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Recently widowed well-to-do Laura Henderson is at a bit of a loose end in inter-war London. On a whim she buys the derelict Windmill theatre in the West End and persuades impresario Vivian Van Damm to run it, despite the fact the two don't seem to get on at all. Although their idea of a non-stop revue is at first a success, other theatres copy it and disaster looms. Laura suggests they put nudes in the show, but Van Damm points out that the Lord Chamberlain, who licenses live shows in Britain, is likely to have something to say about this. Luckily Mrs Henderson is friends with him.
Het op ware feiten gebaseerde verhaal over Laura Henderson, één van Engelands meest prominente en excentrieke society-figuren van voor W.O.II. Henderson richtte het historische Windmill Theatre op, legendarisch om de naakte revueshows. Deze vérité-dame, immer bijgestaan door haar vriend en theatermanager Vivian Van Damm, met wie ze een haat-liefde relatie had, bood hevige strijd tegen de in haar ogen belachelijke censuur. Tevens zorgde ze er eigenhandig voor dat haar theater de moraal hoog hield tijdens W.O.II.
A British director with an astoundingly eclectic body of work, Stephen Frears (MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDRETTE, HIGH FIDELITY) has never made the same film twice. With MRS. HENDERSON PRESENTS, Frears has taken several genres--including costume drama and the gently naughty Brit-com (Ã la THE FULL MONTY or CALENDAR GIRLS) and crafted a breezy but affecting entertainment that hides a surprising emotional heft in its third act. Based on the true story of London's Windmill Theater, the film stars Judi Dench as Laura Henderson, a widowed society woman in the 1930s who purchases the abandoned West End venue as a means to help ...
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her pass the time. She enlists experienced stage producer Vivian Van Damm (Bob Hoskins, who also produced the film) to aid her in creating Paris-inspired vaudeville revues--which break taboos in the staid English society of the time by featuring artfully posed nude women amidst the musical shenanigans. The shows become wildly successful with soldiers during WWII, but the horror of the Blitz brings trauma to the intrepid stage troupe.
Dench and Hoskins give their usual fantastic performances, creating two characters who are comically reluctant to express their obvious affection for one another. They are supported by a charismatic cast--most notably Kelly Reilly, as their nude lead--who sing, dance, and doff their clothes with abandon, though the goings-on are always in the cleanest of fun. With beautifully staged musical numbers, a significant amount of bare flesh, and wit to spare, MRS. HENDERSON has something for any moviegoer and stands as yet another success for one of the world's most pleasantly idiosyncratic filmmakers.
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