Judi Dench as MRS. HENDERSON is a joy to watch from the first scene in the cemetery to the last scene on a roof top in London. A powerful story of a rich English woman who strikes gold with an investment in a theater in London during World War II and turns her investment into a brilliant refuge for her audience as bombs drop all around the theater.
Bob Hoskins turns in a performance as brilliant as Ms. Dench and the two of the them on the screen together is such a pleasure to watch two polished and professional actors light up the screen. The chemistry between them is marvelous, and their scenes together are filled with tremendous writing and biting humor. A "cinematic joy" just in time for the Awards season.
MRS. HENDERSON PRESENTS brings us back to the time of World War II and visually shows us the strength of character which the English people had in fighting the Germans and the tremendous sacrifices made by Great Britain to win the war. The supporting cast of beautiful women, and the marvelous role Christopher Guest has in the movie makes this film one to remember and cherish during the holiday season.
LET THERE ALWAYS BE AN ENGLAND.
Mrs. Henderson Presents
2005
Action / Comedy / Drama / Music / War
Mrs. Henderson Presents
2005
Action / Comedy / Drama / Music / War
Plot summary
Recently widowed well-to-do Mrs. Laura Henderson (Dame Judi Dench) 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 (Bob Hoskins) to run it, despite the fact the two don't seem to get along 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, Lord Rowland Baring, 2nd Earl of Cromer (Christopher Guest),who licenses live shows in Britain, is likely to have something to say about this. Luckily, Mrs. Henderson is friends with him.
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MRS. HENDERSON PRESENTS is a brilliant film and a great story.
Amazingly, this story is based on real folks and a real theater.
"Mrs. Henderson Presents" is a movie that has a LOT of nudity...far more than the average rated R movie. But it's NOT gratuitous and is actually necessary for the plot! I am just letting you know so you aren't shocked when you see the film!
The story is about a real woman, Mrs. Henderson, and her odd late-life business. It seems that after Mr. Henderson died, he left his wife VERY well off financially. Instead of just retiring to a life of leisure like most upper class Brits of the era, she (Judi Dench) decides to open a theater called the Windmill Theatre. But the musical and other productions the theater puts on initially aren't particularly interesting or successful, so Mrs. Henderson shocks her theater manager (Bob Hoskins) by suggesting they spice up their productions by including nudity...like the French were doing on stage in the 1920s-30s. This is a problem, as Britain in this era was rather conservative, though she persevered and managed to pull it off by making the nudity artistic. No shimmying ladies or gratuitous nekkid women...but 'tableaus' where nude women pose motionless as folks sing and dance around them! What's next for this shocking lady? See the film.
While the plot might sound very gratuitous, she had ulterior motives and the film handles it all very well. It's a strange and fascinating story made all the better by Dench's lovely performance. Well worth seeing...but like I said, there's a lot of nudity.
CLEVER AND WITTY
The opening credits have the appearance of a 1960's comedy. While this movie is clever and witty, I would place it into a drama category that uses humor to prevent dry boring material. The movie has nudity, but it is not erotic. In a compromise solution, nudity is allowed only if the girls never move while on stage, i.e. act as statues.