Sometimes you don’t know how badly you needed something until it magically materializes before your eyes. And what we all sorely need is a documentary about four iconic British actresses sitting around a table and talking trash. Tea with the Dames, directed by Roger Michell (Notting Hill), sits down with Maggie Smith, Eileen Atkins, Judi Dench and Joan Plowright to talk about their careers, their friendship, and getting older in the industry. Spill that old Hollywood tea, ladies. The world is waiting.
The four octogenarian dames have lived illustrious lives, both professionally and personally, the contents of which could surely span their own series. Joan Plowright (Enchanted April) married Laurence Olivier after his divorce from Vivien Leigh, which was quite the O.G. Hollywood scandal. She is now a baroness in addition to a dame. Eileen Atkins (The Crown) is not only a beloved actor; she also co-created the famous British series Upstairs, Downstairs, aka the Downton Abbey of the 70’s and wrote the script for 1997’s Mrs. Dalloway.
Maggie Smith is known for countless roles, such as the Dowager Countess in Downton Abbey and Professor McGonagall in the Harry Potter films. And Judi Dench, who won an Oscar for Shakespeare in Love, also made her mark as the first and only female M in the James Bond series. The trailer shows that the actors are just as witty and spirited as they always were, with Dench telling the director to “fuck off” when he asks them about growing older in the industry.
What’s most exciting about this trailer is that we so rarely get to see older women in the spotlight. While men can seemingly play love interests well into their 60’s (with actresses half their age), older women become increasingly invisible. And when they are cast, they are often playing one-dimensional grandma-type characters. This trailer shows just how self-possessed and full of life these women are. It’s inspiring to all of us to know that, even well into our 80’s, we can still drink champagne and talk shit with the best of them.
(via Jezebel, image: screengrab)
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