Tea with Mussolini (1999)
If you watch the trailer to Tea with Mussolini, it seems like a very light, fluffy piece. But how can it be when it takes place in war-ravaged Italy? It is very fluffy, with the plot revolving around women who take tea every week, war or no war. If you watched A Room with a View, you can guess as to the dynamic between Judi Dench and Maggie Smith. Judi’s a rebellious feminist, and Maggie gets the funny one-liners that most people couldn’t get away with. Joan Plowright is a sweet, motherly type who takes in a young orphan boy and introduces him to her tea group. Cher joins the mix (why Cher?) as a wealthy eccentric American – to draw in American audiences, perhaps? She gets to wear some gorgeous outfits, though.
This one wasn’t my favorite, but mostly because Cher just didn’t belong in a tea group with three legendary English actresses, or in a period piece. But if you like the idea of four women drinking tea and gabbing about the good old days, you can watch the documentary twenty years later, Tea with the Dames, which replaced Cher with Eileen Atkins and kept the original three.
More Judi Dench movies here!
More Maggie Smith movies here!
This one wasn’t my favorite, but mostly because Cher just didn’t belong in a tea group with three legendary English actresses, or in a period piece. But if you like the idea of four women drinking tea and gabbing about the good old days, you can watch the documentary twenty years later, Tea with the Dames, which replaced Cher with Eileen Atkins and kept the original three.
More Judi Dench movies here!
More Maggie Smith movies here!