Mrs. Henderson Presents (DVD)

It becomes clear rather quickly that Stephen Frears' Mrs. Henderson Presents is perfectly suited for the small screen. While I was amused and entertained by the director's jovial comedy back when I saw it in theaters last December, I can't actually say it was the most profound cinematic experience I had in 2005. No matter how charming Judi Dench's Oscar-nominated performance was, or how good she and Bob Hoskins worked with one another, or how self-assured Frears' handling of the picture was, this period piece of fluff wasn't exactly memorable.

Yet, on DVD the movie is, dare I say it, magical. Dench is much better here than I recalled, inhabiting the title character with such fiery determination that her fifth Academy Award nom (she won for Shakespeare in Love) actually seemed justified. Better, Frears' direction is darn near close to perfect, the esteemed filmmaker behind such masterworks as The Grifters, Dangerous Liaisons, Dirty Pretty Things and The Snapper clicking on almost all cylinders.

Still, Mrs. Henderson Presents is awfully slight. The based-on-fact story of elderly well-to-do widow Laura Henderson (Dench) purchasing the Windmill Theater and coming up with the idea to feature women in the buff all while there's a war going on doesn't exactly say or do a thing that could I didn't see coming. And while her repartee with Hoskins (playing the theater's crotchety director Vivian Van Damm) is wondrous, subplots revolving around the naked girls (especially one involving a particularly wooden Kelly Reilly) exploits with off-to-war soldiers are astonishingly dull.

But overall this thing works, its rah-rah climax of Mrs. Henderson standing outside the Windmill giving the type of speech that only exists in the movies surprisingly affecting. The look and feel of the film is also spot-on, a trait only magnified at home with Andrew Dunn's (Hitch) crackerjack cinematography and Hugo Luczyc-Wyhowski's (The Truth about Charlie) production design popping right off the screen. Best of all is Christopher Guest's (Best in Show) scene-stealing cameo bits as the nebbish censor Lord Cromer, his monologue concerning the "midlands" worth the price of a rental all on its lonesome.

Fans of the flick certainly won't be disappointed by the DVD. Mrs. Henderson Presents is not the type of feature that needs a deluxe presentation, just a couple nice bells and whistles to make it just wee bit more enjoyable. That's exactly what the Weinstein Company has delivered, the film coming to home theaters with an audio commentary by director Frears, a brief making-of featurette, the original theatrical trailer and a slide show of production stills.

The documentary is pleasant if uninformative, while the inclusion of the production stills feels more than a bit unnecessary. What is worthwhile, however, is Frears' excellent commentary. While the director is prone to bouts of inexplicable silence, his insights into the filmmaking process are, much like they were in his classic commentary track for The Grifters, invaluable. Frears' thoughts on working both inside and outside the studio system are ones all burgeoning filmmakers should take to heart, while his breadth of knowledge on the moment in history his picture covers is truly extraordinary.

The Windmill Theater is legendary for staying open throughout all of WWII. A sign outside the theater proudly proclaims, "We Never Closed," and even if the theatrical musical revues of the 1940's have been replaced by lap dances in the 2000's (yes, you read right, the Windmill is now a strip club) the fortitude and chutzpah of yesterday still resonates now. While the movie isn't as grand a testament to that courage as it probably should be, its heart is definitely still in the right place, making Mrs. Henderson Presents the perfect cinematic diversion when other entertainment possibilities are in short supply.