Starring: Judi Dench, Bob Hoskins, Kelly Reilly, Will Young

Rated: R (for nudity, brief adult language)

Running time: 103 minutes

Best suited for: Those seeking gentility or yearning for the theater days of the ’30s and ’40s

Least suited for: Younger, more restless filmgoers

Mrs. Henderson herself might have put it this way: “It’s a bit of a trifle, isn’t it?”

I suspect so. In “Mrs. Henderson Presents,” Judi Dench plays aristocratic widow Laura Henderson who seems uncertain of her place as a single, mature woman in British high-society. With very little interest in hobbies or in hobnobbing with other wealthy widows during the Depression, she decides to invest in a failed theater in downtown London.

She reluctantly hires the stubbornly steadfast Mr. Vivian Van Damme (Bob Hoskins) as her theater manager. Their squabbling has an air of flirtatious fun; Mrs. Henderson glows and Mr. Van Damme suffers with aplomb as they engage in a war of wills that sustains the film’s front half. Determined to produce only uplifting musical reviews during the economic crisis, the theater is an initial rousing success—but a few years pass and times change, and gradually tickets sales drop. On the brink of ruin, Mrs. Henderson has an idea. How about a nude musical review?

“It is quite popular in Paris,” she remarks.

But London is not Paris and the authorities are mostly chagrinned with her request. Fortunately, Mrs. Henderson personally knows the prime minister, Lord Chamberlain, and finesses from him permission to perform (with strings attached, of course).

Until this point, the film manages to carry itself reasonably well. The comedic timing holds true and we’re graced with a handful of catchy show tunes from the 1930s. But “Mrs. Henderson Presents” is based on a true story: Mrs. Laura Henderson did buy the Windmill Theater, which did perform allnude reviews (to much criticism), but also with much success. But truth and fiction don’t often merge effectively in filmdom and it’s within this veil of reality that the effort begins to suffer.

We learn, for instance, that Mr. Van Damme is married—and Mrs. Henderson’s once buoyant expectations scatter like windblown leaves. So does our assumption of a blithe romantic comedy.

When the war arrives, London is frequently bombed by Hitler’s Luftwaffe. Performances continue amid air-raid sirens and nightly blackouts. London’s aristocratic theater-goers have been replaced by young, restless soldiers who have or will face many battles.

The Windmill’s star performer, Maureen (Kelly Reilly) falls for a soldier—and quite abruptly “Mrs. Henderson Presents” splinters into sporadic poignant moments that lack sufficient tension or coherent structure. There remains some nice scenes between stars Dench and Hoskins, and we learn of Mrs. Henderson’s more noble attributes as well. Still, as a cinematic effort, “Mrs. Henderson presents” suffers in attempting to accurately portray events. Truth, alas, is far drearier than fiction.

In a nutshell: As a reminiscence of a bygone era, “Mrs. Henderson Presents” provides adequate entertainment, but as a romantic comedy it suffers from the tedium of reality. It’s a sweet-enough little film that unfortunately leads down too-short a path.