Judi Dench brings energy to ‘Mrs. Henderson’

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In theaters

MRS. HENDERSON PRESENTS, directed by Stephen Frears, written by Martin Sherman, 102 minutes, rated R.

What Stephen Frears presents in “Mrs. Henderson Presents” is twofold – a stage filled with artfully exposed naked bodies, including one scene in which Bob Hoskins bares it all (the courage!), and a shift in form for Judi Dench, who at once courts and leaves behind the stuffy, ferocious costume drag for which she long has been typecast.

Not that typecasting has exactly been a negative for Dench – or for her fans. One look at her outrageously haughty performance as Lady Catherine de Bourg in the new “Pride & Prejudice,” for instance, and you realize the only reason she pulls off wearing a wig the size of the Chrysler Building is because of the sheer triumph of her will.

Still, when you’ve donned your share of powdered wigs, been stitched into endless folds of corseted fabric, and huffed and puffed through a catalog of period pieces, as Dench has, a little good-natured costume comedy must come as a relief.

It’s up for grabs whether that’s why the actress is so loose and punchy in the role of Laura Henderson, the real-life widow who once used her formidable wealth and societal clout during the war years to buy the famed Windmill Theatre in London’s West End. Whatever the case, Dench is in her element here, steamrolling through the movie and tossing off the one-liners as if she came to have a good time.

Before the movie leaches into sentiment toward the end, her good time is infectious.

From Martin Sherman’s script, the movie follows the anything-goes Henderson as she renovates the theater, seemingly out of boredom, and then decides to hire the combative Vivian Van Damm (Hoskins) to run it for her. What Van Damm imagines is something called Revudeville, a cross between vaudeville and Broadway musicals that initially is a smash. But as with any successful outing, soon the competition is on, with the surrounding theaters following suit in a mass raid of copycatting.

Facing declining ticket sales but hardly about to be outdone, Henderson brazenly decides what people need in London is a little skin. They could learn something from the French, she suggests, and goes about convincing Lord Chamberlain (Christopher Guest, wonderful) over lunch to allow her to have full nudity in her shows.

Initially, the man nearly chokes on the Brie he’s being urged to eat. But when Henderson makes the argument that a live nude figure is just as beautiful as one captured in, say, a painting at a museum, he acquiesces, albeit with a condition. The nude women in the show must never move. There can be no wobbly bits in London. They will be part of a nude tableaux, dramatically lit living works of art, nothing more.

For three-quarters of the movie, this proves to be spirited fun – everyone is having a grand time and the story moves swiftly. But then the movie’s flaws begin to show.

Secondary characters who at first appear promising are disappointingly never fully realized; most of the women are reduced to just bared breasts, perhaps a good voice, but little more. Worse, the movie ultimately wants to elicit from us something deeper than laughter, as if laughter isn’t enough. Instead, we get Laura’s maudlin backstory, which won’t be revealed here, but which allows her a wholly scripted scene amid the troops and the rubble after the London blitz nearly sinks the theater, which remains famous for never closing. That scene sucks the air out of a movie, but it hardly sinks it. The movie comes recommended for all of the fun that comes before it.

Grade: B

On video and DVD

TIM BURTON’S CORPSE BRIDE, directed by Mike Johnson and Tim Burton, written by John August, Caroline Thompson and Pamel Pettler, 76 minutes, rated PG.

“Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride” begins with an arranged marriage between Victor (Johnny Depp) and Victoria (Emily Watson). She wants to wed, he’s a bit apprehensive, but neither really seems to have a choice in the matter, so they’re going to have a go of it.

The whole event has been orchestrated by their parents. For Victoria’s aristocratic family, the grim Everglots (Joanna Lumley, Albert Finny), who have a formidable title but zip for cash, it means a chance to rebuild their fortune with Victor’s new money. For Victor’s parents, the misbehaving Van Dorts (Tracey Ullman, Paul Whitehouse), who are little more than upstart fishmongers, it means inheriting a title, thus finalizing their ascension to the society they covet.

But when timid Victor becomes overwhelmed at the wedding rehearsal and dashes into the woods beyond the church, he inadvertently puts Victoria’s wedding ring on what he believes is a twig.

It isn’t a twig. Soon, the earth trembles, lightning strikes, and up from the place where the dead live springs the Corpse Bride (Helena Bonham Carter), tattered veil flowing, flesh rotting, a shiny ring on her delicate twig of her finger, so thrilled that she has her new intended, nothing is going to sway her from keeping him.

What ensues is 76 minutes of Burton in his sandbox. He’s playing here, having fun, and mostly, his efforts come through. There are scenes in which the film drags, particularly in the middle, but those moments are fleeting. Peppered with terrific animation and several song-and-dance numbers that could hardly be considered traditional, Burton and co-director Mike Johnson send up death with affection and wit.

The ending is the film at its best, eschewing expectations in ways that give these clay creatures the sort of humanity the movie otherwise might have lacked.

Grade: B+

Visit www.weekinrewind.com, the archive of Bangor Daily News film critic Christopher Smith’s reviews, which appear Mondays in Discovering, Fridays in Happening, and Weekends in Television. He may be reached at Christopher@weekinrewind.com.

The Video-DVD Corner

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

Batman Begins – A

Black Dawn – D

Bride & Prejudice – B

Broken Flowers – A-

The Brothers Grimm – D-

The Cave – C-

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – A-

Cinderella Man – A

The Constant Gardener – A-

CryWolf – D

Cypher – C+

The Devil’s Rejects – B

Doogie Howser, M.D.: Season Three – C

Dukes of Hazzard – D

The Exorcism of Emily Rose – C+

Flightplan – B-

The Fog (2005) – D

The 40-Year-Old Virgin – A

The Gospel – C+

Guess Who – C+

Happy Endings – C+

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – B-

In Her Shoes – A-

The Interpreter – B+

Into the Blue – C-

The Island – C+

Kingdom of Heaven – B-

Kung Fu Hustle – A

Lord of War – C

March of the Penguins – A

The Mary Tyler Moore Show: Season Three – A

Melinda and Melinda – B

Millions – A-

Monster-in-Law – B-

Mr. & Mrs. Smith – B

Must Love Dogs – C+

Oliver Twist – B+

Polar Express – C-

Red Eye – B+

Serenity – A-

Silk Stalkings: Complete Fourth Season – C+

The Skeleton Key – B

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith – B+

Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride – B+

Titus: Season Three – B

Transporter 2 – B-

Undiscovered – D-

Upside of Anger – B

Valiant – C-

War of the Worlds – B+

The Wedding Crashers: Uncorked – B-

The Wedding Date – B