Mrs. Henderson Presents Review
By David Kempler
Mrs. Henderson Rocks
I really had no intention of seeing "Mrs. Henderson Presents" but it was my mom's birthday so she got to pick the movie. Thank you mom!
"Mrs. Henderson Presents" is not great cinema but it has a style and breeziness that makes it an outstanding time at the movies. It's based on a true story about The Windmill Theatre in London's West End in the 1930's. Laura Henderson (Judi Dench) is an extremely wealthy woman who has been very recently widowed. After the funeral she seems lost as what to do next. Her friend suggests she take up a hobby such as stamp collecting. Mrs. Henderson takes it a couple of hundred steps further and buys a theatre in total disrepair, much to the surprise of everyone, even herself. After a poor start to their relationship she gets Vivian Van Damm (Bob Hoskins) to run the place. Van Damm is an old pro at this sort of thing and demands total control over the entire operation. Mrs. Henderson acquiesces. Sort of. She manages to keep worming her way back in and of course they eventually come to have great respect and admiration for each other.
At first, business is booming and all is well but then attendance starts to fade and the operation is in the red. Van Damm tells her that it is time to close the old theatre down. Mrs. Henderson will hear nothing of his suggestion. Instead she comes up with an idea. Let's have nude women on stage. Everyone is aghast at this idea, not to mention that it is illegal. However, Mrs. Henderson is a woman of tremendous connections and cunning and she schedules a meeting with Lord Cromer (Christopher Guest), the man in charge of granting licenses for live performances. Seems she knew him as a young pup and she maneuvers the Lord into a position of if the naked women don't move it is art and fine to present.
The show goes on and it's a smash hit. It does so because it becomes a refuge for young British soldiers to view the breasts of pretty young things, especially Maureen (Kelly Reilly), the star of the show. WWII has hit the British Isles and the bombing of London is taking a mighty toll on England both physically and mentally. The Windmill doggedly remains open throughout it all.
Yes, "Mrs. Henderson Presents" sounds a tad hokey but it is not. Judi Dench picks up this film by her lonesome and along with Bob Hoskins elevates what could have been a sticky melodrama into a film that flies by on Dench's shoulders. Ms. Dench's performance is as perfect as I saw in 2005 and in my opinion she deserves the Best Actress award by a country mile. This doesn't mean she'll win because the best usually don't win. Hell, they usually don't even get nominated. No matter. Go see it. Get some popcorn and marvel at the acting chops of Ms. Dench.
