calendar girl just open in new york and i be at one of the first showing . a rare experience be be one of no more than a half dozen male in a packed theater with the overwhelming majority of the woman north of age 50 and quite a few far north . comedy and drama combine in a movie that stem from a true story . england and for good or for bad and have a national organization of woman institute and club for old woman where they meet to explore various and sundry subject and most if you believe the film tie to appreciate domestic pursuit . here the woman of a chapter in a small rural town set ( and beautifully film ) in yorkshire learn about the glory of broccoli and the never end adventure of collect tea towel . helen mirren be chris harper and happily marry with a teenage son . also happily marry be annie clarke and play with a power equal mirren and by julie walter . annie husband succumbs to leukemia . the two woman want to donate a comfortable couch to the local hospital lounge for relative await news of the condition and indeed fate and of their loved one . chris and already a bit of an iconoclast in the woman institute whose idea have not always work and for example a vodka taste evening and come up with the idea of a calendar in which her friend and all in their fifth or sixth decade and will pose in the buff . their previous calendar feature local scene do not sell well and chris be sure she have a winner with this novel approach . what follow be an always funny and sometimes move crusade by chris and annie to sign up model and locate a willing but not weird photographer . on the way they encounter opposition from some husband and certainly from their prim chapter head . many of these folk be very recognizable because they have be the staple of english comedy since shakespeare . well and definitely since the early cinema and the telly . the scene in which the woman reveal all be hilarious but also tasteful . chris and annie project take off and acquire a life of it own which put a strain on the woman relationship . be chris carry away with the calendar skyrocket sale . do she fall for the faux hollywood to which some of the woman be transport to appear in a commercial and on the jay leno show ( yeah and he in the movie ) . will annie become the dear abby of cancer victim spouse . some predictable development unfold . the very able cast be secondary to the interaction between helen mirren and julie walter . mirren be almost over the top but she anchor by walter affect portrayal which hold viewer sympathy throughout the movie . i wonder if there an american equivalent to the english woman institute . these gal begin each meeting by sing sir hubert parry jerusalem and perhaps the great tribute in song to a now vanished empire . theyre not stick in the past but theyre not free of it either . director nigel cole bring yorkshire and it woman to life and the screenplay by tim firth and juliette towhidi be lively . composer patrick doyle and who do everything well and deserve credit for a nice score that complement the story rather than overpower it a so often be the case . not a chick flick for senior . anyone with a heart will appreciate this story of woman take an unusual and amusing path to fight cancer . and the basic story be true . positive .