Our favorite television shows always have a special place in out hearts. While our love for them never diminishes, like a great romance they always must end. Its not that they have to end that can be troublesome, it is how they end that sometimes befuddles us and leaves us wondering where to go from there. Most things look better when you look back at them, and the power of nostalgia can be a powerful lure, add to that, we as people love closure, tends to lead us to the idea that bringing back things we loved is the right thing to do. In 1992 Jennifer Saunders created “Absolutely Fabulous” for the BBC, a show that found its audience and fans, and everlasting life as the show has made three comebacks since it was first on the air twenty-four years ago.
Edina (Jennifer Saunders) the PR queen is still trying to deify father time with her tricks of fashion and beauty techniques. While still living her lavish lifestyle off her ex, she and her friend Patsy (Joanna Lumley) are both still knee deep in the fashion world. That changes when Edina accidentally knocks Kate Moss into the River Thames casing Edina to be sought after for the wrong reasons. As the world grieves for the loss of Moss, Edina and Patsy ponder the end of their lifestyle and ways to keep it up. Their dilemma takes them to the south of France as Edina escapes the law to help Patsy locate an old flame who might help them keep things as is. While everything seems like it may come to an end, things work out just fine for Edina and Patsy and life becomes just fabulous once again.
Having been aware of the show and the love people had for it, I was eager to see the movie. The problem in my eyes is I never did see an episode so I went into this blind. Written by Saunders and directed by Mandie Fletcher, who had directed every episode in the shows final season, the movie is in good hands for the fans. For me there was humor there, as I had more than a few moments where I laughed, but most of the time I felt like I was missing things that the casual or hardcore fan would soak up. As fans of television shows that make it to the big screen, we always want to see the things that made us love the show in the first place. Sometimes that happens, while too often what made us love the show in the first place gets lost in translation in the feature. With “Absolutely Fabulous” you get everyone back, as well as some cameos by stars that grew up as fans of the show when it aired originally. This movie is not for everyone; in fact if you were not a fan of the series this is not for you at all. For those of you who are fans, this movie could be the closure for a show that so many love, so even if I didn’t get it, darling I can appreciate what I saw, and just because I didn’t get it doesn’t mean I can’t admire trying to end something how the creator intended it to end.
