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Tell Others About This Page By Using This Button "MRS. HENDERSON PRESENTS" (2005) (Judi Dench, Bob Hoskins) (R) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Moderate Mild Heavy Mild Moderate Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Mild Minor None Minor Heavy Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Extreme Extreme Moderate Moderate Moderate QUICK TAKE: Drama: Following the death of her husband, a rich woman buys a WWII era London playhouse and decides to put on nudie shows there. PLOT: It's 1937 England and Laura Henderson (JUDI DENCH) is a nearly 70-year-old woman who's decided she's now bored with her recent widowhood. Accordingly, she uses some of her wealth to buy an old theater in London. Although she knows next to nothing about owning such an operation, she's certain she wants theater veteran Vivian Van Damm (BOB HOSKINS) to run the place, even if he's initially reluctant to agree. He eventually does, and with her blessing, they put on daily musical reviews, leading to much success. But when others copy their mold, revenues drop and they're forced to come up with something new. It's then when Laura decides they should put on nudie shows to differentiate themselves from the others, as well as entertain the young servicemen now in the throes of WWII. A local official, Lord Cromer (CHRISTOPHER GUEST), is concerned about any nudity appearing on the stage, but Laura devises a workaround. As long as the nudity is restricted to young women posing as classic artwork -- meaning motionless figures -- they won't be breaking any laws. Soon, Vivian and his assistants, including gay performer Bertie (WILL YOUNG), are choosing the actresses/models, such as the alluring Maureen (KELLY REILLY), and it's not long before the theater is once again a sold-out success. But with the effects of the war striking ever closer to home, and Laura and Vivian occasionally clashing like an old married couple, it's uncertain how long the theater can remain open. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? Unless they're fans of someone in the cast or the talk of nudity intrigues them, it's highly unlikely. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R For nudity and brief language. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: JUDI DENCH plays a recent widow who decides to buy a theater and then to put on shows with full nudity in them, not only to keep their business profitable, but also to provide a unique service to the young men in the military who frequent their shows. She drinks some and briefly uses strong profanity. BOB HOSKINS plays the opinionated and temperamental theater manager she hires to run the shows. He drinks some. WILL YOUNG plays a gay performer who appears in the shows and assists Vivian. KELLY REILLY plays one of the younger actresses who performs nude on stage and ends up pregnant by a soldier she's only briefly known. CHRISTOPHER GUEST plays a local official who's concerned about the nudity on stage at the theater. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this R-rated drama. Profanity consists of at least 1 "f" word, while other expletives and colorful phrases are also uttered. Sexually related dialogue is present, as is all sorts of nudity, both on and off the stage showing mostly female full frontal and rear nudity, but also some occasional male full frontal nudity. Although we don't see the encounter, a soldier impregnates a young woman before returning to his girlfriend, while one minor male character is noted as being gay. Various bad attitudes are present, including from the unseen German military bombing London during WWII. A person is killed by one such bombing (another is injured), while we see the results of other bombings. It's possible some of that material might be unsettling for some viewers, but most of it's not presented in a suspenseful manner. Various characters drink and/or smoke throughout much of the film, while tense family material includes the protagonist dealing with her husband's recent death and visiting her son's gravesite from long ago. Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. For those concerned with bright flashes of light on the screen, we see some flashes of lightning. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE During the opening credits that show old artsy drawings, we see some drinking. Miscellaneous people have drinks at a wake. Laura and a friend have wine with lunch. We see a period billboard advertising beer and liquor. Miscellaneous people have sherry. Laura and Vivian have drinks at a party. Laura and Lord Cromer have wine with lunch. Miscellaneous people drink. Laura's friend carries a bottle of champagne and offers some to Laura, but the latter declines. Laura's friend has a drink. Vivian has a drink and Laura then joins him. Miscellaneous people have champagne. Laura and Maureen have gin. BLOOD/GORE We see a dead woman with a little blood on her. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Laura states that there are always people to look down on in India. Laura wonders if Vivian is Jewish and then comments on his cigar: "It's so Jewish." Laura lies about her past involvement with the theater. Vivian comments, "We must have British nipples," while Laura says about one woman that one nipple is bigger than the other, and then compares another woman's small breasts to fried eggs. Laura has a condescending attitude toward Vivian's wife, Natalie, but he confronts and reprimands Laura about that. Audience members at a show do a stereotypical American Indian war chant doing the hand to mouth thing. A young military man lets a mouse loose on the stage to get the nude performers (who are posing as statues) to move (we later learn it was Vivian who was behind that -- to get around the rules that the nude women can't move on the stage). We see a newspaper headline about the Nazis rounding up Dutch Jews. A soldier impregnates Maureen and then returns to his girlfriend. The unseen Nazi forces bomb London. FRIGHTENING SCENES Scenes listed under "Violence," "Blood/Gore" and "Jump Scenes" may be unsettling, suspenseful or scary to younger viewers and/or those with low tolerance levels for such material. While on her bicycle, Maureen avoids a car and ends up in a body of water (but is okay). We hear an air raid siren and then see the flashes of bomb explosions. Inside the theater, the performance goes on, but everyone can hear the war raging outside. We then see more buildings on fire from the bombings (archival footage). A bomb explosion blows a man back from a door and kills a woman. GUNS/WEAPONS A performer dressed as Annie Oakley carries a rifle. We see war footage including a tank being hit, artillery hitting buildings and such (all in newsreel footage). We see newsreel footage of soldiers carrying rifles. We hear an air raid siren and then see the flashes of bomb explosions. We then see more buildings on fire from the bombings (archival footage). From a rooftop view, we see distant bombing explosions and fires. