Rating: 
Summary: No Monty
Review: Despite the apparent similarities this is not the raunchy comedy Full Monty, from the female side of the fence. Calendar girls has a superb cast headed by Helen Mirren and Julie Walters and tells the true (somewhat ammended )story of a group of mature women who raise money in memory of one of the womens husbands who died of cancer. The fact they raise the money by artistically posing nude for a Womens Institute calendar, despite all the ladies being in their fifties is the the crux of the movie. In fact the plot is so weird it has to be based on fact, as a fictional account would be considered too way out to be believed. Gentle humor mixed with emotion and the captivating struggle of the little person overcoming insurmountable odds makes Calendar Girls a real feel good winner. Well worth watching.
Rating: 
Summary: Amusing Story. Bland Movie.
Review: "Calendar Girls" is a fictionalized account of the events surrounding the publication, in 1999, of a nude calendar featuring the ladies of the Rylstone Women's Institute of North Yorkshire, England. The calendar caused a media sensation in Great Britain and the United States on account of its photographs of women of a certain age performing quaint everyday tasks in the buff. In the film, Chris (Helen Mirren) organizes the calendar to raise money on behalf of her best friend Annie's (Julie Waters) husband, who is dying of leukemia. "Calendar Girls" dramatizes the challenges of convincing a group of middle-aged and older women to pose nude, garnering support for the project, and coping with the resulting flood of international publicity. The cast is well-suited to their roles. The characters are all appealing. But "Calendar Girls" takes too much time to get off the ground and moves very slowly once it does. This "dramedy" isn't nearly as funny as it should be. It's just bland. The story of the WI calendar is really more interesting than this film. As for "Calendar Girls" accuracy, this really is a fictionalized account. The characters do not represent real people specifically, except for Chris and Annie, who are based loosely on real women. Any strife between characters in the film is dramatic license. The calendar's photographer was not a stranger, but one of the ladies' husbands. The calendar was indeed intended to raise money for a local hospital's cancer ward on behalf of Angela Baker's husband, John Baker, to whose memory "Calendar Girls" is dedicated. And a similar 2004 calendar featuring the actresses in this film has been released as a further fund-raiser for charity. The DVD: Bonus features include two mini-documentaries and four deleted scenes. "The Naked Truth" is a 15-minute documentary about the real story behind the infamous calendar. It features interviews with the women who organized and graced the pages of the calendar and its photographer, following the calendar's story from its genesis to this film's premiere. "Creating the Calendar" is a 6-minute short about filming the nude scenes and photographing the calendar for the movie. Captions are available in English, subtitles in Spanish. And dubbing is available in French.
Rating:
Summary: Good Funny Movie
Review: This movie atleast makes a good rental. The kinda movie that makes you laugh and cry during it. And, it also has OLD CANS!
Rating:
Summary: Unique and Lovely
Review: I had read that "Calendar Girls" is the female version of "The Full Monty," but I did not see it that way at all. It is more of a woman's anthem--a strong affirmation of self by middle-aged women who refuse to be buttonholed as "grannies." Based on a real-life story, the plot surrounds a group of Yorkshire, UK women's club members whose annual charity calendar takes on a new meaning when one of their own loses her husband to leukemia. Instead of the same-old dreary photos of churches and flowers, a maverick group within the club decides to pose nude in the hopes that the calendar will earn enough money to buy new furniture for the family waiting room at the local hospital. None of these very proper women has stripped before; in fact, many refuse to view their own bodies, let alone show them to others. But despite their real fears and modesty, they do it anyway--with very surprising results. It's a sweet story with a wonderful ending: The real-life calendar girls, as of the making of this movie, have earned over $500,000 for leukemia research! Which brings me to the extras: I found the interviews with the actual women who posed to be absolutely fascinating. And it's amazing how like the women the actresses in the film turned out to be, especially Helen Mirren, who was brilliant in her role as the "ringleader" of the group. This DVD is defniitely a keeper, and I highly recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: Quiet and Likeable! Also (gasp) kinda sexy!
