The Furniture: The Best of Absolutely Fabulous

Daniel Walber's series looks at Production Design in contemporary and classic movies

This, week, in honor of the most fabulous sitcom in the history of television, I’m going to try something a bit different. Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie, expanding toward world domination as we speak, is a booze-soaked-cherry on top of a quarter-century-aged fruitcake. It also does more than well by the show’s strongest points, bringing back not only its beloved characters but also its crazed sense of fashion.

And as you can tell by its choice use of an underwater exercise bike, the movie renews the TV show’s flare for production design as a comic tool. Jennifer Saunders and the show's design team, which only varied a bit over the years, have always used excess to their advantage. To prove my point, here are five favorite design moments from the many seasons of Absolutely Fabulous...

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Feeling really "sorted out" about Absolutely Fabulous

This review was originally published in Nathaniel's column at Towleroad

Do you remember that bit in the AbFab series when Edina is turning 40 and her ex husband’s new wife Bo (the hilarious Mo Gaffney), already in her 40s, is feeling really zen about the aging process…

I mean, golly, I wish I could tell her it’s no big deal. I had a ball on my 40th birthday. I felt really strong, really sorted-out about it. I realized what a lucky, wonderful person I was. And whether in your 30s or your 40s, you’re still the same gorgeous person. Enjoy life!

…only to hyperventilate at the mention of her own impending 50s? I kept thinking about that bit during the new AbFab movie...

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Our First Glimpse at "Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie"

Forget that Civil War between our favorite Avengers and the mayhem of the Suicide Squad, this summer's biggest superheros are coming armed in LaCroix and vodka. You know who I'm talking about, don't you, sweetie? Eh, darling?

Behold the briefest of glimpses for cult adaptation Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie! While we may not get much more than a hint of the French Riviera-set plot, it's clear that Edina and Patsy are still up their old tricks of boozing and flirting.

Obviously, there isn't enough yet to give this the full YNMS treatment, but a cigarette-drenched summer fling with Eddi and Pats will be welcome against noisier competition. We'll be treated to the original series cast - aren't you just thrilled to see Jane Horrocks and Julia Sawalha in anything? - and Jennifer Saunders has long been promising big laughs with her script. For now, we'll forget about the promised cameos by Chris Colfer and Kim Kardashian, along with the shaky later seasons of the series. With recent popcorn entertainment dominated by nostalgia and throwbacks, here's one that feels appropriately silly and fun.

Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie opens July 1!

Second Star on the Right: Joanna Lumley

I don't think I've ever mentioned Joanna Lumley on The Film Experience pages. I've liked her in movies on occassion and of course she was regularly LOL-worthy as oversexed overboozed "Patsy" in AbFab back in the day. But I would like to formally apologize right at this moment for her absence on TFE because her latest move has won my heart several times over. 

She's currently lending her celebrity to raise funds to turn Moat Brae in Dumfries, the inspirational birthplace (of sorts) for J.M. Barrie's immortal Peter Pan, into a children's literature center. He claims his time there was among the happiest in his life.

Lumley says

I want to help raise the profile of this admirable project so that Peter Pan fans from all over the world can support this wonderful restoration."

Honestly that is SO fitting and such a worthy cause and now I just want to hug her. If I had plenty of £ I would throw it like fairy dust at this project.