‘Calendar’ Girls’ bare it all in British import comedy

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In theaters

CALENDAR GIRLS, directed by Nigel Cole, written by Tim Firth and Juliette Towhidi, 108 minutes, rated PG-13.

The new Nigel Cole comedy, “Calendar Girls,” is based on the true story of a group of middle-aged Yorkshire women who in 1999 found the courage to whip off their bras, “get them out” and pose nude for a pinup calendar.

They did so in an effort to raise money for a hospital charity, one that became close to their hearts after the death of one of their husbands from leukemia.

In the process, the women became internationally famous, selling tens of thousands of calendars, earning the hospital hundreds of thousands of pounds and, at the peak of their fame, landing in Hollywood on an episode of “The Tonight Show” with Jay Leno.

But before fame struck, reality struck first. The women, led by Chris (Helen Mirren) and her best friend Annie (Julie Walters), whose husband, John (John Alderton), is the man who died of cancer, met the formidable resistance of their women’s club, the Women’s Institute.

It was the institute’s respected support they felt they needed to make their project seem less like soft porn and more like an honorable endeavor. But wouldn’t you know, a club best-known for selling plum jam didn’t exactly fancy the idea of their members baring their own plums for all the world to see.

As written by Tim Firth and Juliette Towhidi, “Calendar Girls” recalls a female version of “The Full Monty,” another British import that dealt with issues of modesty, the difficulty of accepting one’s body image, and the empowerment that can come from realizing that sagging body parts and dimpled buns aren’t the end of the world.

In the recent “Something’s Gotta Give,” Diane Keaton, 57, also bared it all, thus suggesting that Hollywood might be onto something, a welcome trend of allowing mature women of a certain age to reclaim their sexuality and shine onscreen.

The first half of “Calendar Girls” shines the brightest. It’s spry and mischievous, with Chris, Annie and their small group of daring friends fighting the good fight by agreeing to let it all hang out. The scenes in which they muster the nerve to pose for the photographs are especially funny and crowdpleasing, with the women knocking back a few stiff drinks before disrobing in front of objects – such as frosted, cherry-topped pastries – that artfully conceal what they don’t want to fully reveal.

The second half of the movie isn’t nearly as energetic, as Cole (“Saving Grace”) turns his film into a cautionary tale about the consequences of fame and narcissism. Still, the performances are consistently appealing, particularly those by Mirren and Walter who ground the movie as often as they send it up. Indeed, these two prove, at least when it comes to calendars, that April doesn’t always have to be the cruelest month.

Grade: B+

On video and DVD (Feb. 3)

LOST IN TRANSLATION, written and directed by Sofia Coppola, 102 minutes, rated R.

In frenetic, jittery Tokyo, where neon skyscrapers thrum and the air is alive with electric heat, Bob Harris (Bill Murray), washed-up movie star, arrives dazed and drawn, looking nearly dead beneath the cartoon fluorescence.

He’s in Tokyo to shoot a humiliating series of Suntory whisky commercials, a gig that will make him millions, none of which, you sense, will be enough to offset what little sense of pride he has left.

A lonely insomniac in a city too alive to sleep, Bob is lost, wavering just this side of giving up on everything – his marriage, his life, his career – when he meets young Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson). She’s a fellow lonely insomniac stuck in Tokyo with her inattentive husband, John (Giovanni Ribisi), a photographer shooting a rock band.

In their hotel, Bob and Charlotte share a drink while mediocre American lounge singers belt out torchy love songs behind them. What spills from their chance meeting is the heart of director Sofia Coppola’s Academy Award-nominated second film, “Lost in Translation,” a movie about two lives intersecting just as they’re about to burst apart.

The film, which Coppola also wrote and produced, is more content to observe than it is to meddle. Her script is especially spare, charged with the languid intensity of a dream. As Bob and Charlotte grow close and the sexual energy between them rises, they aren’t hurried into the sack in an effort to find out what they could mean to each other in bed – that would be too easy. Instead, Coppola sends them out of their hotel and into the city where they find in the clashing disconnect of another culture an undeniable connection between themselves.

With its Pachinko arcades, karaoke parlors, strip and dance clubs, Tokyo is a major force in this movie. What’s remarkable is how this vibrant city, with all its flash and chaos, somehow fades beneath the power of Murray and Johansson’s performances, which border on greatness.

The last scene, as unforgettable as the final scene in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” is actually more powerful for what it leaves unsaid. Words and tears are exchanged between Bob and Charlotte just when all seems lost, but by not allowing us to hear what’s being said, Coppola pulls the movie out from under us, turning her study in romantic disillusionment into one of romantic mystery.

Grade: A

Christopher Smith is the Bangor Daily News film critic. His reviews appear Mondays and Fridays in Style, 5:30 p.m. Thursdays on WLBZ 2 and WCSH 6, and are archived at RottenTomatoes.com. He

can be reached at BDNFilm1

@aol.com.

The Video/DVD Corner

Renting a video or a DVD? NEWS film critic Christopher Smith can help. Below are his grades of recent releases in video stores. Those capped and in bold print are new to video stores this week.

Anything Else ? B+

Bad Boys II ? C-

Bruce Almighty ? B+

Cabin Fever ? C+

Finding Nemo ? B+

Freaky Friday ? A-

Freddy vs. Jason ? D-

How to Deal ? C-

The In-Laws ? C

The Italian Job ? A-

Johnny English ? D+

Lara Croft Tombraider: The Cradle of Life ? B

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen ? C-

LE DIVORCE ? C-

Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde ? C+

Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers ? A-

Man on the Train ? A-

The Matrix Reloaded ? A-

Nowhere in Africa ? A

Once Upon a Time in Mexico ? B-

Open Range ? B+

Out of Time ? B

The Order ? D

Pirates of the Caribbean ? A-

RADIO ? C

Real Women Have Curves ? A-

Santa Clause 2 ? C-

Shanghai Knights ? B

Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas ? B-

S.W.A.T. ? B-

Swimming Pool ? B+

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines ? B

THIRTEEN ? B+

2 Fast 2 Furious ? C-

28 Days Later ? B+

Underworld ?D

View from the Top ? C+

Winged Migration ? A

X2-X-Men United ? A-