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.
- Awards
- 2 wins & 16 nominations
- Rod
- (as Ciaran Hinds)
- Jem
- (as John-Paul Macleod)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe 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.
- GoofsWhen 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 creditsThe 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.
- SoundtracksBlack 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.
"Calendar Girls" is set in a branch of the Women's Institute in northern England where best friends Anne (Julie Walters) and Chris (Helen Mirren) tire of the relentless tirade of boring speeches and endlessly singing "Jerusalem". After her husband dies of leukaemia, Anne resolves to raise some money with Chris by producing an unusual version of the W.I. calendar. Having gathered enough support, they shoot a nude calendar and despite the reluctance of the W.I. leadership, the calendar's roaring success quickly brings fame and fortune to the women. But success isn't all it's cracked up to be, testing the relationships of the women with their families as well as each other.
I already felt that "Calendar Girls" was the sort of film that would fit in perfectly in the TV schedules on a quiet Sunday night when nothing else was on but I'm pleased to say that I greatly underestimated this film. True, it is a gentle film that rarely threatens to be controversial or the sort of thing that would upset your Granny. But the performances of the strong cast mean that the plot, based on a true story, never fails to captivate your attention. It's a perfect blend of tragedy and comedy and ultimately, that's the sort of thing that the film's audience is looking for.
On the flip side, I did feel it went on for too long and there were still aspects of the story that weren't fully explored such as the impact on Helen Mirren's son (John-Paul Macleod) or what happens to the women after the publicity died down. The ending also felt strangely rushed and was a bit of a letdown. Perhaps with better writing and pacing, this could have been an absolute classic but "Calendar Girls" is still a film very much worthy of your attention. It's not as saucy as "The Full Monty" but it is a simple, unassuming film with modest aspirations that manages to be a roaring success. It's a hidden gem of a film and perfect to give to your Granny for her birthday.
- Benjamin_Cox
- Apr 3, 2006
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Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Takvim kızları
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $10,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $31,041,759
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $151,393
- Dec 21, 2003
- Gross worldwide
- $93,401,012
- Runtime1 hour 48 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1