Saturday, January 31, 2004
Calendar Girls
One of the most important things about going to see a movie is repeating lines from it afterward back and forth with whoever you went to see it with. This is made even more enjoyable if the movie is British, because nothing beats affecting an accent for hilarity and fun. In this vein, Calendar Girls is brilliant. (Please do remember to hear that last word in your head said with a proper British accent, from whichever part of Britain you prefer.) If you are looking for a witty break from general action movie fare, this is an excellent choice.
One might begin to think, though, that all British movies that do particularly well in the US have to involve nudity of unlikely people. There's The Full Monty, of course, but Waking Ned Devine and Brassed Off both had nude scenes of those no longer in their tender years, as well. Perhaps it supports Mark's theory that "culture" always has to involve nudity.
Then again, one might also surmise that Great Britain has a much more enlightened stance on the issue of body image. All of the aforementioned movies may make light of getting naked, but it's always empowering in the end. It is no doubt far more encouraging to see real-looking people getting naked and doing well with it than it is to see Demi Moore telling Barbara Walters that all women should do a private strip tease in front of a mirror just to feel good about themselves. I'd be far more inclined to believe it from a 70-year-old ex-school teacher than an actress with a private trainer and dietician. Maybe, if we want to encourage people in this country to have better body image and love themselves as they are, they should have to watch more British movies.
Besides, laughing is good exercise.
One of the most important things about going to see a movie is repeating lines from it afterward back and forth with whoever you went to see it with. This is made even more enjoyable if the movie is British, because nothing beats affecting an accent for hilarity and fun. In this vein, Calendar Girls is brilliant. (Please do remember to hear that last word in your head said with a proper British accent, from whichever part of Britain you prefer.) If you are looking for a witty break from general action movie fare, this is an excellent choice.
One might begin to think, though, that all British movies that do particularly well in the US have to involve nudity of unlikely people. There's The Full Monty, of course, but Waking Ned Devine and Brassed Off both had nude scenes of those no longer in their tender years, as well. Perhaps it supports Mark's theory that "culture" always has to involve nudity.
Then again, one might also surmise that Great Britain has a much more enlightened stance on the issue of body image. All of the aforementioned movies may make light of getting naked, but it's always empowering in the end. It is no doubt far more encouraging to see real-looking people getting naked and doing well with it than it is to see Demi Moore telling Barbara Walters that all women should do a private strip tease in front of a mirror just to feel good about themselves. I'd be far more inclined to believe it from a 70-year-old ex-school teacher than an actress with a private trainer and dietician. Maybe, if we want to encourage people in this country to have better body image and love themselves as they are, they should have to watch more British movies.
Besides, laughing is good exercise.
