Tea with the Dames is a documentary in which a film crew is permitted to record the annual pilgrimage by Judi Dench, Maggie Smith and Eileen Atkins to Joan Plowright’s country home, but there is no illusion that this documentary is less an accurate chronicle of their time together than an opportunity to interview four legends simultaneously and get a glimpse of what these people are like when they are not on the clock.
The only reason that I saw Tea with the Dames in the theater was as a palette cleanser to seeing a potentially depressing movie, but I wish that I saw it at home with closed captioning because there is usually a time delay with understanding even the best British accents. I suspect that I missed quite a bit during my theatrical viewing. Also for an audience of mostly older people, many elderly, they were a rather unruly bunch that made it difficult to focus on the screen.
I must confess that I am less familiar with Atkins than the other three actors, but that didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the film. Because I was looking for a dishy, fly on the wall perspective, I got what I came for, but because their world is literally foreign to me, I could not keep up with their stories as opposed to if it was closer to a Hollywood Babylon type of gossip fest. Even though I think of myself as familiar with their work, I was at a bit of a loss with some casual references. It was a pleasure to simply pretend to be in their company, but the momentum of Tea with the Dames does lag a bit, and I had to fight fatigue on occasion.
My biggest warning would be that if you are not a fan of Laurence Olivier, who was Plowright’s husband, you should probably skip the movie entirely because he dominates conversation. I’m not a Philistine so of course I’ve seen Olivier in various movies, but I am not such a fan that I am as intimately familiar with his work as they are since childhood.
If you are an actor, I think that Tea with the Dames is a must see movie since you can get practical tips from legends on how to cope with lack of confidence or dealing with daunting task masters. Their most shocking practical tip is to watch the home press conference given by double agent Kim Philby as the most convincing performance. With the benefit of hindsight, his hair seems a bit disheveled, his suit a bit ill-fitted, and his mouth seems entirely too twisty, but they know more than I do about acting as a profession. May I humbly proffer Lance Armstrong. It is at least a very interesting rabbit hole to go down.
In terms of personality, Smith steals the show by constantly cracking jokes and often making herself the butt of them. Dench is the most irreverent. If you want to rationalize that it is lady like to constantly tell people to fuck off, you can reference her. Plowright is the wise one in the bunch and clearly treasured and protected by her friends because she is unable to fully interact with because of various sensory issues. The real treat is to see the flashes of archival footage and compare it with them now. The transformation is equally riveting for them and the viewers.
Tea with the Dames is celluloid proof that women do age well and become more interesting with age. The movie addresses such topics as advice to younger people and facing aging and death, which the women are less eager to address and bristle at the interruption of their joyous gathering. Plowright’s advice is practical: start yoga or mindfulness as early as possible. Atkins plays it safe: don’t be bad tempered. Dench’s advice wasn’t popular even amongst that small contingent, but probably strategically the wisest: don’t be so susceptible to falling in love. Smith’s is the most quotable, “When in doubt, don’t.”
I thought Tea with the Dames would be the perfect movie for such an avid moviegoer as myself, but the ideal viewer is someone who could go through each actor’s IMDb page and is familiar with most of their work, not just their most recent. If you don’t mind information just flowing over you without completely understanding all the allusions, i.e. you’re the kind of person who will just jump in the middle of a series without feeling compelled to watch previous episodes, then you will definitely enjoy just basking in their greatness.