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Mrs. Henderson Presents
EMAILPRINTThe Weinstein Company LLC

Generally favorable reviews
Based on 36 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 29 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Comedy | Drama | Foreign
Written by: Martin Sherman
Directed by: Stephen Frears
Release Date:
Theatrical: December 9, 2005
DVD: April 18, 2006
Running Time: 103 minutes, Color
Origin: UK
Summary
RATING: R for nudity and brief language
Starring Judi Dench, Bob Hoskins, Will Young, Kelly Reilly, Thelma Barlow, and Christopher Guest
Mrs. Laura Henderson (Dench) may be a widow but she is by no means going to spend the rest of her days playing bridge. The Windmill Theater becomes ger game and the infamous showman Vivian Van Dam (Hoskins) becomes her partner and fiercest opponent. The Germans are bombing London but the roar of the Windmill is all that can be heard as Laura convinces Lord Cromer (Guest) to allow her actresses to be the one thing no one could ever imagine: Nude. Brought to its knees by war, what Mrs. Henderson Presents brings a nation to its feet in applause. (The Weinstein Company)
Also On Metacritic
FILM: Cheri Dangerous Liasons Dirty Pretty Things High Fidelity Liam Mary Reilly The Grifters The Queen
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
ReelViews James Berardinelli
It offers a feel-good experience, but without the heavy dose of schmaltz that often accompanies such a production.
Read Full Review >New York Post Lou Lumenick
Constantly battling, Hoskins and Dench have terrific chemistry together.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips
A dear film, sentimental and fond, full of beautifully acted British resolve.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold
It's funny, touching and crammed to the rafters with clever dialogue, splashy production numbers and stiff-upper-lip charm.
Read Full Review >Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek
This is a shimmery beaded curtain of a movie, a slight, charming picture that's almost all facade. But what a facade!
Read Full Review >The Hollywood Reporter Michael Rechtshaffen
An absolute delight from start to finish.
Read Full Review >Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern
One of the wittiest comedies to come our way in a very long time.
Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan
Just 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. Mrs. Henderson Presents is the latest example of the trend and an especially satisfying one.
Read Full Review >Time Richard Schickel
The result is an admittedly minor, but authentic, holiday treat.
Read Full Review >Dallas Observer Bill Gallo
Mrs. Henderson hits all its marks, well-worn though they be, and Dench fans will once more find themselves glorying in her reckless spirit.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
Say what you will about feel-good films anchored by feisty old broads, the English have a knack with them and Stephen Frears' fact-based tale of a formidable, aristocratic widow who makes it her mission to put naked girls on the London stage is delightful.
Read Full Review >Premiere Ethan Alter
It's a slight story to be sure, but the pleasures of Mrs. Henderson Presents lie less with the narrative and more with the film's tone and the dynamic duo of Dench and Hoskins.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Ruthe Stein
Has an old-fashioned feel, as if it had been made in the period of its setting. I mean this as a compliment.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
Mrs. Henderson Presents is not great cinema, and neither was the Windmill great theater, but they both put on a good show.
Read Full Review >Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman
Unlike its subject, "Henderson" breaks no new ground. But like its reliable star, it's a welcome exponent of a valued tradition.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Ty Burr
Mrs. Henderson Presents is a very old hat, and Judi Dench wears it beautifully.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Andrea Gronvall
Posh meets prole in this period drama elegantly directed by Stephen Frears (Dangerous Liaisons, Prick Up Your Ears).
Read Full Review >Film Threat K.J. Doughton
In Mrs. Henderson Presents, Bob Hoskins lets it all hang out.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Jorge Morales
This is Dame Judi's show. However extraordinary an actor she may be, she cannot conceal the obvious fact that she's having the time of her life here. Isn't that delicious?
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias
Poking fun at uptight British civility has long been a monocle-shattering comedic staple, and Mrs. Henderson Presents gets by for a while on its genial naughtiness.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten
Dench deserves better, and unfortunately it will probably be a long time before she gets another starring role in a movie custom-made for an actress her age.
Read Full Review >Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey
In its juxtaposition of voluptuous nudity with the horrors of war, in its evocation of idealized beauty draped like gods and goddesses of Grecian art, the film invokes classical ideas about how the life force asserts itself most aggressively in the face of death.
Read Full Review >Rolling Stone Peter Travers
The subplot involving a tragic romance between a soldier and one of the living statues (the lovely Kelly Reilly) is hell on the humor and on a movie that stays content to do the trite thing.
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen
The picture is as tastefully pretty as its girls, and just as motionless.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Jami Bernard
This genteel confection skews toward older audiences - those who go for "Calendar Girls," "Ladies in Lavender" and "Mrs. Brown."
Read Full Review >Variety David Rooney
A bigscreen feature executed with a cookie-cutter small-screen sensibility, this often charming but untextured fact-based period piece is buoyed along by the redoubtable Judi Dench.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Manohla Dargis
Watching this reasonably funny, professionally assembled calculation is a little like snuggling up in front of the television with a mug of hot cocoa and a warm blanket. Those who prefer their drinks and recreation spiked would do well to look elsewhere.
Read Full Review >Portland Oregonian Marc Mohan
A rather schizophrenic comedy that gives respected performers Dame Judi Dench and Bob Hoskins a chance to show they don't take themselves too seriously.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
This makes for a friendly romp, and also a dull one.
Read Full Review >LA Weekly Ella Taylor
Stephen Frears has had more downs than ups of late, but I would never have thought the man responsible for "My Beautiful Laundrette" and "The Grifters" capable of stooping to pap as pappy as this unbearably chipper take on the real-life story of Laura Henderson.
Read Full Review >USA Today Mike Clark
It says something that during a scene in which nude chorines are turned into a fleshy backdrop, you spend as much time looking at your watch as what's on screen.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 7.2 (out of 10) based on 29 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Carol R. gave it a9:
A most enjoyable, easy to watch British film production ... a combination of emotions and wonderfully acted by Judi Dench, Bob Hoskins and Thelma Barlow.
Lady M. gave it a9:
Splendid and very classy film! Great actors and actresses like Judi Dench and Bob Hoskins, but the greatest is absolutely Mrs. Thelma Barlow. I love her accent!
BJ J. gave it a0:
After 20 minutes I gave it up. Difficult to understand the Brit accents, even tho I've been to England many times. Story line was going nowhere. In reading the other reviews, perhaps I'm too plebian to enjoy this.
Sheila O. gave it a10:
Dame Judy Dench was wonderful in this film and Bob Hoskins played well with her. I laughed so much and loved the songs and the nudity was tastefully done.This was nostalgic for me because my father often visited the Windmill theatre,we should have more films like this.I would like the CD of the songs, Loved Will Young he was cool.
Sheila E. gave it a10:
I was captivated from beginning to end mostly by Judi Dench's performance, it is true, but by all the rest of the cast, story and especially the dialogue as well.
Jane R. gave it a9:
Wonderful characters and chemistry between the characters. Moving, lovely photography, well scripted. We loved it.
Gregg D. gave it an8:
A pleasant movie that appealed to both my wife and me. R rated but done in such an elegant way, I would allow my 13 year old daughter to view it.
