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![dames: maggie smith, joan plowright dames: maggie smith, joan plowright](https://cdn.aarp.net/content/dam/aarpe/en/home/entertainment/movies-for-grownups/info-2018/tea-with-the-dames-movie-review/_jcr_content/root/container_main/container_body_main/container_body1/container_body_cf/container_image/articlecontentfragment/cfimage.coreimg.50.932.jpeg/content/dam/aarp/entertainment/movies-for-grownups/2018/09/1140-tea-with-dames.jpg)
Rating: PG
Run time: 1 hour, 29 minutes
Stars: Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Eileen Atkins, Joan Plowright
Director: Roger Michell
When the queen of England reveres an artist, she knights him, like she did Sir Paul McCartney. Or she makes her a dame, like the iconic actresses Dame Judi Dench, 83, Dame Maggie Smith, 83, Dame Eileen Atkins, 84, and Dame Joan Plowright, 88. Director Roger Michell, 62 (Notting Hill) had the inspired idea of inviting all four of them to tea at Plowright’s home in the English countryside to talk about their lives, loves and immortal work. And he filmed them, as tea gave way to champagne and they got bubbly together.
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It’s quite informal, yet he wound up with the most-rave-reviewed movie of his career. This is one party you want to attend — not just because it’s a gossipy history lesson about high-profile legends who know how to tell a good story (supplemented with stunning scenes from their stage triumphs and films you'll want to watch), but because it’s an object lesson in how grownups can remain vital, contributing on a grand scale even as their physiques falter.
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