Fri. July 22, 2016
By Gregg Shapiro
Two new summer comedies, one geared towards the whole family and one most definitely aimed at a more mature adult audience, both incorporate an unexpected drag component in their stories.
Few television shows have lived up to their names in the way that the BBC America sitcom Absolutely Fabulous did. Based on a sketch by brilliant British comics Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French, it was expanded into a full-fledged series by Saunders in the 1990s and then revived in the early part of the 21st century. Even though the characters, including the perpetually stoned and inept public relations hack Edina (Saunders) and her equally bombed and bumbling magazine editor pal Patsy (Joanna Lumley) have been out of sight for a few years, they are never forgotten, especially by gay men devoted to the duo.
Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie (Fox Searchlight) will not only delight longtime fans but may also earn the brand some new ones. Beginning at London Fashion Week, where Edina and Patsy make one of their trademark clueless but destructive entrances, AbFab follows the hapless pair through a series of catastrophes leading to enough of a redemptive finale that a sequel could easily be in the making.
Edina is broke, or as she tells her assistant Bubble (the marvelous Jane Horrocks), her credit cards are "broken". The memoir that Edina has written, about her storied p.r. career, is rejected by her publisher. Her client list, which for now includes singers Lulu and Emma Bunton (aka Baby Spice), is shrinking. Meanwhile, competitors such as cutthroat Claudia (Celia Imrie) continue to outshine her. Edina's relationships with her mother (June Whitfield) and divorced daughter Saffy (Julia Sawalha) are as strained as ever. Edina is also now a grandmother to Saffy's daughter Lola (Indeyarna Donaldson-Holness).
Aside from alcohol and drugs, Edina's longest-lasting relationship is with the ageless and indestructible Patsy. Patsy, who shares Edina's disdain for her family members, is practically a dependent. Once in a while Patsy provides Edina with a decent prospect, as she does when word gets out that fashion model Kate Moss is looking for new p.r. representation. Unfortunately, that situation rapidly deteriorates when Edina faces manslaughter charges for accidentally pushing Moss off a balcony and into the Thames.
After that, AbFab becomes an on-the-lam caper comedy in which Edina and Patsy high-tail it to Cannes with Lola. Saffy's search for Lola and Edina includes a stop in a drag bar where she performs a tear-jerking karaoke rendition of Janis Ian's "At Seventeen." After meeting Lubliana (Marcia Warren), the richest woman in the world, Patsy dresses as a man to woo and then marry her for her money. Needless to say, the authorities are hot on Edina's trail and time is running out for her.
With almost as many star cameos as Ghostbusters, and just as many laughs, AbFab is the latest addition to this season's female buddy movies. Making the transition from small to big screen with ease Absolutely Fabulous will never go out of style.
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