''Calendar Girl'' is a 1993 American

comedy-drama film Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

starring

Jason Priestley Jason Bradford Priestley (born August 28, 1969) is a Canadian actor and television director. He is best known as the virtuous Brandon Walsh on the television series ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (1990–1998, 2000), as Richard "Fitz" Fitzpatrick in t ...

Gabriel Olds Gabriel Emerson Olds is an American actor and writer. He is the son of poet Sharon Olds. Acting career Olds began acting at age 15 at The Public Theater in New York, in a performance of Measure for Measure in 1987. Soon after, he was cast in ' ...

, and

Jerry O'Connell Jerry O'Connell (born February 17, 1974) is an American actor and television host. He is known for his roles as Quinn Mallory in the television series '' Sliders'', Andrew Clements in ''My Secret Identity'', Vern Tessio in the film '' Stand by ...

. The film was directed by

John Whitesell John Patrick Whitesell is an American television and film director. He has directed numerous films such as '' Calendar Girl'', ''Big Momma's House 2'' and '' Holidate''. He started his career as a film director in 1993. Early life and education ...

and written by Paul W. Shapiro. Set in 1962, it tells the story of three young men who go on a trip to Hollywood to fulfil their dream of meeting

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

. It has similarities to the real-life story of Gene Scanlon, who in 1953 crossed America with a friend and had a date with Marilyn Monroe for which she paid the bill.

Plot

While Marilyn Monroe is enjoying her rise to stardom and iconic pop culture status, a trio of childhood friends happly, and surreptitiously obtain racy pictures of her for their pubescent enjoyment. Once they mature (at least by age), Roy has his eyes set on joining the Military despite his strained relationship with his father. His buddy, Scott, has a prosthetic leg and is to be married soon to his darling significant other Becky. Their pal Ned, known affectionately as "Bleuer," works at a small town store. Thanks to Roy's Uncle, the three desirous and hapless friends shack up at his place in California, where they yearn to meet—if only for a brief second—the fabulous and stunning Miss Marilyn Monroe. Their quest leads to shenanigans, and silliness ensues as they arrange the most brainless ideas to win over their idol. One includes corralling a "sad" cow to moo outside of Miss Monroe's luxurious residence, another has the guys speeding after Marilyn towards a nude beach, while an entirely separate subplot has them dodging some bad guys that are after Roy. Eventually, it is up to Marilyn to pity the trio's collectively desperate agony. The boys devise a clever scheme to avoid Miss Monroe's hawkish maid, and Roy haplessly asks Miss Monroe for a date. This leads to further despair amongst the trio. They begin to regret coming out for the trip and they decide to go out on the town one last time. In a sudden twist, Monroe finally does agree to a date upon the sandy splendor of the Californian beach. Initially, while resentment has grown between the three friends, Roy is designated to be the lucky one that gets to hopefully "canoe" Miss Monroe, but he passes off the opportunity to his buddy "Bleuer." He agrees, and treats the lovely Miss Monroe to a platonic, but wonderful night. While Roy (in his macho way) is disappointed by Bleuer's effort, the boys return home to the sad news that Marilyn has abruptly died of a drug overdose. Back home, Scott continues his plans to marry his love, Becky, and Roy tussles with his father in the gym which leads to one last touching moment between the two before Roy is shipped out to boot camp. The film's last image is of Bleuer as he embraces his wild side and partakes in a telephone booth gathering that enchants a local college girl in his favor.

Cast

as Roy Darpinian *

as Ned Bleuer *

as Scott Foreman *

Joe Pantoliano Joseph Peter Pantoliano (born September 12, 1951) is an American character actor who has appeared in over 150 films, television and stage productions. After his early roles in the television series '' M*A*S*H'' and the 1983 comedy '' Risky Bu ...

as Harvey Darpinian * Steve Railsback as Mr. Darpinian *

Kurt Fuller Kurt Fuller (born September 16, 1953) is an American character actor. He has appeared in a number of television, film, and stage projects. He is best known for his roles in the films '' No Holds Barred'' and '' Ghostbusters II'' (both 1989), '' ...

as Arturo Gallo * Lisa Stahl Sullivan as Delphine *

Stephen Tobolowsky Stephen Harold Tobolowsky (born May 30, 1951) is an American character actor. He is known for film roles such as insurance agent Ned Ryerson in '' Groundhog Day'' and amnesiac Sammy Jankis in '' Memento'', as well as such television characters ...

as Antonio Gallo * Emily Warfield as Becky O'Brien * Leslie Wing as Mrs. Bleuer *

Christine Taylor Christine Joan Taylor Stiller (born July 30, 1971) is an American actress. She is known for playing Marcia Brady in ''The Brady Bunch Movie'' and ''A Very Brady Sequel'', as well as roles in films like '' The Craft'', '' The Wedding Singer'', '' ...

as Melissa Smock *

Liz Vassey Elizabeth Leigh Vassey (born August 9, 1972) is an American actress. Her most notable roles include Emily Ann Sago on ''All My Children'', Captain Liberty on ''The Tick'', Wendy Simms on ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', Lou on '' Brotherly L ...

as Sylvia *

Maxwell Caulfield Maxwell Caulfield (né Maxwell P.J. Newby; born 23 November 1959) is a British-American film, stage, and television actor and singer. He has appeared in ''Grease 2'' (1982), '' Electric Dreams'' (1984), '' The Boys Next Door'' (1985), '' The S ...

as Man in Bathrobe *

Chubby Checker Chubby Checker (born Ernest Evans; October 3, 1941) is an American rock and roll singer and dancer. He is widely known for popularizing many dance styles, including The Twist dance style, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard & The Midnight ...

as himself * Stephanie Anderson as

* Cortney Page as voice of Marilyn Monroe *

Tuesday Knight Tuesday Lynn Knight (born Monday, February 17, 1969) is an American actress, singer and designer. She is best known for her role as Kristen Parker in the 1988 film '' A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master'', replacing Patricia Arquette i ...

as Nude Woman * Curt Truman as Bobby Kennedy Jr *

Joe Dietl Joe Dietl is an American actor, writer, director and producer."Who Let the ...

as Usher

Reception

The movie received poor reviews and has since gone out of print. One of the factors that had an impact on the film once it reached theaters was the controversy surrounding the casting of a hearing actor to play a deaf character. The producers cast Kurt Fuller for that role despite there having been a number of qualified deaf actors who would have been equally suitable for the role. This casting ignited outrage in the deaf community, which ultimately organized a series of protests across the country to coincide with the nationwide release of the film. The movie has since received an approval rating of 11% based on 19 critics.

References

External links

* * * {{Marilyn Monroe 1993 films Columbia Pictures films 1990s English-language films Films about Marilyn Monroe Films directed by John Whitesell Films scored by Hans Zimmer Teen sex comedy films 1993 directorial debut films Films set in 1962