The year is 1937 and, despite having recently lost her husband, 69-year-old Laura Henderson remains as ambitious and vital as ever. Aghast at her friend Lady Conway's suggestion that she take up a mundane hobby such as diamond collecting to pass the time, Mrs. Henderson instead shocks her well-to-do social circle by purchasing the ramshackle Windmill Theater in the heart of downtown Soho. Unafraid to take a risk in the venture, yet lacking the experience needed to run the theater, Mrs. Henderson brings in showbiz veteran Vivian Van Damm to line up an opening act that will set the stage ablaze. Though Van Damm's innovative idea to stage an unending stream of entertainment dubbed "Revudeville" proves a wild and profitable success, the Windmill begins to suffer when other local theaters quickly follow suit. Now faced with the prospect of seeing her once-lucrative endeavor fall by the wayside due to the unoriginality of the copycats who surround her, Mrs. Henderson decides to show audiences something they've never seen before by making the Windmill the first theater to feature nude female entertainers live on-stage.
This is a very different type of film than I typically watch, but I was pleasantly surprised that I wasn't bored out of my mind. On the contrary, it was pretty funny and entertaining. Of course, I'm sure the partially clothed females had a little something to do with keeping my interest. Judy Dench was excellent (no, she didn't get naked) and had great chemistry with Bob Hoskins. The fact that it was inspired by true events made it even more intriguing, but keep in mind that it is a period piece from the early 1900s, so it's not for the action hungry moviegoer.
Rating: 3 of 5 stars
Would I watch it again: No
Starring: Judi Dench, Bob Hoskins, Christopher Guest
I typically watch movies on Monday, Wednesday and Friday while riding the ACE Train from Tracy to Santa Clara. The opinions expressed are those of me, myself and I.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment