At the encouragement of her granddaughter, Elizabeth looks up the other members of the Blonde Bombshells, a nearly all-girl band that played during WoPerennial Oscar(r) nominee Judi Dench shakes off the dust of period pieces to play a sassy widow looking to recapture a little of the excitement of her youth: she was the star saxophone player of a World War II-era all-girl dance band. Yanking her instrument from mothballs, she starts blowing the old standards as a street musician, much to the horror of her cultured children (they prefer symphonies to swing classics), and then hatches a plan to track down her band mates for a gala reunion at her granddaughter’s school dance. The script carries little suspense and few surprises, but the cast is a delight. Ian Holm costars as the band’s womanizing drummer (in a dress and a platinum blonde wig), a rascally old rogue who seduced almost every member during their brief wartime run and married half of them in the intervening years. Olympia Dukakis (Moonstruck) is their trombonist, a hard-drinking American widow living it up in a Scottish castle; jazz great Cleo Laine is a trumpeter turned torch singer; and Leslie Caron cameos as their brassy bass player. Joan Sims (a fixture of the Carry On movies), Billie Whitelaw (Quills), and June Whitfield (the mother on Absolutely Fabulous) are among the great British character actors who join the fun. The old broads bring sass to the sentimentality in this fluffy, feel-good, made-for-cable comedy, insisting there is not only life after 60, but that it swings sweetly if only you let it. –Sean Axmaker
Rating: 
(out of 45 reviews)
List Price: $ 9.98
Price: $ 3.55
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September 2, 2010
#1
Review by Kurt A. Johnson
Rating:
When Elizabeth’s (played by Judi Dench) husband dies, she contemplates where she should go with her life. She starts by returning to the music she played during World War 2, when she belonged to an all-girl band called The Blonde Bombshells. However, when she runs into Patrick (Ian Holm), the drummer from The Blond Bombshells (OK, they couldn’t find a girl drummer), she hits on the idea of bringing the Blonde Bombshells back together. However, that’s easier said than done–some are dead, some have left the country, one has lost her sanity, one has found God, and all are scattered. However, Elizabeth is not a woman to give up easily. This is the story of nostalgia, overcoming, the love of music…and so much more! [Color, released in 2000, with a running time of 1 hour, 24 minutes.]I absolutely loved this movie! It is star-encrusted, and even though I am an American, I kept recognizing just about everyone in it. The story is touching, and yet not maudlin. I loved the music (so very timely again), the acting, and the story. The one warning I will give is that the movie earned its PG-13 rating due to swearing, with the “F” word being used all too often. That said, though, this is a great movie, one that I highly recommend.
September 2, 2010
#2
Review by peterfromkanata
Rating:
I agree completely with the other positive reviews of “The Last of the Blonde Bombshells”, so I’ll not repeat the plot details, and other comments. The film is a delight !
I must express my frustration that witty, poignant films like this, clearly aimed at an older audience, do not seem to appear in the local cineplex.
There may be one or two actresses in the world as good as Dame Judi–but none are better. She really shines here, even in a cast of superb veteran British actors, not to mention non-Brits Dukakis and Caron. So nice to see Ms. Caron on screen again, even in a cameo, some 50 years after “An American in Paris”.
So–a real winner–and the price is right.
Recommended.One very sad footnote–I believe that this was Joan Sims’ last
film. Ms. Sims was a delightful character actress, and, of course, an indispensible member of the legendary “Carry On Gang”.
She will be missed.
September 2, 2010
#3
Review by VA
Rating:
A woman’s movie, “The Last of the Blonde Bombshells” was both nostalgic and provocative. The cast included first-rate actors Dame Judi Dench, Olympia Dukakis, Ian Holm, and Leslie Caron who never disappoint. Add to this the vocal artistry of Cleo Lane performing the songs of the forties era, and you are transported to your own long ago and far away. Dame Judi Dench portrays an aging woman who has just lost her husband. Her marriage brought her love and family, a fair share of things material and . . . contentment. But she is at the point now when she can reflect on her life and “The Girl Who Used to Be Me” (theme song from the equally poignant movie, “Shirley Valentine”).Much of the movie, for me, centered on the relationship between the grandmother and her young granddaughter. In a particularly moving scene near the beginning of the film, the granddaughter comes into her grandmother’s home to find her alone upstairs playing a tenor saxophone. She sees a side of her grandmother she never knew existed, perhaps even sees her as a person for the first time. Her grandmother tells her that she has played only for herself over the years and only when her husband was away from the house, but that during the war years she was in an essentially all-female band that achieved some measure of recognition.The story unfolds fairly predictably as the widowed grandmother has a chance meeting with the aging and dapper only male member of the band. With her granddaughter’s encouragement, the grandmother and he set out to locate the other band members for a reunion performance at her school dance.The characters are portrayed with sensitivity and dignity, humor and pathos. The aging process can be as unfamiliar and unsettling as was first love, intimacy, and raising a family. It involves looking back and moving ahead . . . and, in this case, moving ahead as a person of proven, continuing worth in the world’s eyes and, more importantly, in the eyes of one’s grandchildren. Dare I say, “Amen.”
September 2, 2010
#4
Review by Irwin Weinberg
Rating:
This wonderful movie is a must for those of us who remember the good old days, when music was played by real musicians, who could read music. This is another WW 2 movie and there are hundreds of them, but this is a bitter sweet comedy drama that will make you sit back and close your eyes and transport yourself back into the era which many call, “The greatest musical period of the 20th century. Judi Dench surly deserved an award for her performance of a grandmother saxophone player who played with an all girls band during the war. She was the star. She had not played in years and after her husband had died her little grandaughter asked her to pu the band back together to play at her school dance. The story of how this came about is funny, sad, sentimental and entertaining. I will leave the rest for you to see, but I give this a 5 star rating and if there 10 stars it would get that. Enjoy an afternoon with these ladies and relax, you are in for an enjoyable time.
September 2, 2010
#5
Review by James Curtiss
Rating:
This is the kind of movie I love to wrap my arms around and draw close to me…endearing, funny, serious, sad, but most of all, wonderful! I’m not sure what I loved the most, the music, the characters, the story, or the darling girl who played Ms. Dench’s granddaughter…naw, I loved all of it…