‘Absolutely Fabulous’ an Absolute Wreck (FILM REVIEW)

[rating=4.00]

I’ll start with an admission: I am clearly not the target for this movie. My knowledge of Absolutely Fabulous extends as far as general awareness; it’s a thing that exists, I can tell you that much. And while I carry vague recollections of it being on TV, I can recall no specifics about the series, nor have I ever endeavored fix that particular cultural blind spot. Frankly, I just don’t care.

I mention it as a sort of pre-concession: I didn’t like the movie, but it’s possible that’s because I don’t have the foundation necessary to enjoy it. Even though it’s difficult for me to conceive that anyone, ardent fans especially, would or could be charmed by the insipid narrative delivered, ostensibly as the proper last hurrah for the series, I will admit that just might be my own biases coming through. Perhaps this movie was meant only for the real fans. Perhaps it’s just bad.

The little I do know about the series carries over into the movie. There are two reprehensible people, Edina and Patsy (Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley) who drink heavily, abuse drugs, and consistently fail their way to the top, serving as accidental tastemakers with their backwards ideals. The movie finds them facing the fact that they’re finally too old for relevance, pushed aside without so much as a simple regard for whatever it is they did in the first place. Hopeful to fix that, Edina attends a party for fashion icon and model Kate Moss in the hopes of signing her to her failing PR firm. When Edina finds herself at the center of a murder investigation after accidentally pushing the model into the Thames, the pair flee the country in hopes of finding the fabulous life they’ve always dreamed of.

As I understand it, that kind of narrative ridiculousness is about as Absolutely Fabulous as you can get. I wouldn’t know, but if that’s the case then I’m not sure I want to know. I had, prior to seeing the film, toyed with the idea of framing this review as a sort of newcomer’s guide to the series by watching the entire run and writing this piece with the benefit of hindsight and perspective. That’s probably still a good idea, however nothing about the movie inspired in me any desire to watch the series if that’s really all there is to it.

That was my takeaway, and if Absolutely Fabulous is truly a movie intended only for fans, then you can have it. While it’s probably not the best introduction, it doesn’t speak well for series as a whole. I found little humor in either of the two main characters, or anywhere else in the film, for that matter. There are some superficial laughs to be found, but nothing that stands out as memorable or worthwhile. Instead, it’s just a series of increasingly ridiculous situations that stretch the limits of credulity.

Joke after joke falls flat as the script attempts to push buttons and be edgy. One plotline finds Patsy dressing as a man (mostly by donning a fake mustache) in order to woo an elderly heiress from her fortune. Another finds Edina using her black granddaughter as a prop to impress people at a party. Mostly, however, it’s just Edina and Patsy, sitting around, being worthless and repugnant. I get that the overarching joke is that these are awful people doing awful things and that there are layers of satire woven into the fabric of the concept, but the execution is hackneyed and unoriginal.

I can only imagine—hope, really—that the movie doesn’t accurately represent the humor of the series as a whole. If it does, there are larger issues to be concerned with than whether or not this is good movie. If it does, the whole English speaking world has some serious explaining to do. Can this actually be the high comedy that it’s been made out to be? Is this actually what was intended when they wanted to send AbFab off properly?

If it is and if it was, then I just don’t know anymore. How could a series not just survive but flourish for over two decades on the back of the nonsense this movie had to offer? Perhaps it would be worth going back and watching the series, if only to gain some assurance that the entire world didn’t really lose their mind over this drivel. I’d do it, but I fear for what I’d discover. I guess I’ll just leave this one to the fans, and hope that they enjoy it more than I did.

Absolutely Fabulous is now playing in theaters everywhere.

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