.MOVIE LISTINGS | MOVIE REVIEW ARCHIVE | THEATER INFO Tits and Class Great performances BY MOLLY TEPLETON MRS. HENDERSON PRESENTS: Directed by Stephen Frears. Written by Martin Sherman. Produced by Norma Heyman. Executive producers, Bob Hoskins and David Aukin. Cinematographer, Andrew Dunn. Editor, Lucia Zucchetti. Production design, Hugo Luczyc-Wyhowski. Music, George Fenton. Costumes, Sandy Powell. Starring Judi Dench and Bob Hoskins with Will Young, Christopher Guest, Kelly Reilly, Thelma Barlow. Weinstein Company, 2005. R. 103 minutes. In 1931, Laura Henderson bought a disused theater on London's Great Windmill Street. With manager Vivian Van Damm, she turned The Windmill into the home of a smash hit nude revue. From this snippet of theater history comes Stephen Frears' film, a witty, enjoyable diversion lifted to greater heights by the performances of the always-remarkable Judi Dench and a surprisingly effective and engaging Bob Hoskins. Much of Mrs. Henderson Presents is spent with Dench's Mrs. Henderson and Hoskins' Van Damm bickering and sparring like the proverbial old married couple, their unusual sexual tension lending the relationship a strange spark. The Windmill's sassy, sulky showgirls, initially reluctant to disrobe, gain confidence as the revue's popularity grows, even under the looming shadow of WWII. Martin Sherman's script takes an awkward turn when it inexplicably lays the blame for a third-act tragedy on Mrs. Henderson's shoulders — though she is absolved just minutes later, as Dench turns a potentially maudlin speech into a lovely evocation of all the feelings the tart-tongued, well-intentioned Mrs. Henderson rarely allows herself to show. The film's supporting cast is packed with a varied array of talent, from first-ever British Pop Idol winner Will Young (as Van Damm recruit Bertie — a singer, of course) to wide-eyed, expressive Natalia Tena, who charmed as tough girl Ellie in About a Boy and was recently cast as clumsy, quirky wizard Tonks in next year's Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. As blonde centerpiece Maureen, Kelly Reilly does the most work of the revue's girls, but her story feels somewhat tacked on. This is Dame Judi's movie, and her Oscar nomination for it is well deserved: Watching Dench in her prime is like watching an Olympic figure skater win the gold, a feat of extraordinary talent and strength made to look so effortless we forget it's work at all.
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