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "Who gives a fiddler's f*ck?" "The midlands" (female crotch area), "Are you mad?" "Future bastards," "I can do anything I bloody well please," "Shut up," "Bloody woman," "Oh damn" and "You old battle ax." It's possible the film could inspire some kids to exhibit nudity. We see bare midriffs. Audience members at a show do a stereotypical American Indian war chant doing the hand to mouth thing. JUMP SCENES A bomb explosion blows a man back from a door and kills a woman. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) None. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) A song has a lyric about "must make whoopee." PROFANITY At least 1 "f" word, 1 slang term for female genitals ("p*ssy"), 1 for breasts ("t*tties"), 1 ass, 1 damn and 1 use each of "For Christ's sakes," "Good God," "My God," "Oh dear God" and "Oh my God." SEX/NUDITY During the opening credits that show old artsy drawings, we see the bare butts of nude cherubs as well as some cleavage. A classic style statue shows bare breasts. During the auditions with various pretty, young women, Laura asks Bertie if they interest him as a man, with him replying that he has other inclinations. When their musical review show is no longer as successful as before, Laura says it isn't daring enough and that they (the female performers) should lose the clothes ("like in Paris"). She then sarcastically states that Vivian will enjoy being surrounded by breasts. She later comments that she's thinking bosoms and he's thinking breasts, and when he asks what the difference is, she says, "What's in your soul." When Lord Cromer expresses concern about what will cover the female dancers' private parts, using the terms "the midlands" and "pudendum," that prompts Laura to reply matter-of-factly, "Oh, the p*ssy." She then adds that it will be barely visible and that they'll have a barber anyway. We see a line of bare-breasted women, with Laura stating that breasts are like shoes in that they come in all shapes and sizes. Vivian comments, "We must have British nipples," while Laura says about one woman that one nipple is bigger than the other, and then compares another woman's small breasts to fried eggs. About having to perform nude, one of the young women states that even her boyfriend hasn't seen her naked and adds that they've been to bed "and everything." To make the ladies feel comfortable being nude on the stage, Bertie has everyone strip, including the crew and stagehands. The camera then pans across a line of women and men where we briefly see both female and male full frontal nudity. We then see Vivian standing nude in the seating area and we briefly see his full frontal nudity, prompting Laura to half-jokingly state, "Why, Mr. Van Damm, you are Jewish." We then see the performers' bare breasts and butts as well as more brief female full frontal nudity. Coming into the dressing room, Lord Cromer sees the bare butts of various female performers in a mirror reflection, while the others hold things up in front of their nude bodies or body parts. An older woman states about the past that she and other women looked at each other's "t*tties." During a performance, we see bare breasts and full frontal nudity of female performers who are posing as motionless statues. We see many more views of bare breasts and female full frontal nudity during a montage of performances and shows. A young military man lets a mouse loose on the stage to get the nude performers (who are posing as statues) to move (we later learn it was Vivian who was behind that -- to get around the rules that the nude women can't move on the stage). We see some cleavage in a show. Backstage, we see a performer dressed like a mermaid with her hands covering her bare breasts. After Laura's friend mentions something about attacking from the rear, the comment is made "then just slip in, as it were" (double entendre). We see a female performer's bare butt. We see more bare breasts on the stage. We see more bare breasts on the stage. A song has a lyric about "must make whoopee." We see more bare breasts and full frontal female nudity in a show. We see more bare breasts in a show and then again in several more. We see Maureen in her bra and slip and then hear that she's pregnant from a soldier (who Laura set her up with) who's now returned to his girlfriend. In addressing a crowd about why the theater and its nudie revue should stay open, Laura mentions having found her son's secret French postcard (that apparently had a nude woman on it) and laments that he died before he probably saw the real thing. We see more bare breasts in a show. SMOKING During the opening credits that show old artsy drawings, we see some smoking. Vivian smokes cigars several times, a theater lady (Maggie) smokes at least 5 times, and many miscellaneous characters smoke in many scenes. TENSE FAMILY SCENES We see Laura at her husband's funeral, but it isn't until she rows out into the middle of a lake by herself that she breaks down and cries. Later, she says that she's bored with widowhood and that is was inconsiderate of Robert to die. Laura visits her son's grave (he was 21 when he died in a previous war). Laura's friend says something about no success in marriage. Laura visits her son's gravesite again. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT WWII. How people react to nudity. Losing family members. Homosexuality. We see a newspaper headline about the Nazis rounding up Dutch Jews. We see Maureen in her bra and slip and then hear that she's pregnant from a soldier (who Laura set her up with) who's now returned to his girlfriend. VIOLENCE Laura accidentally pricks her finger doing some embroidery. We see war footage including a tank being hit, artillery hitting buildings and such (all in newsreel footage). We hear an air raid siren and then see the flashes of bomb explosions. Inside the theater, the performance goes on, but everyone can hear the war raging outside. We then see more buildings on fire from the bombings (archival footage). From a rooftop view, we see distant bombing explosions and fires. A bomb explosion (from the war) blows a man back from a door and kills a woman. Reviewed November 28, 2005 / Posted February 3, 2006

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