Mrs. Henderson Presents (2005)

The greatest movie ever!

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Not awful but pretty damn boring and uninteresting. I feel compelled to write this brief review just to warn others - even though I have barely ever written reviews. Dench, Frears, Hoskins, Young? So much talent, you'd expect something decent. The story is boring, the intrigue not very intriguing and so on. There may be a historical benefit to watching this but I can't see it. Were it not for the odd body part, I wonder if the movie would have attracted so many to theatres. I can't see any saving grace and I wish I could.

I had such high expectations when sitting down to watch this film being a self-confessed 'Denchphile' and fan of genuine, honest British film. However, sadly I found myself underwhelmed by a lacklustre display despite the casting of some British acting heavyweights.First of all, the positive. Naturally, being an admirer of the Dame, Judy was the stand-out of this film insofar as without her casting, I feel this film would have barely poked its head above the water. Although not the 'brilliant' performance the reviewers promised on the DVD cover, especially when compared to recent Dench performances in the likes of 'Notes on a Scandal' and 'Ladies in Lavender', she nevertheless delivered a heart-warming show which allowed for smiles and titters. Be prepared for witty lines and examples of the classic British humour we expect in down-to-earth British cinema but don't expect any real 'laugh out loud' moments. What is charming is the music, costume, and feel of the film alluding to its musical theme. In this respect, the film succeeds in entertaining on stage, however it is the 'back-stage' story which really lets it down.Despite a positive start, setting the scene after Mr. Henderson's death and humorously showing how Mrs. Henderson acquired the Windmill theatre and Van Damm, the story soon gets all messed up, the pace and humour disappear and we're left waiting for it to end. Even the onset of the war and uncertainty about the future of the theatre fail to stir any real emotion. When main characters face atrocities, I fail to be moved towards sympathy because each of the characters is too shallow to really feel anything for, even Mrs. Henderson herself (the deepest of the lot). When the film reaches its climax (with Mrs. Henderson revealing her motives for pursuing her dream), the reason fails to convince, even though it should. Its difficult to pin-point what the missing ingredients are although the lack of character development and depth is the most obvious one. Aside from that the subplots fail to add any real value to the film and fail to prop up the weak narrative. Oh and Will Young gets a bit irritating by the end, mainly because we actually never really know who he is despite his high billing.All in all, this film gets 6/10 from me mainly for Dench's performance, its musical and aesthetic quality portrayed through the costume, song and dance. In other words the stage scenes, brief moments of Dench humour and charm. However, it fails to hit the spot because it doesn't make us care about the theatre, her motives, the characters or anything really. In the end we are just a bored audience sitting through a smiley but flawed musical stripper show which even Judy Dench could not save.

I was interested in seeing Mrs Henderson Presents as a fan of Judi Dench. After I saw the film myself, I was impressed overall. Mrs Henderson Presents is though uneven, as after a lovely first half the latter drags a bit, while the script in an attempt to create more drama particularly in the second half occasionally gets in a panic and while very well done musically and visually the musical numbers fall into the trap of having a tendency to grind the film to a halt. However, Stephen Frears does do a credible job directing, Mrs Henderson Presents does have the odd downbeat moment but it is jollier in tone to Dirty Pretty Things which had a certain grittiness to it. The story while uneven in pace is compelling and rarely ceases really to be that, the period detail from the cinematography and scenery to the costumes and make-up is lavish and the music is wonderful. The acting is good as well. Judi Dench from her one-liners to her delivery of them is very winning as Laura, and Bob Hoskins is also surprisingly effective. I was also surprised in a good way by Will Young who wasn't bad at all in his film debut. So in conclusion, a good film, uneven but worth seeing for the production values and cast. 7/10 Bethany Cox

This film dramatizes a real-life event in British theater history; the story of the old Windmill Theatre in the West End, which never closed from its opening in 1937 until it finally shut down in 1962. Even during the Blitz, with the German bombers flying overhead, the theater still offered its patrons the chance to see still-life nudes interspersed with comedy offerings. "Mrs. Henderson Presents" tells a good story, but leaves out some fundamental details - particularly the fact that the revues always contained stand-up comedians, who had the difficult job of trying to entertain audiences who had come only to look at the nude girls. Some of Britain's most famous artistes of the 40s and 50s cut their teeth at the theater, including Spike Milligan, Peter Sellers, and Tony Hancock. In addition "Mrs. Henderson Presents" unfortunately becomes a little soapy towards the end, as it depicts the love-hate relationship between the eponymous central character (Judi Dench) and Vivian van Damm (Bob Hoskins). Moreover the girls themselves are shown as almost too good to be true; director Stephen Frears does not depict the squalor of their lives as they were forced to live as well as work in the theater. Nonetheless if you fancy a feel-good movie, then "Mrs. Henderson Presents" is worth a look.