Nothing Like a Dame

This was brilliant, entertaining, witty and original. Such a line-up of brilliant actresses (yes the female term of actor) who can keep us watching while they chat over afternoon tea. A fine combination of ladies who have received the title Dame in England in recognition of their talent and long term careers in theatre and film. A delight.

Wonderful concept. We are so blessed and proud to have 4 acting Dames who have 70 year long illustrious careers, and what is more they know each other and are friends. Not a lot really happens, you see some old images and footage that you will not have seen before. It isn't very structured it is just a capturing of an informal conversation between them. However, their friendship shines through and it is a joy and makes you proud to watch. They do deliver some nuggets of life lessons that they have learned along the way but mostly it is very light and funny.

I created an account specifically to review this film. It was such an absolute delight to watch that I was so disappointed when it ended. I could have listened to these four wonderful women exchange their stories for hours, and I loved the relaxed atmosphere of filming and seeing their interaction with everyone around them. Kudos to Roger Michell for allowing it to be filmed organically, I haven't been so entertained in a long time.

So funny, so witty, so much excellence from this ladies. Absolutely on point, smart, funny. And makes you think about life - even for us mere mortals. Just wondering why so much talk about L. Olivier had to be included...a wee bit of a patriarcal angle maybe, that sounded easy and boring considering the women power channeling of the film.

Four grand Dames of England, Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Joan Plowright, and Eileen Atkins get together and reminisce at Plowright's country home. I would say the wonderful archival film snippets of some of their performances on stage and screen would be enough for the price of admission here. But we get a lot more than that as these superb actresses talk about their surprising self-doubts, anxieties before they perform, aging, marriages, reviewers, and swap inside stories of their interactions with fellow performers and directors.

I felt this documentary got off to a rather disjointed start but went more smoothly as it progressed. Some of the humor made me laugh out loud such as when Dench had to call the paramedics for a bee sting on her backside. Her description was hilarious of the very young EMT tech who asked her if she had a carer (in America would be a home aide) which made her furious and she told him to "f-off".

Overall, this film had its awkward moments and the technique of the talented director Roger Michell asking the four women from the wings to comment on a new topic didn't work very well, in my opinion. But just to sit in and eavesdrop on this get-together of four master artists was a real pleasure.