Calendar Girls (2003) on Netflix
Chris Harper and Annie Clarke are best friends in their Yorkshire Women's Institute. Chris proposes a nude calendar to buy a new sofa for the hospital where Annie's husband John is treated.
- Netflix3.6/5
- IMDb6.9/1028,486 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes73%
Trailer
Plot summary
The Knapely, Yorkshire chapter of the Women's Institute, where best friends Chris Harper and Annie Clarke spend much of their time, runs on a motto of enlightenment, fun and friendship. Chris finds the monthly presentations banal and mocks how Marie, the chapter president, runs things. Last year's fund-raising calendar of local bridges brought in £75.60, and the proposed churches calendar promises even less. After Annie's husband John dies of leukemia, Chris wants to buy a £999 sofa for the hospital family room in his memory. Remembering a nude calendar she saw in a mechanic's shop, she proposes that WI members pose discreetly nude while baking, knitting and playing the piano. Nine other members must be persuaded, and a photographer trusted to treat the project as art must be found.
Cast
Show all 15 cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Calendar Girls (2003)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Helen Mirren was initially reluctant to join the project, dismissing it as "too English" and a "poor woman's Full Monty," before changing her mind once she learned Julie Walters had already signed on.
- While the director and his team placed vegetables strategically for shooting, bits kept showing through and several scenes had to be reshot. A young man from digital remastering then spent four weeks removing all the private parts in post-production.
- The 2000 Alternative WI Calendar was released on 12 April 1999 and sold out in its first week. A further 10,000 copies were printed and sold within three weeks, and nine months after its launch the calendar had sold 88,000 copies.
- Julie Walters was the director's first choice for the more quiet and sensitive role of Annie. Known for her comedic roles, Walters initially thought he had accidentally offered her the wrong part, and found balancing Annie's grief and humorous moments a difficult path.
- Actress Anne Reid turned down a major role in Calendar Girls, choosing instead to appear in Roger Michell's The Mother (2003).
