Mrs. Henderson Presents

From The Movie Snob:

Well, the plan last night was to meet a couple of friends and see Munich. We agreed on the 7:20 showing at one of the most popular theaters in Dallas. Knowing these particular friends as I do, I rather doubted we would actually get to see the show. Sure enough, Munich sold out by around 7:10, and at 7:20 on the dot one of my friends comes waltzing up, ready to get in the ticket line, which is probably 50 deep at this point. Obviously, there had to be a change of plans…

Mrs. Henderson Presents (B). Judi Dench is an Oscar nominee for her performance as the title character in this new movie directed by Steven Frears (High Fidelity). The film opens at a funeral in 1937 England, where Mrs. Laura Henderson is burying her husband. A member of the upper crust, Mrs. Henderson soon gets bored with widowhood and on a whim buys the closed-down Windmill Theater. She hires a curmudgeonly producer, Mr. Vivian Van Damme (Bob Hoskins), to run it for her, and their musical review is soon the hit of London. When the competition fights back, Mrs. H comes up with a new angle—the girls will appear completely nude (assuming Mrs. H can get permission from the uptight government censor (Christopher Guest)). The first half of the movie is quite entertaining, focusing on the oil-and-water relationship between the eccentric Mrs. Henderson and the irascible Mr. Van Damme. When WWII breaks out and the movie turns serious, however, it is not as effective, and even at 102 minutes started to feel a little long. But Dench’s performance is a pleasure, and Hoskins generally gives as good as he gets.