''Absolutely Fabulous'' (french: Absolument fabuleux) is a 2001 French
comedy film
A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...
co-written and directed by
Gabriel Aghion
Gabriel Aghion is a French film director and screenwriter.
Aghion was born in Alexandria, in Egypt on 30 December 1955.
He is openly gay."Bonjour, sweetie darling". '' The Advocate'', 20 November 2001.
Selected filmography
* '' La Scarlatine' ...
. It is an adaptation of the British television sitcom ''
Absolutely Fabulous
''Absolutely Fabulous'' (also known as ''Ab Fab'') is a British television sitcom based on the ''French and Saunders'' sketch, "Modern Mother and Daughter", created by Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders. The show was created and written by Saund ...
'', created by
Jennifer Saunders
Jennifer Jane Saunders (born 6 July 1958) is an English actress, comedian, singer and screenwriter. Saunders originally found attention in the 1980s, when she became a member of The Comic Strip after graduating from the Royal Central School of ...
and
Dawn French
Dawn Roma French (born 11 October 1957) is a British actress, comedian, presenter and writer. French is known for writing and starring on the BBC comedy sketch show ''French and Saunders'' with her best friend and comedy partner, Jennifer Saunde ...
.
The film stars
Josiane Balasko
Josiane Balasko (born Josiane Balašković; 15 April 1950) is a French actress, writer, and director. She has been nominated seven times for César Awards, and won twice.
Career
One of Balasko's most recognized roles among English speakers is ...
,
Nathalie Baye
Nathalie Marie Andrée Baye (born 6 July 1948) is a French film, television and stage actress. She began her career in 1970 and has appeared in more than 80 films. A ten-time César Award nominee, her four wins were for '' Every Man for Himself' ...
,
Marie Gillain
Marie Gillain O.M.W. (born 18 June 1975) is a Belgian actress.
In 1996 Gillain received the Prix Romy Schneider. She is single and has two daughters, Dune (born in 2004, with musician Martin Gamet) and Vega (born in 2009, with French-Italian a ...
and
Claude Gensac
Claude Gensac (1 March 1927 – 27 December 2016) was a French actress. She appeared in more than 70 films and television productions since 1952. Gensac is the oldest nominee to date in the category César Award for Best Supporting Actress, nomi ...
. To parallel the role of
Lulu
Lulu may refer to:
Companies
* LuLu, an early automobile manufacturer
* Lulu.com, an online e-books and print self-publishing platform, distributor, and retailer
* Lulu Hypermarket, a retail chain in Asia
* Lululemon Athletica or simply Lulu, a C ...
in the original series, French singer
Chantal Goya
Chantal de Guerre (; born 10 June 1942), known as Chantal Goya (), is a French singer and actress.
Goya started her career as a ''yé-yé'' girl, singing a catchy mid-1960s hybrid of girl-group pop and French ''chanson''. She also enjoyed a car ...
appeared as herself. Saunders makes a
cameo appearance
A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly eit ...
as a spectator sitting next to
Catherine Deneuve
Catherine Fabienne Dorléac (born 22 October 1943), known professionally as Catherine Deneuve (, , ), is a French actress as well as an occasional singer, model, and producer, considered one of the greatest European actresses. She gained recogni ...
at a fashion show.
Cast
*
Josiane Balasko
Josiane Balasko (born Josiane Balašković; 15 April 1950) is a French actress, writer, and director. She has been nominated seven times for César Awards, and won twice.
Career
One of Balasko's most recognized roles among English speakers is ...
as Edith "Eddie" Mousson
*
Nathalie Baye
Nathalie Marie Andrée Baye (born 6 July 1948) is a French film, television and stage actress. She began her career in 1970 and has appeared in more than 80 films. A ten-time César Award nominee, her four wins were for '' Every Man for Himself' ...
as Patricia "Patsy" Laroche
*
Marie Gillain
Marie Gillain O.M.W. (born 18 June 1975) is a Belgian actress.
In 1996 Gillain received the Prix Romy Schneider. She is single and has two daughters, Dune (born in 2004, with musician Martin Gamet) and Vega (born in 2009, with French-Italian a ...
as Safrane Vaudoye
*
Vincent Elbaz
Vincent Elbaz (born 3 February 1971) is a French actor. He has appeared in many French television shows and films.
