Confession time: I love the Absolutely Fabulous (or AbFab) TV series which originally ran from 1992 until 2012.
Like most British TV shows, the episodes presented each season were fewer than those found on U.S. TV shows. AbFab’s first season, for instance, featured 6 thirty minute episodes. Subsequent seasons ran between 6 and 9 episodes each, with the final “season” being a mere 3 episodes long.
After that last season, I figured that was it for Absolutely Fabulous. Not so, as the above headline clearly makes obvious. Here’s the trailer for the 2016 film…
Now, if you’re not a fan of Absolutely Fabulous and have no idea what the heck it is about…I suspect the trailer won’t do much for you. Heavens knows, I’m a fan of the show and the trailer didn’t do all that much for me.
Alas, this trailer is, unfortunately, a pretty good indication of what you’re getting with the movie. Let me reiterate: I’m a fan of the series. I loved the misadventures of the ditzy Edina (Jennifer Sanders, who created and wrote most of the series episodes and wrote the screenplay to the movie) and her best friend, the spectacular vampiric Patsy (Joanna Lumley in the role of a lifetime…and several more!).
So, clearly, I hated the film, right? It’s not worth it at all, right?
No.
There are funny moments to be found in the AbFab film and many of the cameos are quite funny. But the problem is this film never really hits the “hilarious” stride I was hoping for.
While I’m glad to see the whole gang again -and then some- this movie moves along at a rather slow pace and some of the comedic set pieces work (the flight to France, a rather unique karaoke club, and the fate of Kate Moss) while others (Patsy dressing as a man, as seen in the trailer) absolutely…don’t.
The film’s biggest problem ultimately is that as good as the good stuff is, it simply isn’t enough to offset both the leisurely pace and the many parts that don’t work as well.
By the time the film reaches its climax and you expect things to get frantic, the film seems lost and, curiously, decides to crib its climax from The Return of the Pink Panther. Don’t believe me? Check out the AbFab movie trailer above and pay particular attention to the scenes where Edina and Patsy are in a very small red car…and what happens to them in it.
Now check out the scenes presented below from The Return of the Pink Panther. Pay particular attention to what happens between the 49 second mark through approximately 1:50…
Strange.
Anyway, if you are a fan of Absolutely Fabulous, the TV show, you’ll probably like the film a lot more than if you’re a newbie. However, even fans of the show, I suspect, will be surprised at how (by the Gods, I’m turning into Donald Trump!!!) low energy this movie is.
While the AbFab film is not a total disaster and there are some very amusing scenes, one nonetheless can’t help but feel this was a missed opportunity.
Too bad.