Calendar Girls

2003
PG-13
1h 48m

IMDb RATING

6.9/10

28K

YOUR RATING

Helen Mirren, Linda Bassett, Annette Crosbie, Georgie Glen, Celia Imrie, Geraldine James, and Julie Walters in Calendar Girls (2003)

Play trailer2:31

2 Videos

22 Photos

Comedy Drama

Best friends Chris and Annie are members of a charitable institute. When Annie's husband succumbs to leukemia, the friends decide to pose nude for a calendar to raise funds for a local hospi... Read allBest friends Chris and Annie are members of a charitable institute. When Annie's husband succumbs to leukemia, the friends decide to pose nude for a calendar to raise funds for a local hospital.Best friends Chris and Annie are members of a charitable institute. When Annie's husband succumbs to leukemia, the friends decide to pose nude for a calendar to raise funds for a local hospital.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.9/10

28K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 2 wins & 16 nominations

Videos2

Photos22

+ 15

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
The real-life Women's Institute members (Angela Baker, Beryl Bamforth, Christine Clancy, Ros Fawcett, Lynda Logan and Tricia Stewart) on which this movie was based all appear as members of Highgyll W.I. in the scene in the marquee at Knapely Show where Rylstone and Highgyll are competing for cookery prizes.

Goofs
When the women are at the pool in Los Angeles, the lady who plays the piano at the WI meetings gets up and goes to the piano by the pool. She is in a swimsuit and has her back to us, but she has no tattoo. The tattoo was seen earlier in the movie when she was getting ready to participate in the calendar.

Quotes
Chris: A while ago I asked John Clarke to give us a talk here at Knapely WI. Annie asked me to read it to you here tonight, and this is what he wrote: "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."
[laughter]
Chris: "Which makes it ironic my favourite flower isn't even indigenous to the British Isles, let alone Yorkshire. I don't think there's anything on this planet that more trumpets life that the sunflower. For me that's because of the reason behind its name. Not because it looks like the sun but because it follows the sun. During the course of the day, the head tracks the journey of the sun across the sky. A satellite dish for sunshine. Wherever light is, no matter how weak, these flowers will find it. And that's such an admirable thing. And such a lesson in life."

Crazy credits
The cast list is split into two halves. The first 13 actors/characters (Helen Mirren/Chris to John Fortune/Frank) are followed by the main crew such as the producers, writer and director, with the remaining cast appearing after this.

Connections
Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Cheaper by the Dozen/The Company/Calendar Girls/Big Fish/The Fog of War (2003)

Soundtracks
Black Cat Blues
Written by Bert Jansch
Published by Sanctuary Music Publishing Ltd.
Performed by Bert Jansch
(p) 2002 Bert Jansch
Licensed courtesy of Sanctuary Records Group Ltd.

User reviews153

Review

Featured review

Great British Comedy with captivating actors

Did you know what makes the difference between "Art and Pornography"? Well it´s the artist. This was one of the stroking scenes of the film "Calendar Girls". This film is profundly moving and even more because it is based on a true story. The women of the W.I club somewhere in Yorkshire are famous for plum jam and speeches on different household or gardening items which are mostly quite tedious. The situation changes by the time the husband of Annie (Julie Walters)suffers from leukemia and can´t get through. Annie´s best friend Chris (Helen Mirren)comes up with the idea of a nude calendar with the women of the W.I. club to raise money for a settee at the leukemia ward at the local hospital. At first everybody is quite suspicious but the calendar turns out as a tremendous success which brings the girls even to Hollywood.

I have rarely ever seen such a heart-warming and inspiring film. This movie makes you laugh and cry almost at the same time. (My favourite scene was the one with the oregano-joint ;-).) As most British comedies the actors were fabulous and the jokes did not seem constructed like they do in most Hollywood productions.

This film is a hymn for all middle aged women. It shows the world that 40+ women can look great even when they are nude. "The women of Yorkshire are like the flowers of Yorkshire in the last state of their lives they look best."

This film is highly recommendable for everybody even if you just want to see the beautiful landscape of Yorkshire.