Calendar Girls

Calendar Girls is a British comedy-drama based on a real episode in Yorkshire. A group of women belonging to the local branch of the Women's Institute, tired of the usual fundraising bake sales, look for a new way to raise money for a hospital charity. Their solution is to photograph themselves nude, tastefully posed, for the branch's annual calendar. The project causes a stir far beyond their small town and gives the women a public profile they never expected, while testing the friendship between Chris Harper and Annie Clarke, whose husband John has died of leukemia. The film was directed by Nigel Cole, the second of his feature films after Saving Grace, from a screenplay by Tim Firth and Juliette Towhidi. Helen Mirren and Julie Walters lead the cast as Chris and Annie, with John Alderton, Linda Bassett, Annette Crosbie and Philip Glenister among the credited performers.

The film was released in September 2003 and runs 108 minutes. It is a British and American production made by Touchstone Pictures, Buena Vista International and Harbour Pictures for a budget of about 10 million dollars, and it returned roughly 97 million dollars worldwide, a substantial multiple of its production cost. On IMDb it holds a rating of 6.9 out of 10 from around 29,000 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 6.5 from roughly 420 votes, a smaller sample. A critics' rating of 6.7 from 124 reviews places it close to the audience scores. A large credited cast and crew, 68 and 81 respectively, reflect the ensemble nature of the production.