Silly, silly women! I can’t imagine women of today making a film like this that
shows the worst of women—foolish, vain, oblivious of consequences, hysterical—I
could go on. Absolutely Fabulous is a movie based on an apparently popular
British sitcom. The main stars of
the TV series are in the film:
Jennifer Saunders as Edina, a PR agent for celebrities particularly in
the London fashion world; and Joanna Lumley as Patsy, who is associated with a
magazine and is Edina’s sponging best friend. Both are heavy boozers and chain-smokers, and they show the
worst of women. Lumley overdoes
things with her mouth that are supposed to be funny, but just seem ludicrous to
me.
Perhaps the film is a spoof of the London
fashion scene (I wouldn’t really know, but assume so). Going against that theme, Edina dresses
in the most outrageous costumes and shoes, which are intended to make her
character even funnier. The film
does contain cameos galore of famous people like Kate Moss, Jon Hamm,
Gwendoline Christie, Jerry Hall, Stella McCartney, Rebel Wilson, Joan Collins
and scores of others. When Edina
and Patsy crash a London runway show (Edina has hopes of getting Moss to hire
her as agent), a major incident occurs when Moss ends up falling (being
pushed?) off the balcony into the Thames River and disappearing for days. Because of the circumstances under
which it occurs, Edina and Patsy must go on the run, and they decide upon
Cannes, France, where they can hide from the police and super angry fans. This also provides a gorgeous scenic
backdrop for the rest of the film.
Mandie Fletcher directed some of the TV
episodes and this film, with Saunders providing the scripts. (Dawn French was her collaborator on
the original sketches.) Included
in this cast are actors from the television series including Jane Horrocks as
Edina’s assistant Bubble, Julia Sawalha as her daughter, and June Whitfield as
her mother.
Overall, it’s a mystery to me as to how so many
people have loved the Ab Fab productions; I could hardly sit through this one.
This will appeal to people who enjoy
slapstick British comedy.
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