Review: I went into watching CALENDAR GIRLS dreading it might be a female rip-off of THE FULL MONTY. No need to fear, because the movie is about a lot more than aping a successful indie formula. The movie centers on a group of women of Rylstone Women's Institute in North Yorkshire, England who through a tragedy decide to raise money for a hospital with their annual calendar. The only catch? These well-aged women are going to pose in the buff with strategically placed items of household drudgery hiding the naughty bits and pieces. And when the calendar comes out? They all have to deal with the infamy that comes along with posing nude. And deal with success as well! Or new found confidence. It is a story rich dramatically and still just plain funny. The nudity is tasteful, and not all that revealing. Think Dianne Keaton's SOMETHINGS GOT TO GIVE flash, and you get the idea. And Helen Mirren and a STRONG cast give it all a dignified English air that plays well. I really loved this movie. It made me smile widely! And hammered home the message that beauty is in ALL forms. Everybody has a shine to them, and the 50 MOST BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE are the ones with the courage to make fun of themselves and smile all the while. No body doubles here either! Yea for them! Brave women with "bigger buns!". The DVD is a special treat. You get a documentary on the real life CALENDAR GIRLS who look a lot like their film counterparts. You also get to see the movie cast MAKING the calendar! Okay, maybe just TALKING about making it. Also you get some deleted scenes, and assorted trailers. I'm getting sunflowers for my house just to remind me of people that always reach for the sun! Very nice image. We need more movies like this -- celebrating wisdom and friendship. And hey - it's just simple fun.
Rating:
Summary: The movie is not quite as good as the idea for the calendar
Review: "Calendar Girls," based on the true story of a group of middle-aged women in Yorkshire who posed nude for a calendar, is not simply the female counterpart to "The Full Monty," although the comparisons are inevitable. After all, we are talking middle-aged naked English people. But if "Calendar Girls" is less satisfying than "The Full Monty" it is because there are some problems with the final act of the film and not because we think we have seen it all before. The focus in on best friends Annie Clarke (Julie Walters) and Chris Harper (Helen Mirren), who have to endure the boring weekly meetings of their local Women's Institute where they learn all about the joys of broccoli. However, such concerns become trivial with Annie's husband, John (John Alderton), is diagnosed with leukemia. They try everything they can at the local hospital, but in the end John dies. One thing Annie remembers is something that John said before the end: "The flowers of Yorkshire are like the women of Yorkshire. Every stage of their growth has its own beauty, but the last phase is always the most glorious. Then very quickly they all go to seed." Annie wants to honor John's memory by raising money to support leukemia research or to at least get a decent sofa for the room at the hospital where she spend so many of John's last days, but it is Chris who comes up with the idea of raising money by having members of the WI pose "nude" for a calendar ("nude" is naked but with art thrown in). Chris will be January and Annie will be February, and Jessie (Annette Crosby), Cora (Linda Bassett), Celia (Celia Imrie), and a few others volunteer for the other months and to provide each other with the support it will take for them to go through with this. The ladies are surprised that their calendar becomes not merely a local success, but a national and international one as well. You would think that this might be the climax of the film, but there is more to come, and that is where "Calendar Girls" gets off track. The calendar is a success because the photographs are indeed art. My favorites were Miss July, where we see none of the "naughty bits," but the curve of the woman from her neck to her hip, and the one of the meeting where every figure except one is seen from the back, sitting in a chair, wearing their best hats. Actually, the photographs in the film are less risqué than those that appeared in the original calendar, a few of which you can see in one of the bonus features. As for the stars, Helen Mirren appears behind an apple press pressing apples (ah, the Freudian implications) while Julie Walters is playing the piano au natural. Everything up to the ladies reaching the heights of their success is pretty good, but then the film starts getting into downside of the experience without really deciding what point it is trying to make. "Calendar Girls" is not really about naked bodies but about self-expression and female empowerment, so when it decides to go off in yet another direction without clear rhyme or reason, I am not inclined to follow along. The real calendar had an initial print run of 500 copies, which quickly sold out, and eventually the ladies of Yorkshire raise more than half-a-million pounds for a local hospital. That reality helps to forgive those parts of "Calendar Girls" that try to turn the 2003 film from director Nigel Cole into something more profound than what it is: a nice little true story that deserves to be celebrated.
Rating:
Summary: HOW FREAKIN CUTE ARE THEY???!!!!
Review: Seriously, this movie was wonderful! I loved the heartfelt acting for the parts of widows and lady's club members. You have to be one to know just how accurate this movie really is. Enjoy - everyone should.
Rating:
Summary: A Charming Movie
Review: This days a star is a young woman who looks perfect. Well "Calender Girls" with Helen Mirren and Julie Walters, prove that you don't have to perfect to help other or be an great actress. In the movie, 50+ English women come together to make a calnender, so they could be a sofa in the memory one their friends husband. This is a great movie that should be missed because it show who ever you are you can make a diference.
Rating:
Summary: OK but not GREAT ~
Review: This title is a good selection as a rental (you only have to look at it once) than a permanent purchase for your home collection. The film drags. Very slow on several levels. The screenplay is not a succesful attempt at being artsy by those folks at DISNEY.
Rating:
Summary: Charming,Witty and Fun
Review: I love this movie. It is a wonderful coming of age movie. About Love,Tragedy, and Triumph. the cast is simple fantastic. A real feel good that will make you smile. Helen Mirren and Julie will make believe in Hollywood again.
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