Judi Dench and Bob Hoskins buoy this “inspired by true events” comedy of a widow who opens London’s first theatrical revue to feature nude women.
What’s
with the English and comedies about stripping? Following on The Full Monty and
Calendar Girls comes the “inspired by true events” tale of a 1930s widow
(Judy Dench) who opens London’s first theatrical revue to feature nude women.
Actually, for all that this is the thing being used to sell the film, the movie
really doesn’t make much of a fuss about it. If anyone but a government
minister or two got upset about this assault on propriety, it’s not shown here.
Perhaps Londoners were too worried about Hitler’s Luftwaffe bombing the
crap out of them to trifle over such things. The widow Henderson is
self-assured and snobby, but likeable. Of India, from which she has returned
following her husband’s death, she says, “There was always somebody to look
down on.” Dench’s matter-of-fact-delivery of this pronouncement is one of the
reasons to see this. Unpretentious elitism is something you don’t se a lot on
film. Bob Hoskins is her match as the equally strong-willed manager of the theater.
(Will Young, the first UK Pop Idol, also makes his acting debut.)
Briskly directed by Stephen Frears (High Fidelity), this is a charming
movie with a slight plot and strong characters.
posted 9/17/13
No comments:
Post a Comment