THE SHOW MUST GO ON, BUT THE CLOTHES MUST COME OFF.
In 1937, newly widowed Laura Henderson (Judi Dench) buys a London theater, The Windmill, and spends World War II fighting with the manager (Bob Hoskins) and introducing nude tableaux. Director Stephen Frears’s film was based on real events, the story of how London got its version of the Moulin Rouge. It’s a breezy romantic comedy with serious undertones; entertaining, good-looking and British in a very attractive way. The movie offers nothing new and is awfully slight, but Dench and Hoskins are perfectly matched as two stubborn, very creative minds on collision course.
2005-Britain. 103 min. Color. Widescreen. Directed by Stephen Frears. Cast: Judi Dench (Laura Henderson), Bob Hoskins (Vivian Van Damm), Will Young (Bertie), Christopher Guest, Kelly Reilly, Thelma Barlow.
Trivia: Hoskins also co-executive-produced the film. The same theater was also depicted in Tonight and Every Night (1945). Later a stage musical.
