She'll Be Wearing Pink Pyjamas

This movie ambles along slowly and is quite boring throughout, yet the whole time I was watching it, there was the hope that a decent ending could lift the film to a mediocre rating at best. So, against all logic, the makers of this film decided upon the most ridiculous, pointless, and irrelevant endings of all time.

It leaves many questions - Where did that flying fox come from? Why is she on that flying fox? Where did those Pink Pyjamas come from? Why is she wearing them? What is the point of this movie?

Basically, I think it may have been a case of "seemed like a good idea at the time". But it wasn't.....

A cross section of older British women, apparently most are not in very good physical or mental shape, tackle a tough obstacle course. Along the way, most of them reveal why they are predisposed to failure. A lot of others reveal why their lives are messed up in general. Except for their common contempt of men, most of the comradeship and interaction is trite and mundane. You really don't care whether they make it or not.

I had to force myself to watch this film because having seen some scenes on TV several years ago, I knew it was unashamedly what I call "a woman's film". It is about eight women who range in age from about 30 to about 55 so it encompasses issues such as sex, childbirth, fidelity, insecurity, and rejection. The women are from varied backgrounds including a doctor, a business-woman who owns an antique shop in Hampshire, a spinster Principal of a girls school, to others who are housewives and to the most spectacular failure - Fran (Julie Walters) whose life has been on 'hold' for the last three years. The common thread seems to be the inability of the women to sustain a lasting relationship with men, or the men with them. The childless doctor who ironically advises women on fertility matters refers to herself as a 'serial monogamist'.

Unlike the men in Dickey's novel "Deliverance", where the 'course' was shortly to disappear under the dam water, the women embark on this outdoor course because they themselves are in the process of disappearing - they are losing their identity. As one said: "This is life; it is not a rehearsal!" They undertake to complete the various courses which are physically adverse: bivouac in the pouring rain, scaling sheer cliffs, and orienteering. The physical stress placed upon these women ("Is the course too difficult?" is a minor theme) creates a concomitant mental stress and the strain brings out not only their contempt for men but in some cases, for each other. However, it has to be said that the viewer never doubts that the women will all complete the course, that decisions will be made - one woman announces that she is leaving her husband, another sets her daughter free of her control - and that generally they will have experienced renewal and regeneration. So despite the minor calamity with Fran's toes (This little blister went to market, this little blister stayed at home, this little blister ...) we are never in real suspense and the ending is a bit silly but it justified (or did it?) the inclusion of "She'll be Coming 'Round the Mountain". A pleasant time-waster.

Perhaps this is a man thing but I do remember watching this about 20 years and being surprised to see a group of women totally naked in a shower situation. Before - this was a scene that was usually the mark of a teen movie (think 'Porky's etc) with the guarantee of seeing young, gym fit Hollywood women on display. I also recall that in this scene Julie Walters insisted that the (male) crew also strip off when they shot the scene as well - perhaps that is why it does seem to go on for ages !

As for the rest of the movie - It appears to be very lazy and unfocused. There are no big surprises. The ones who dream of being assertive - are assertive - and those who are not - don't. Perhaps the whole film needed a good re-edit in the end.

A group of ordinary British women embark upon the first all-female outward-bound course in the UK. While trying to survive in the outdoors, they also face up to what's lacking in their own lives.

Sounds boring huh?

Well, you'd think that this is a slow-moving dirge, with a group of middle-aged frumps railing against the state of their lives, but for some reason it doesn't turn out like that.

I found the whole group to be engaging. With a complete cross-section of ages and temperaments, they seem to represent the complete dynamic of female society, right through from your granny to your best friend.

Though this is primarily an ensemble piece, Julie Walters as the wise-cracking Fran provides the focus, as she becomes friend to some members of the group yet is an object of disdain for others. All of the women reveal something about themselves during the course, whether it's the feminist who is disgusted that she needs a man in her life, or the young housewife who can't decide whether divorce is the answer, but Fran undergoes a complete transformation from not really caring about the course or the group, to admitting her vulnerability and loneliness and giving the final exercise her all.

The film is not a spectacle, but rather shows women being women, talking about sensitive issues and supporting each other, which I think turns some people off. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would heartily recommend it.