Mrs Henderson Presents

Name: Mrs Henderson Presents
Genre: Drama, Comedy, Crime, War, Music
Released: December 9, 2005
Duration: 103 min
Rating: 71
Cast: Bob Hoskins, Christopher Guest, Judi Dench

2005

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 36 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 38 Ratings

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7.2

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7.2	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 38 Ratings

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Mrs. Henderson Presents

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Movie Details & Credits

Weinstein Company, The | Release Date: December 9, 2005 | R

Starring: Bob Hoskins, Christopher Guest, Judi Dench

Summary: 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 asMrs. 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)… Expand

Director: Stephen Frears

Genre(s): Drama, Comedy, Crime, War, Music

Rating: R

Runtime: 103 min

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Critic Reviews

100

Peter Rainer

Marvelously enjoyable. Read full review

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

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

Connie Ogle

Never has the sight of naked women been so innocent. Read full review

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

Jami Bernard

This genteel confection skews toward older audiences - those who go for "Calendar Girls," "Ladies in Lavender" and "Mrs. Brown." Read full review

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

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User Reviews

DawdlingPoet

Nov 20, 2021

This is quite an amusing film - its based on a true story and is quite light hearted, with some really quite humorous moments. The story is quite interesting and the characters are rather animated. I found it to be an easy watch. The musical numbers are quite catchy and its quite a brightThis is quite an amusing film - its based on a true story and is quite light hearted, with some really quite humorous moments. The story is quite interesting and the characters are rather animated. I found it to be an easy watch. The musical numbers are quite catchy and its quite a bright and colourful film in general, with scenes of on stage performances featuring some impressive lighting techniques given the time its set in.

Mrs Henderson herself, aka Laura, comes across very much as a frivollous, well-to-do upper class socialite - someone who perhaps doesn't see the controversy that others clearly do. She's blunt and to the point and this leads to some entertaining arguments between her and the theatre's manager. She seems, in some parts, a bit cold and uncaring but thats shown to not be the case, as she decides to check up on how the acts are being treated.

The second world war is depicted and some news reel fooage is shown during the film, to give the viewer a real feel of how turbulent things were and to bring home the fact of how important it was then that 'the show must go on', as the saying goes, despite attacks above ground. Of course this film is more of a muscial based comedy than a full blown drama, as mentioned and as such, it glosses over things to an extent but it does well at portraying what the theatrical world was like in London at that time. Some might say its a bit tasteless, from a nudity point of view but its argued that the emphasis is very much on making it (ie. the performances) appear artistic, rather than pornographic, by way of the performers barely moving on stage, which I imagine can't be easy.

The music is pretty light and even subtle perhaps - Will Young performs some numbers and features throughout the film. I didn't find myself getting overly distracted, as musicals aren't particularly my 'thing', you could say (along with slasher type horror films and sickly sweet romantic comedies) but the story moves along at a fair pace and the musical scenes, or parts, are equally mixed in with dialogue based scenes and I found it entertaining throughout. There are some slightly political scenes or aspects within it and there is something of a moral message to it - there is some poignant dialogue, as well as the amusing aspects although, as I say, its mostly quite light hearted and a pretty easy watch. You don't have to have your wits about you too much to understand, follow or enjoy this film, which (as far as im concerned) is no bad thing - it highlights the determination of an individual to provide a slightly alternative entertainment during the wartime. You could say it has a very British feel to it, of course it being based on a true British story having a lot to do with it but I liked the sort of grit and determination aspect of it and I feel Dame Judi Dench was particularly well cast in her role.

Yes, I'd recommend this film, as I thought it was quite entertaining - amusing in scenes, with some good musical performances, nice lighting and some poignant moments too. The main characters are quite animated and Mrs. Hendersons rocky 'relationship' with manager Van Damm is particularly well portrayed. With equal entertainment and comedy, this is a pretty good watch. It isn't especially long drawn out at about an hour and forty minute long and it has a good cast, with a nice message (or moral) or two added to it I suppose, so on that basis then I'd say its worth seeing.… Expand

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mrmijac

Jan 3, 2006

A class act!