So, there's going to be a new Absolutely Fabulous movie, and it won't suck because original creator Jennifer Saunders is going to write it.
Absolutely Fabulous ran on BBC TV from 1991 through 1995, and then again from 2001 to 2003, and it's about two aging women who can't let go of booze, men, and cigarettes while navigating the ever-changing world around them (including an insufferably nerdy daughter who disapproves of everything they do).
Absolutely Fabulous was a vehicle for Saunders and Lumley to really shine as comediennes. There was no topic off the table; drugs, sex, flashback sequences to the '60s, and so much more inappropriate and witty jokes that women rarely get the chance to tell in mainstream media set Ab Fab apart from the more tame, boring, and ordinary comedic series that women are faced with when they want to do comedy.
This is no "Lifetime" bullshit. If you've never seen an episode of Ab Fab, then check this out:
BBC Films boss Christine Langan says of Saunders, “I think she’s a genius. I can’t imagine anything more exciting than working with her.”
Ab Fab: The Movie will feature Patsy and Edina waking up hungover in an empty rich guy's yacht drifting in the middle of the ocean with cellphones not working. BBC America has just co-produced three new Absolutely Fabulous TV specials, the first of which will air in the UK at Christmas.
"The BBC said it'd been 20 years since the first one. And we were like, 'Whaaat?...It was lovely. It was quite strange. You take a bit of time getting back into your person again.
No, Patsy's never left me...I made her. She wasn't written like that. Not in the first episode. We invented her. And she got stranger and stranger and worse and worse. She was initially written as just a friend. But like anything, when you're given a part, you make the part.
Jennifer is convinced that I am Patsy. In that she's eerily like me. Or at least we've eerily, and on purpose, invented a lot of stuff that is rock solid in my life. Patsy had been a model in the 60s, and so had I. And that's easy because I can remember and furnish her with all that stuff.
Life has not left them behind. They're getting older. Although I wonder if I'm deluding myself, because they all look exactly the same young women that they did 20 years ago.
In the beginning, the Princess of Wales was still alive. And the Duke and Duchess of York were still married. But Jennifer is smart. She's bloody brilliant that girl, so she isn't writing it like episode one. She's writing Ab Fab for today."
I have faith that Lumley and Saunders will make this great. Now, if this were an American re-imagining, or something equally hideous, I'd be crying.
I loved this when it was first on. When it came back after a few years I wasn't so keen on it.
UK TV has the reputation of great shows that come out, hit hard for a couple of seasons and get out of there. Best examples of this are things like two-season wonders like FAWLTY TOWERS, THE OFFICE and SPACED. This new AB FAB stuff just proves that even the Brits can run something into the ground if it continues to be successful enough.
The same can be said for RED DWARF, which has been embarrassingly bad since since peaking in its sixth season back in 1994. Yet they still keep making a new season or special every five years or so.
Even here in Australia we have a similar case with KATH AND KIM. It started out so sharp and (tragically) identifiable and was a massive success, even leading to an ill-advised US remake. But now the characters are just caricatures and the whole thing is about the catchphrases and merchandising. They're getting their own movie, too.
With all that said, Joanna Lumley as Patsy is simply one of the greatest characters in television history. And neither she nor Saunders have really aged that much so I imagine they'll be able to slip back into those roles fairly easily.
Even here in Australia we have a similar case with KATH AND KIM. It started out so sharp and (tragically) identifiable and was a massive success, even leading to an ill-advised US remake. But now the characters are just caricatures and the whole thing is about the catchphrases and merchandising. They're getting their own movie, too.
Are they still making Kath and Kim ? IFC ran it for a while and I fell in love with, though I'm not exactly sure why. It wasn't the smartest show, but it was sly. And the actresses and the characters they played were a lot of fun. I even didn't hate the American version.
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Are they still making Kath and Kim ? IFC ran it for a while and I fell in love with, though I'm not exactly sure why. It wasn't the smartest show, but it was sly. And the actresses and the characters they played were a lot of fun. I even didn't hate the American version.
Yeah, the movie comes out next year. It's apparently called THE KATH AND KIM FILUM. I don't know if that translates overseas, but 'filum' is the old-timey way to say 'film' over here.
Initially I liked that show. The broad comedic stuff works but I think the smaller subtleties of some of the dialogue and characterisations could only be fully appreciated by someone who grew up in the Australian suburbs around people just like that.
Still my favourite line from that show is when Kim says something like: "I've decided to lose weight the natural way, with laxatives and smokes..." As someone who grew up with four older sisters who did just that, that line floored me.
Of course, the Brits loved KATH AND KIM. But then, they like anything that paints Australians as stupid.
Wonderful news! I love Ab Fab! I think there was an attempted American version a few years ago, when Roseanne Barr planned a reboot, but it never came to fruition.
Yeah, the movie comes out next year. It's apparently called THE KATH AND KIM FILUM. I don't know if that translates overseas, but 'filum' is the old-timey way to say 'film' over here.
It's the old-fashioned way of saying it over here too. My grandma used to say it. She also described taking a photo as "making a picture." "Get over here and make a picture of of your cousin."
Kath and Kim is a hoot. Several of the show's catchphrases worked their way into our household vernacular, with "Look at meeee!" popping up at least once a day...
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A mind is like a parachute. It doesn't work if it's not open.
So, there's going to be a new Absolutely Fabulous movie, and it won't suck because original creator Jennifer Saunders is going to write it.
There were a couple of attempts to get an American version made, and one of them might've even aired briefly.
A mind is like a parachute. It doesn't work if it's not open.