It's nude, not naked!

Though far removed from the glamorous and overexposed Playboy centrespreads, the fiftyish women in Calendar Girls offer cheerful fun for over an hour. Had the script been more inventive and had there been less number of contrived situations in the second half, the finely acted Calendar Girls could have had more appeal.

It is quite a warm-hearted and funny film, but it does not soar anywhere near the hilarious, raunchy and heartfelt The Full Monty, in which unemployed men turn to stripping.

But as it stands, the $10 million British import has become a substantial hit worldwide, earning over $75 million, though it is yet to open in a significant number of countries. In America, it climbed into the top 10 list two weeks ago.

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Inspired by a real story in which nearly a dozen older women in a small English town raised $1 million for charity by posing nude for a calendar, the movie is filled with chaste nudity. The women cover themselves with, among other things, household appliances.

What gives its strength and appeal are the performances by Helen Mirren and Julie Walters as buddies. In the end, the film is not much about a seemingly daring idea but about friendship tested in difficult times.

Julie Walters plays Annie whose husband (John Alderton) dies of leukaemia at a local hospital. Her best friend Chris (Mirren) wonders if they could help the local hospital's charity. Doing that would, in some way, honour the memory of her friend's deceased husband.

Each year, the local women's organisation produces a calendar for charity. Chris thinks she can raise more money with a novel idea that suddenly catches her fancy. Chris, who has seen X-rated magazines in her son's room, thinks of getting her friends to pose nude for a calendar, along with her widowed friend and herself.

Predictably, not everyone is excited. A good part of the film is spent on her efforts to convince women that they are not doing anything terrible and the money they raise will go for a good cause. They will pose nude but not naked, Chris tells her friends. When they finally agree, the pictures are taken with the women carefully and imaginatively covered.

The very idea of small-town and 'proper' British women going nude shocks and titillates the local press and, soon, the entire country. And there is unending publicity.

The film works better in its first half, but once the women become famous and travel across England to promote their work, the screen writers inject more drama into the story, as if they are afraid the audiences will not buy a straight comedy about enterprising aged women. The women also make news in America and are invited to appear on key talk shows.

In the last quarter, it looks as if the writers want us to think more about the consequences of instant fame.

Mirren is best known for her television work in Prime Suspect and films like Gosford Park that won her an Oscar nomination. She has shown her comic abilities in dramatic films like The Madness Of King George for which she got her first Oscar nomination. But seeing her in a full-length comedy is a distinct pleasure. She infuses the film with warmth, humour and irony. It seems as if her electrifying performance challenged everyone around, including the very accomplished Julie Walters (of Harry Potter movies).

For those still worried about the content of the film, here is a note: there is not much nudity in the film and you won't have to squirm in your seat while your wide-eyed nephew or daughter enjoys it.