 'Michellin Man' and those saggy old boobs would give them nightmares. Happily, not for us more mature folks. As we've grown old gracefully, we've come to accept each other for the beauty within. We've accepted that you have to, for in many cases that beauty has become buried under layers of fat. And this is true. As we get older, most of us are blind to the changes in our bodies. That is until the fateful day when we suddenly notice hair growing out of our ears, a touch of grey on the old noggin, a few crows feet on the corner of the eyes, eyebrows that have a mind of their own and as many a lady will confide, a moustache they'd never envisaged trimming. Oh yes, growing old can be cruel for many especially when they look back through the family photo album and are reminded of how fit and youthful they [like all of us] once were. But their loss is our gain so I guess us 'baby boomers'[or 'old farts'] who are comfortable with our aging bodies will have to enjoy both our own company and the wonderful world of "Calendar Girls", a film inspired by the true story of a group of ladies from the Rylstone and District Women's Institute who hope that by posing nude for their own calendar they will raise much needed money for the local hospital. In fact it [the calendar] raised well over half a million pounds and turns a local story into an international media phenomenon inspiring millions of women worldwide. It changed their lives forever plunging them into the media spotlight both at home and abroad. So how did this remarkable story make it to the big screen? When Suzanne Mackie, Juliette Towhidi and Nick Barton, from London-based Harbour Pictures, visited the women of Rylstone WI, it soon became clear that they had the women's interests at heart. "Angela and Tricia really put us through our paces on the first meeting," says Producer Suzzanne Mackie. "We told them we were struck by it being a very funny story, but more importantly a very moving human drama and that the substance of story came from Angela’s husband's death from leukaemia. That's what gave it depth and meaning and took it from being a jokey, frivolous story to a poignant and universal story." That story starts with Angela Baker for it was the death of her husband John that inspired the calendar in 1999. "What also appealed to me was the fact that it was a woman's story," Mackie says. "My initial reaction was, good on you, girls for having the guts to shout from the rooftops. ‘Just because we're over 40 it doesn't mean we can't look beautiful!’ There's a very strong sense of female camaraderie in the story, which I found enormously appealing. These women really support each other in every way." With Angela Baker and Tricia Stewart on board the team went about obtaining the rights to the other Yorkeshire calendar ladies stories. While these negotiations were going on Screenwriter Juliette Towhidi began working on a screenplay. While basing her characters on the real women it meant changing their names and turning the village of Rylstone into the fictional Knapely. Finally after months of careful discussion, the majority of the Rylstone Womens Institute women and the photographer Terry Logan [whose daughter is married to Angela and John’s son], all signed on with Harbour Pictures. Now they set about finding the cast and crew.
In December 2000 Director Nigel Cole ["Saving Grace"] came on board. "It's pure coincidence that both films I've directed are about women," he says, "but I do like working with women. I like to mix comedy and drama and "Cold Feet", "Saving Grace" and "Calendar Girls" all have that in common. I like making people laugh and cry. I'm a bit of a softie at heart and get a bit sentimental, but I get embarrassed about that so I like to puncture it with a joke. Romantic comedy is a genre where you can do both."
The next job was rewriting the draft script. That job went to acclaimed British television writer Tim Firth. "I was very hesitant at first," Firth admits. "I'd never worked on any pre-existing material before, and was unsure whether I could or wanted to do it. I had, however, bought the calendar the year it came out and as it turned out had met one of the "Calendar Girls" in the process without realising it. My mum was in the WI and so was my Gran. Also, the girls came from the village where I’d spent every summer holiday of my childhood." Next big step was to find the right cast members. "When it came to casting, we wanted a couple of real movie stars," producer Nick Barton said. "Sometimes what you want is what you get. Among the first actresses to be sent the screenplay were Helen Mirren and Julie Walters, for the roles of Chris and Annie respectively. The Academy Award-nominated stars needed little persuading to sign up." With Mirren and Walters committed to the film, Cole and his producers succeeded in attracting some of Britain’s best actresses for the remaining women including Penelope Wilton, Celia Imrie, Annette Crosbie and Linda Bassett. So what did the stars think?
“I’ve never worked on an ensemble film like this", Mirren said. "A film about a group of women in middle age is a very rare beast and it’s been fantastic working with a group of such experienced and talented women."
“With a film like this, which is based on actual events and where the characters are inspired by real people,“ says Walters, “you have a much greater responsibility, so we've had to be extra sensitive. It’s been the most relaxed film I’ve ever done!”
For Celia Imrie [who plays the most well-heeled of the women Celia], one of the most important decisions was meeting the real women in Rylstone. “I’m not from Yorkshire, so I was very keen to see what kind of a community they come from and to meet the women as a group. It was very important to see what kind of relationships the women have with each other, what kind of lives they lead, what kind of houses they live in. After a visit to a nearby golf club and a chat with some of members’ wives, I got a sense that there seemed to be a hint of snobbery about the Women’s Institute from them. It was almost as though the clubs that mattered were the golf and Rotary clubs" she says. "So I thought that Celia, my character, used the WI as a way of escaping from her life as the respectable wife of a golf club member. The Womens Institute is about being with other women, and taking part in the calendar is a kind of liberation for her. And it also improves her marriage."
And what of the real "Calendar Girls"? Well they also had a chance to participate in the film. “We thought we’d be lucky if we got a pass to go on set for the odd day,” says Tricia Stewart. “We weren’t expecting anything more. So when we met Helen Mirren, Julie Walters and the rest of the cast it was completely marvellous.” And it didn’t stop there. Stewart, Baker and some of their calendar co-conspirators also have walk-on cameos as the rival Womens Institute group, which gets beaten into second place by Chris’s victoria sponge in the cake-making competition. Theres so much that could be said about "Calendar Girls" but it would just reveal too much about the film. It is, as I've already stated before, a remarkable and highly entertaining film. That's a sentiment I hope you share with me after you have experienced "Calendar Girls". The Story

"Full of heart and large of soul, 'Calendar Girls' is fun, frolics and elderly pin-ups in the Yorkshire Dales." Caroline Hennessy 2FM ENTERTAINMENT

In the quiet, classically English village of Knapely, tucked away in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales there is a sense of boredom amongst some of the ladies at the local Women’s Institute. The monthly meetings are to say the least, becoming a little boring. Lectures on Brocolli, an expert talking about socks and the history of tubular legwear and wait for it, a lecture on rugs. It's becoming a bit of a yawn. All that is about to change when one of the ladies comes up with a great idea to raise funds for the local hospital by producing their own calendar. Not one with pictures of the local Yorkeshire scenery but one of the local ladies, in the nude. The calendar will be a tribute to one of the members husband John, who has died of leukaemia. John had a saying, “the last stage of the flower is the most glorious”. Sounds good, but will baring all get a result? The twelve "Calendar Girls" are about to find out. It will change their lives forever. The Verdict "A real gem. Tasteful, witty, heart-warming experience. Lovers of quality British productions will be in raptures over "Calendar Girls". A film for all ages. "Calendar Girls" takes nudity to the nicest of heights by breaking the age barrier. The cast are downright delightful in and out of their clothes. Helen Mirren and Julie Walters head a stella cast. If this is a sample of what Nigel Cole ("Saving Grace" & TV'S "Peak Practice") can do on the bigscreen, let's all hope we see more. Only a fool would miss this thoroughly entertaining little gem that is sure to have tongues wagging." The Cast

Helen Mirren Julie Walters Penelope Wilton Annette Crosbie Celia Imrie Linda Bassett Georgie Glen Angela Curran Rosalind March Ciaran Hinds John Alderton Philip Glenister John-Paul McLeod Geraldine James Marc Pickering George Costigan Graham Crowden John Fortune John Sharian

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Chris Annie Ruth Jessie Celia Cora Kathy May Trudy Rod John Lawrence Jem Marie Gaz Eddie Richard Frank Danny

The Crew Directed by Nigel Cole First Assistant Director Deborah Saban Produceed by Nick Barton & Suzanne Mackie Co-Producer Steve Clark-Hall Screenplay by Juliette Towhidi and Tim Firth Music by Patrick Doyle Editing by Michael Parker Cinematography by Ashley Rowe Production Designer Martin Childs Costume Designer Frances Tempest Casting (UK) Gail Stevens Casting (US) Jackie Burch Hair & Make Up Designer Christina Baker Production Manager Jo Farr Stills Photography by Jaap Buitendijk Run Time 108 minutes Rated PG [AUST] Copyright © 2003 - Touchstone Pictures - All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2003 - Impact Internet Services & The Movie Pages - All Rights Reserved