The defence The Sentimental Softie
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
Back to trending 
Calendar Girls
Drama · Comedy · 2003
Members of a Yorkshire branch of the Women's Institute cause controversy when they pose nude for a charity calendar.
Movie details
Calendar Girls
“Some ladies will do anything for a good cause.”
2003 Drama · Comedy 1h 48m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.5 / 10
Community rating
Members of a Yorkshire branch of the Women's Institute cause controversy when they pose nude for a charity calendar.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Calendar Girls?
For the defence
The Sentimental Softie
“You came to feel something, and you will.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Cool Ironist
“Feeling things is a little embarrassing.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
White Men Can't Jump
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The Trip
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When Steve Coogan is asked by The Observer to tour the country's finest restaurants, he envisions it as the perfect getaway with his beautiful girlfriend. But, when she backs out on him, he has no one to accompany him but his best friend and source of eternal aggravation, Rob Brydon.
The Lady in the Van
Comedy · 2015
The true story of the relationship between Alan Bennett and the singular Miss Shepherd, a woman of uncertain origins who ‘temporarily’ parked her van in Bennett’s London driveway and proceeded to live there for 15 years.
With Honors
Comedy · 1994
Convinced he'll graduate with honors because of his thesis paper, a stuffy Harvard student finds his paper being held hostage by a homeless man, who might be the guy to school the young man in life.
The Choral
Comedy · 2025
As World War I rages on, Dr. Henry Guthrie takes over a British choral society that's lost most of its men to the army. The community soon discovers that the best response to the chaos of war is to make beautiful music together.
Moxie
Comedy · 2021
Inspired by her mom's rebellious past and a confident new friend, a shy 16-year-old publishes an anonymous zine calling out sexism at her school.
Benny & Joon
Comedy · 1993
A mentally ill young woman finds love with an eccentric man who models himself after Buster Keaton.
The Upside
Comedy · 2019
Phillip is a wealthy quadriplegic who needs a caretaker to help him with his day-to-day routine in his New York penthouse. He decides to hire Dell, a struggling parolee who's trying to reconnect with his ex and his young son. Despite coming from two different worlds, an unlikely friendship starts to blossom.
A Dog Year
Comedy · 2009
Jon Katz is close to burnout. He's a writer with writer's block; his wife has left for her sister's because he's emotionally distant; he rarely answers his phone. A kennel sends him a border collie that's undisciplined because of abuse. Despite a series of mishaps, Jon decides to keep trying with the dog, and he rents a dilapidated farm house to give the dog room to run. A local handyman refers Jon to a woman who might be able to help him train the dog. Reluctantly, Jon gives her a try. Is the dog the problem, or the owner?
The Station Agent
Drama · 2003
When his only friend dies, a man born with dwarfism moves to rural New Jersey to live a life of solitude, only to meet a chatty hot dog vendor and a woman dealing with her own personal loss.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Nigel Cole
Written by
Juliette Towhidi · Tim Firth
Helen Mirren
Chris Harper
Julie Walters
Annie Clarke
John Alderton
John Clarke
Linda Bassett
Cora
Annette Crosbie
Jessie
Philip Glenister
Lawrence Sertain
Ciarán Hinds
Rod Harper
Court is in session
Put Calendar Girls on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Cool Ironist
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.