Frears' lazy directing and Sherman's meandering script insistently go for the safe, for the cozy, each and every time the film shows a glimmer of potential.
Comment
12/13/05
Mrs. Henderson Presents (2005)
65
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:136
Fresh:89
Rotten:47
Average Rating:6.6/10
Consensus: Judi Dench and Bob Hoskins shine in this warm, witty period piece.
Theatrical Release:2005
Box Office: $10,965,943
Synopsis: A British director with an astoundingly eclectic body of work, Stephen Frears (MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDRETTE, HIGH FIDELITY) has never made the same film twice. With MRS. HENDERSON PRESENTS, Frears has... [More]
Starring: Bob Hoskins, Judi Dench, Christopher Guest, Kelly Reilly
Director: Stephen Frears, Norma Heyman
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Reviews for Mrs. Henderson Presents
The comedic scenes in Mrs. Henderson Presents are light but effective, but the drama is way over the top, especially when Mrs. Henderson almost literally gets on a soapbox and delivers a speech about the importance of topless women in times of war.
12/12/05
Top Critic"Mrs. Henderson Presents" is an old fashioned, plucky British-stiff-upper-lip-during-thye-blitz movie that does a lovely job in creating a look and feel reminiscent of the period it portrays.
12/10/05
Even though it's about nudity, this is most definitely family entertainment.
12/10/05
Filled with delicious lines and intricate relationships, director Stephen Frears guides this British period piece set just before the outbreak of World War II as smoothly as a ripe piece of French brie is washed down by a good glass of red wine.
12/09/05
The live nude girls notwithstanding, this is the Dench and Hoskins show, and they both rise to the occasion -- bickering, bantering and sniping at each other with genteel glee.
12/09/05
[The film] rarely bares its claws or its teeth, just its heart -- which, as we all know, can be a sincerely misguided piece of equipment.
12/09/05
Mrs. Henderson Presents is pretty but static. There's flesh from wall to wall, all right. But the movie never comes alive.
12/09/05
Top CriticMrs. Henderson Presents is a classy crowd-pleaser with two stars who can pretty much count on Oscar nominations.
12/09/05
Top CriticJust as there will always be an England, there will always be a certain kind of English film: the highly polished entertainment, well-acted, genteelly amusing and impeccably turned out.
12/09/05
Top CriticThe splintered, bantering relationship between Mrs. Henderson and Van Damm (and the chemistry between Dench and Hoskins) is what gives the movie its slender charms.
12/09/05
Top CriticA not-so- grand star vehicle for the Grand Dame.
12/09/05
The film has its greatest spark when Hopkins and Dench are on screen together and those moments are far too rare in its second half.
12/09/05
Curious as to why Judi Dench has been nominated for 4 Oscars, 5 Golden Globes, 8 SAG Awards, and 20 BAFTAs? See this film and you'll understand why.
12/09/05
Ultimately too light to be remembered for more than a day or two after you see it, largely in part to the stalled story that appears more than happy to spin its wheels until Dench and Hopkins get to make their big "for your consideration" speeches in the
12/09/05
Overall, Henderson hits more than it Mrs. -- er, misses -- thanks mostly to the crackling interplay between those two ol' pros, who make it look so easy.
12/09/05
Stephen Frears seems constitutionally incapable of making an uninteresting movie.
12/09/05
Top CriticMrs. Henderson Presents bestows Dench with a distinctive role, and her feisty enthusiasm saves the picture from becoming obese with narrative ambition.
12/08/05
Acknowledges the public's omnipresent taste for naked ladies in a tasteful fashion ... This sounds funny, and it is.
12/08/05
Dench keeps a lid on her performance, not pushing the comedy over the top, so that behavior that would seem cutely impish in another has the more appealing sparkle of subverted refinement.
12/08/05
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