His first major role was in the 1994 film '' Le péril jeune''. Elbaz received the 1998 Jean Gabin Prize.
Elbaz was born in Pari ...
as Jonathan
*
Claude Gensac
Claude Gensac (1 March 1927 – 27 December 2016) was a French actress. She appeared in more than 70 films and television productions since 1952. Gensac is the oldest nominee to date in the category César Award for Best Supporting Actress, nomi ...
as Mamie Mousson
*
Yves Rénier
Yves Rénier (29 September 1942 – 24 April 2021)
w ...
as Alain Vaudoye
*
Saïd Taghmaoui
Saïd Taghmaoui (born 19 July 1973) is a French-American actor and screenwriter. One of his major screen roles was that of Saïd in the 1995 French film ''La Haine'', directed by Mathieu Kassovitz. Taghmaoui has also appeared in a number of En ...
as Manu
*
Armelle
Armelle (born 23 July 1969 as Armelle Leśniak) is a French actress, comedian and screenwriter.
Life and career
After studies in Khâgne, she works as a costume-aid. Trained by Jean Périmony, her atypical physique and her personality do not t ...
as Cerise
*
Tomer Sisley
Tomer Sisley (born Tomer Gazit; he, תומר סיסלי; born 14 August 1974) is an Israeli and French actor and comedian.
Early and personal life
Born in West Berlin, West Germany, to Israeli-born parents who had relocated for his father's job ...
as Kevin
Cameo appearances
*
Chantal Goya
Chantal de Guerre (; born 10 June 1942), known as Chantal Goya (), is a French singer and actress.
Goya started her career as a ''yé-yé'' girl, singing a catchy mid-1960s hybrid of girl-group pop and French ''chanson''. She also enjoyed a car ...
as herself
*
Stéphane Bern as himself
* Christophe Robin as himself
*
Jean-Paul Gaultier
Jean Paul Gaultier (; born 24 April 1952) is a French haute couture and Ready-to-wear, prêt-à-porter fashion designer. He is described as an "enfant terrible" of the fashion industry and is known for his unconventional designs with motifs inc ...
as himself
*
Catherine Deneuve
Catherine Fabienne Dorléac (born 22 October 1943), known professionally as Catherine Deneuve (, , ), is a French actress as well as an occasional singer, model, and producer, considered one of the greatest European actresses. She gained recogni ...
as herself
*
Jennifer Saunders
Jennifer Jane Saunders (born 6 July 1958) is an English actress, comedian, singer and screenwriter. Saunders originally found attention in the 1980s, when she became a member of The Comic Strip after graduating from the Royal Central School of ...
as herself
*
Brigitte Fontaine
Brigitte Fontaine, (born 24 June 1939) is a singer of avant-garde music. She has employed numerous unusual musical styles, melding rock and roll, folk, jazz, electronica, spoken word poetry, and world. She has collaborated with Stereolab, Mich ...
as herself
*
Estelle Lefébure
Estelle Lefébure (; born 11 May 1965) is a French actress and model. She was one of the top fashion models in the 1980s and 1990s. Estelle Lefebure, as she was known in the early 1980s, was discovered by George Gallier and managed by him exclusi ...
as herself
*
Claire Chazal
Claire Chazal () (born 1 December 1956) is a French journalist, romance writer, and former director of news at a national television station, France 2.
She had been the weekend news anchor at TF1 beginning in 1991, and gave her final broadcast at ...
as herself
Production
Aghion's stated reason for making the film was to increase awareness of the series in France, where it was not widely known. For the screenplay, Aghion translated scenes from the original series, and tied them together into a coherent screenplay.
The role of Patsy was originally offered to
Amanda Lear
Amanda Lear (; born 1939) is a French singer, songwriter, painter, television presenter, actress, and former model.
She began her professional career as a fashion model in the mid-1960s, and went on to model for Paco Rabanne, Ossie Clark, and ...
, who declined by saying that she had "already lived it".
Reception
The film performed poorly at the French box office and was panned by most French critics,
who argued that it failed to translate the typically British humour of the original television series.
References
External links
*
*
{{Absolutely Fabulous
2001 comedy films
2001 films
Absolutely Fabulous
Films based on television series
Films directed by Gabriel Aghion
French comedy films
2000s French-language films
StudioCanal films
2000s French films