Find something to sing about

Military Wives

Cast: Kristin Scott Thomas,

Sharon Horgan Director: Peter Cattaneo

Duration: 1 h 52 m

It’s been almost a quarter century since director Peter Cattaneo revealed The Full Monty to appreciative audiences around the world, and he clearly hasn’t lost his touch for delivering a jaunty British comedy with camaraderie and a few good tunes. Call it Carry On Singing.

The fact that you know exactly where Military Wives is going doesn’t lessen the enjoyment or the eventual tears one bit. Based on the true story of the foundation of The Military Wives Choirs, it’s set at a British army base, circa 2010, where the troops are shipping out for a tour of Afghanistan.

As the Sergeant Major’s wife, Lisa (Sharon Horgan) is put in charge of organizing social events for the rest of the base wives to help take their mind off the fact that their spouses are constantly in harm’s way. But she’s immediately shoved aside by Kate (Kristin Scott Thomas), who can do flinty and curt like no one else.

Kate is a career army wife. Her husband Richard (Greg Wise) is a colonel, and their son lost his life in combat the previous year. So she’s an empty-nester nursing some real pain, and no one wants to gainsay her when she all but takes over the choir, determined to turn it from “non-alcoholic karaoke” into something more professional.

Sure as do-re-mi is followed by fa-so-la-ti, Lisa and Kate find themselves at odds over their teaching methods. Lisa doesn’t read music. “Not sure Mozart would agree with that,” huffs Kate. Lisa replies sweetly: “Well, The Beatles didn’t read music and they did OK.” And the battle is joined.

The rest of the wives are standard types. There’s the one with the voice of an angel but no confidence. There’s the one who can’t sing a note but doesn’t realize it. And there’s the one who will receive some Very Bad News from the front.

They bond over shared troubles and white wine, make it through a disastrous first public performance — the town square is beset by the noise of trucks backing up and local skateboarders — and then learn that they’ve been chosen to perform at Royal Albert Hall! Will they be ready in time?

Well, you probably know the answer to that one too. In fact, if you’ve seen British choir movies like Unfinished Song, or British women-doing-good films such as Calendar Girls, you’ll be ready for this and will know exactly when to have a tissue handy.

Military Wives had its world première at the Toronto International Film Festival last fall, and opened (briefly) in its native Britain on March 6, before the pandemic moved its release from theatrical to streaming. The film is available on demand on May 22. ★★★1/2