During the wake of Mrs. Henderson's late husband, she has already fallen bored with the life of widowhood. Never one to be kept tied down with boredom, and money to burn, stumbles upon an old, decrepit theater. Hiring out of work manager, Vivian Van Damm, the Windmill theater becomes an instant hit with the public. When other theaters follow suit, revenue drops dramatically. To keep the theater running, Henderson takes inspiration from Paris, placing naked women in the stage numbers. Contriversity hits the Windmill, with Lord Cromer stating the women are unable to move, in order for the nudity to be credited as art, yet the musicals are a hit, with people constantly filling the seats; strangely all men. Looming around the corner, the second world war starts, turning England into a dangerous area, from constant air raids. Determined to keep peoples morals up, Henderson leaves the theater open.
From the opening credits, you can see Mrs. Henderson Presents is covered in that old English charm. The humor is so wry and fired off with such precision, making those punches at the aristocratic lifestyle right on target. You can easily see Judi Dench loved her role of Mrs. Henderson. Dench perfectly times every joke, and comeback to Mr. Van Damm, firing one after the other. Equally match, Bob Hoskins is perfectly partnered with Dench, they're like an old couple they way they fight one another.
While Mrs. Henderson Presents starts off promising, with great humor, its starts to slip down, verging to heavily into the melodramatic; especially when the war starts. Melodrama doesn't hold a lot of emotional manipulation, making all the dramatic scenes not all that dramatic. Stephen Frears's direction is to heavy handed, with some awkward shots; at times it looks he's shoving the camera in their faces. Frears's does handle the nudity with great subtlety, never looking exploitive, the women do look like art.
While this does slide towards the end with some predictability and losing that sharp witty humor, Mrs. Henderson Presents is a good piece of light entertainment.
From the opening credits, you can see Mrs. Henderson Presents is covered in that old English charm. The humor is so wry and fired off with such precision, making those punches at the aristocratic lifestyle right on target. You can easily see Judi Dench loved her role of Mrs. Henderson. Dench perfectly times every joke, and comeback to Mr. Van Damm, firing one after the other. Equally match, Bob Hoskins is perfectly partnered with Dench, they're like an old couple they way they fight one another.
While Mrs. Henderson Presents starts off promising, with great humor, its starts to slip down, verging to heavily into the melodramatic; especially when the war starts. Melodrama doesn't hold a lot of emotional manipulation, making all the dramatic scenes not all that dramatic. Stephen Frears's direction is to heavy handed, with some awkward shots; at times it looks he's shoving the camera in their faces. Frears's does handle the nudity with great subtlety, never looking exploitive, the women do look like art.
While this does slide towards the end with some predictability and losing that sharp witty humor, Mrs. Henderson Presents is a good piece of light entertainment.