In 1990, Jennifer Saunders and her comedy partner Dawn French were writing the scripts for the third series of their hit TV show, French and Saunders. They came up with a sketch about a mad, modern mother, an ex-hippy called Adriana – as played by Saunders – and her sad, straight-laced daughter (French). A year later (in 1991), French and Saunders were preparing to film their fourth series. Studios had been booked at the BBC and the show’s longtime director, Bob Spiers, was in place.
For Saunders, who had never considered writing anything on her own, this was a terrifying suggestion. Encouraged by her husband, fellow writer and comedian Adrian Edmondson, Saunders had a think about what on Earth she could write. It was then that she came back to the idea of the modern mother Adriana, who she would rename Edina “Eddy” Monsoon. “I had enjoyed writing and playing the character,” she says. “I could speak her easily, which made the writing easier, indeed possible.” Saunders – who got the idea for Eddy’s job from Lynne Franks, then London’s hottest fashion PR consultant – wrote a treatment and the wheels started to turn.
Originally broadcast on the BBC in 1992, Absolutely Fabulous, or Ab Fab as it would come to be known, aired to instant acclaim. Eddy and her best friend, Patsy, shocked and delighted in equal measure. Saffy made our toes curl and gave the show a heart, Mother knocked us dead with her withering one liners and Bubble made us laugh out loud with her surreal inefficiency. It was a show that had something for everyone: a dysfunctional family, a die-hard friendship and a huge, outrageous sense of fun. “The characters in Ab Fab – and it is a concept that is driven by its characters – are a cartoon version of all of us,” says Saunders. “And I think, at the end of the day, people like to laugh at themselves and not take life too seriously. If I had to say why the show was a success, I would say that it was because it was a license not to have to behave. Patsy and Eddy are awful, sad human beings, but they enjoy themselves hugely. Plus, they are each other’s greatest ally.”
The TV show ran for three series from 1992 to 1995 (winning the BAFTA Award for Best Comedy Series in 1993). Then there was a two-part television film the following year, before the program was brought back in 2011. And now the big screen adaptation …
Edina Monsoon and Patsy Stone (Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley) are still oozing glitz and glamour, living the high life they are accustomed to: shopping, drinking and clubbing their way around London’s trendiest hotspots. However Eddy’s PR career has hit the skids. She has very few clients. Eddy is desperate for someone to publish her memoirs, but the publishing world isn’t the least bit interested. Money becomes a major problem. Patsy’s career, meanwhile, seems – quite miraculously – to be intact. In fact, her magazine is sponsoring a major fashion event, the Huki Muki Retrospective launch party. Everyone who is anyone is going to be there, even the supermodel Kate Moss, who happens to be between publicity representatives. All Eddy has to do is get to Kate before her arch rival Claudia Bing (Celia Imrie) and she figures she will be right back in the game. And she has the perfect accessory to help her do just that, namely her 13-year-old granddaughter Lola (newcomer Indeyarna Donaldson-Holness). But to say that things don’t go according to plan is a gross understatement. An accident leading to Kate Moss’ untimely demise could see Eddy charged with her manslaughter or even murder! That is when Saffy (Julia Sawalha) steps in.
Clearly aficionados of the original will be interested in Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie and how it measures up. I can’t say I have watched much of Ab Fab and as such I found the film vacuous fun, but very thin when it came to substance. Actually I didn’t laugh aloud once, although perhaps I smiled once or twice. Obviously, it would help to have a good working knowledge of the television series. Nevertheless, just because a TV show works doesn’t mean that it can be successfully translated onto the big screen. Most importantly, you need a lot more content and it has to be entertaining and engaging throughout to keep an audience interested.
There is a surfeit of sight gags and outrageous fashion, and examples of Eddy and Patsy behaving badly. However, even though the finishing line was only an hour and a half away, as far as I was concerned it needed to get there quicker. So, unless you saw the series and liked it, I would give this one a miss. And even if you did like the show, I am not convinced you will be sold on the movie. Rated M, it scores a 5 out of 10.
Director: Mandie Fletcher
Cast: Jennifer Saunders, Joanna Lumley, Gwendoline Christie, Cara Delevingne, Jon Hamm, Rebel Wilson, Joan Collins
Release Date: 4 August, 2016
Rating: M – Coarse language, drug use and sexual reference
Alex First
David Edwards is the editor of The Blurb and a contributor on film and television