Calendar Girl | |
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Theatrical release poster
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Directed by | John Whitesell |
Produced by |
Elliott Abbott Penny Marshall |
Written by | Paul W. Shapiro |
Starring | |
Music by | Hans Zimmer |
Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release date
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September 3, 1993 |
Running time
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90 minutes |
Language | English |
Budget | $13 million |
Box office | $2 million (US) |
Calendar Girl is a 1993 American comedy-drama film starring Jason Priestley, Gabriel Olds, and Jerry O'Connell. The film was directed by John Whitesell 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. It has similarities to the real-life story of Gene Scanlon who in 1953 with a friend crossed America and had a date with Marilyn Monroe which she paid the bill for.
While Marilyn Monroe is enjoying her rise to stardom and iconic pop culture status, three childhood friends are happy enough to sneakily 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, and his other pal, Ned, known affectionately as "Bleuer", works at a small town store and isn't initially as anxious to partake on this crazed notion as his friends.
Thanks to Roy's Uncle, the three desirous and hapless friends shack up at his place out 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 and an entirely separate subplot has them dodging some bad guys that are after Roy.
Eventually, however, 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 slips in the question, to which Marilyn refuses 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.
Surprisingly, in a sudden twist, Monroe finally does agree to a date upon the sandy splendor of the Californian beach. Initially, while animosity has grown between the three friends, Roy is designated to be the lucky one that gets to hopefully "canoe" Miss Monroe, but nonchalantly, he passes off the opportunity to his buddy "Bleuer" who surprisedly agrees and treats the lovely Miss Monroe to a wonderful night that transcends any desire of the loins or other silliness.