Director: Mandie Fletcher
Runtime: 91 minutes
Cast: Jennifer Saunders, Joanna Lumley, Julia Sawalha, Jane Horrocks, June Whitfield, Kathy Burke, Kate Moss, et al…
Plot (via IMDb): After attracting both media and police attention for accidentally knocking Kate Moss into the River Thames, Edina and Patsy hide out in the south of France.
I was never the biggest fan of Absolutely Fabulous, but I always appreciated the performances and writing of Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley. Fast-forward a few years, however, and there I was, sat down in a living room on holiday watching the 2016 film. Truth be told, it’s not too bad.
The film returns to the world of Edina (Jennifer Saunders) and Patsy (Joanna Lumley), whom we last saw in the series’ 20th-anniversary specials back in 2012. Talk about a full-on nostalgia hit for anyone who loved the show back in the day. Edina and Patsy are exactly the same these days, just older. They’re still living in the same trendy digs, drinking copious amounts of alcohol, and Edina still complains how fat she is. Fans of the classic show should love all the sets, characters, and similar writing, but they might not find it as funny.
Because this is a film that has one eye on the past, the jokes often feel like retreads, with nods to how silly it is that Edina and Patsy are the same as they were, but a lot older now. Plenty of famous faces pop their head through the door, too, which is a bit of an off-putter at times. It’s disappointingly tame at times, with some poor characters. Edina’s granddaughter, for example, felt cheap throughout, never really adding anything to the film in the ways of laughs or plot.
Speaking of the plot, this is a film. Of course, Edina and Patsy needed to go abroad (much like the two Mr. Bean movies). The device to set it up, however, is quite smart. Edina and Patsy have always been desperate social climbers. This is pushed to new levels when they both end up in a high-end party, with rumours swirling that Kate Moss may turn up. Long story short, it ends with Kate Moss being pushed into the river Thames, which forces the two characters to flee the UK. As the party had something to do with Edina’s company, this turns into a nightmare and dream scenario – akin to Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa, it turns into something of a rekindling of public interest. There’s a lot of free publicity in a potential murder, apparently.
Both Saunders and Lumley relish the return to their most beloved characters. Each performance is lively and comforting. The script gives plenty of leeway for laughs, too, predominantly aimed at Patsy. One particular moment late on in the film has her marrying someone very old for all their money, and of course, it doesn’t work quite as planned. There are plenty of ludicrous set-pieces to enjoy too, which made for some laughs and visual fun throughout.
There are some laughs, and fans of the series will get a hefty nostalgia kick, but a lot of the jokes here are tame and retreads of what has come in Absolutely Fabulous before.
Toby Saunders' Rad Reviews 