BY MAX COLSTON | I really wasn't looking forward to sitting through this film. To tell the truth, I was kind of dreading it, because a film about a bunch of naked elderly women sounds more like something a pervert would rent in the middle of the night at a cheap motel. So I really wasn't surprised when I entered my screening and discovered I'd be watching the film with only three other people, whose excitement matched mine. To my surprise, Calendar Girls turned out to be a very pleasurable film.

Based on a true story, this film tells the tale about a group of middle-aged women who pose nude for a Women's Institute calendar to raise enough money to donate a comfy sofa to the visitor's room at a nearby hospital. But the girls are in for a huge surprise when the media goes berserk and invades their little Yorkshire town.

EXPECTATIONS

What I'd Seen

A fairly lame trailer and a poster that wasn't in the least bit enticing.

What I'd Heard

Nothing really. I had gone to a fairly early screening and not a lot of people had seen it. So I hadn't heard anybody's opinion on it, which is good in some cases.

What I Wanted

I wanted a good film with a sweet story and some great performances from our cast of leading ladies.

EXPERIENCE

What Turned Me On

It's refreshing to sit through an actual "good" film instead of another recycled piece of garbage *cough* Matrix Revolutions *cough*. The performances are amazing. Director Nigel Cole has conjured up a great ensemble cast to take on the role of these simple women whose basic idea spirals into complete madness. The head of the pack, Helen Mirren and Julie Waters, are a one-of-a-kind combination. These two bring an even more feel of realism to the film.

What Turned Me Off

The fact that the women took off their kit just to donate a couch to a local hospital. I could understand if they did it for a cancer charity or something along those lines, but just to donate a couch? The film is also layered with a bit too many secondary plots that just hang there mostly unresolved and in the end have no reason to be there.

Lines Worth Repeating

"We're not gonna go parading naked in front of a bunch of men. This isn't Paris, ya know."

Never Saw That Before

A bunch of naked elderly women.

Fidget Factor

Besides the already mentioned subplots, the film moves at a pretty brisk pace, keeping things lively until the credits begin to roll.

AFTERMATH

I left thinking...It truly saddens me that films like this are rewarded limited releases to leave room for the onslaught of regurgitated trash.

I left saying...That wasn't too bad. I'm glad I came. If it only wasn't for some of its lame secondary plots and a running time that lasts a little too long, I think I would have come away with a perfect movie-going experience.

Expiry Date...The film will be out of everyone's mind (if it was even in it in the first place) and fade away into oblivion within the next couple months. It will for sure be added to the DVD collection of every movie-loving grandma around the world.

When it comes out on DVD...It's definitely worth seeing. But rent it, don't buy it. There really isn't very much to offer in a second viewing. The film is fidget-free and extremely well-acted, but sitting through it again will only result in a good 108 minute sleep.

GRADE: B