Word: dench
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...BEST ACTRESS Judi Dench, Mrs. Henderson Presents Felicity Huffman, TransAmerica Keira Knightley, Pride and Prejudice Charlize Theron, North Country Reese Witherspoon, Walk the Line...
...make her show stand out, Dench decides to do an English version of the Moulin Rouge. In a hilarious scene, Henderson convinces the stuffy Lord Chamberlain, played with perfect deadpan by Christopher Guest, to allow nudity onstage. “But what about the midlands?” the Chamberlain asks, to which Dench replies “you mean the pussy?” Too prude for the Parisian approach to nudity, the Lord Chamberlain relents to nudity presented strictly as art; the girls onstage can’t move...
These beginning scenes displaying the conventions of British society and the conversations between Dench and her upper crust English friends are the movie’s greatest (if only) pleasure; they serve as a self-referential acknowledgement of the Brits’ own absurdity. Though a comedy of British manners is not new ground, it is wonderful to see Dench and her contemporaries do what they do best...
...flaw in the film is the deflated dynamic of the relationship between Van Damm and Henderson, which should provide the backbone of the movie. The sparring between the two over control of the theater never really sparks, for Hoskins, solidly playing the straight man role, is no match for Dench. Delivering her lines with her usual acerbic and perfectly timed delivery, Dench demonstrates why she is the premier actress of the AARP...
...romantic setup of the two also feels false; Hendersons’ crush is conveyed by Dench gazing wistfully away from the camera and turning unreasonably angry when she discovers that Van Damm is married. Why would a woman as independent as Henderson immediately fall for Van Damm...