''Absolutely Fabulous'' () is a 2001 French

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

co-written and directed by Gabriel Aghion. It is an adaptation of the British television sitcom '' Absolutely Fabulous'', 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 ...

and

Dawn French Dawn Roma French (born 11 October 1957) is a British actress, comedian and writer. She is known for writing and starring on the BBC sketch comedy series '' French and Saunders'' (1987–2007) with her best friend and comedy partner Jennifer Sa ...

. 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 Himsel ...

Marie Gillain Marie Gillain O.M.W. (born 18 June 1975) is a Belgian actress. In popular culture * She was the heroine of the John Malkovich play ''Hysteria'' in Chicago in December 1999. * She is a model for cosmetics brand Lancôme. * In 2013 she was no ...

and Claude Gensac. 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 appeared as herself. Saunders makes a

cameo appearance A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...

as a spectator sitting next to

Catherine Deneuve Catherine Fabienne Dorléac (born 22 October 1943), known professionally as Catherine Deneuve (, , ), is a French actress. She is considered one of the greatest European actresses on film. In 2020, ''The New York Times'' ranked her as one of th ...

at a fashion show.

Cast

as Edith "Eddie" Mousson *

as Patricia "Patsy" Laroche *

as Safrane Vaudoye * Vincent Elbaz as Jonathan * Claude Gensac as Mamie Mousson * Yves Rénier as Alain Vaudoye * Saïd Taghmaoui as Manu * Armelle as Cerise * Tomer Sisley as Kevin

Cameo appearances

* Chantal Goya as herself * Stéphane Bern as himself * Christophe Robin as himself * Jean-Paul Gaultier as himself *

as herself *

as herself * Brigitte Fontaine as herself * Estelle Lefébure 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 TF1 (; standing for ''Télévision Française 1'' ...

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 18 June or 18 November 1939 or 1941 or 1946 or 1950) 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 ...

, 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 BAC Films films