Cheap Calendar Girls (DVD) (Nigel Cole) Price

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A Touch of Class
In Rylstone, a small village in North Yorkshire, John Baker, beloved husband of Angela Baker, dies of leukemia. Angela belongs to the Women's Institute, an organization not unlike the many women's garden clubs that are all over these United States (Visiting lecturers expound on the joys of broccoli). Ms. Baker, along with the other middle-aged women in her group, comes up with the bold new idea of printing a calendar of "nude, not naked" women to raise money for the local hospital in John's honor. After all he did say that the last stage of a woman's life is her most glorious-- sort of the last rose of summer motif-- because she will soon turn to seed. These good women became an overnight sensation as it was a photo shot heard around the world. Their story was the basis for the tasteful film "Calendar Girls," starring Helen Mirren as Chris Harper, "Miss January" and the driving force behind the concept in the first place, and Julie Walters as Annie Clark, and directed by Nigel Cole. The Brits do this sort of understated classy film so well. We need look no further than the recent "Mrs. Henderson Presents" and "The Queen" for evidence. The acting here is flawless, the photography is excellent and all the props the nude ladies use to make themselves less naked are appropriately placed. <
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>Included on the DVD are interviews with both the director and the original twelve calendar ladies, neither of which should be missed.

naughty but nice
When Annie Clark's husband dies of leukemia, her best friend Chris Harper happens upon an idea to honor his memory after finding a pornography magazine belonging to her son. A group of women friends in their fifties from Yorkshire's normally staid Women's Institute pose in the nude ("not naked!" we are reminded in the film) to produce and market a pin-up calendar, the proceeds of which would benefit the hospital where John was treated and died. Starting with an initial print run of 500 calendars, the women meet international acclaim, including an appearance on the Jay Leno Show, and raise $1 million for the hospital. There is nothing erotic or even sensual in this lighthearted British comedy (rated PG-13). All the women's poses are strategically obscured by potted plants and the like. Instead, in addition to the mischief-making comedy, there are surprisingly powerful sub-themes of body image, aging, grief and loss, community, and memory. The film is based upon a true story from 1999. I was prepared to dismiss this film but instead enjoyed it for the lighthearted fun that it is.