What began 25 years ago as an extremely popular U.K. sitcom has now become a big screen phenomenon, possibly giving pop culture a brand-new dimension. Courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures in Association with BBC Films, “Absolutely Fabulous” is about to take the world by storm.
Stars Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley portray life-long friends, living for each other, who share in a fabulously glamorous lifestyle as they drink, smoke and shop their way through the most fashionable and sparkling places of London. Saunders plays Edina Monsoon, a PR rep whose career is quickly hitting rock bottom, while Patsy Stone, played by Lumley, works for a fashion magazine. Their champagne lifestyle is abruptly interrupted when Edina accidentally kills supermodel Kate Moss. The two quickly escape the debacle, and the law, by running away to the French Riviera, where cameo appearances are made by Joan Collins and designer Jean Paul Gaultier.
The movie is filled with gay aspects such as outrageous drag queens, the likes of which could bring “Drag Race” to a whole new level, transgender innuendos, cross-dressing, screaming “sisters,” bright red lipstick and bad shoes along with hysterical humor, comical stunts and embarrassing laughter, all brilliantly written by Saunders herself.
It was a great honor to be able to speak with the two talents as they spoke about the film, the series and the behind-the-scenes amusement, as well as their admiration for the LGBT community. They were overwhelmingly funny and outrageously candid and authentic.
You’ve both done a remarkable amount of work in the field of memoir. Joanna has four books, and Jennifer you have one. I’m wondering if you were to carve out this moment that you’re both in right now forward for your next memoir, what a quick elevator pitch for it would be and what you might call it.
Lumley: Oh good lord, just elevator pitch. I would just say utterly fabulous, fabulous from cover to cover. Couldn’t put it down. I actually couldn’t pick it up.
Saunders: “Living the Dream.” That’s what I’d call it. We are living the dream. I remember back in 1990, we never imagined in our wildest dreams we would still be sitting here having done a film of that show. It’s quite extraordinary, and we feel very, very lucky.
Some of the young people out there don’t know about the “Ab Fabs” original series. Who are Patsy and Edina?
Saunders: Well, these are people who have been friends since they began. Edina is a PR; she thinks she’s a fashion PR guru. Patsy works as an editor on a fashion magazine. They’re utterly useless. They’re inseparable friends, and they walk in chaos.
Lumley: A chaos of drink and cigarettes and champagne
Saunders: And a few illegal substances. And generally, in very bad shoes.
How did you update the characters from the series to the movie?
Saunders: Well, we just get older. It happens. Edina gets older and fatter, and actually Patsy doesn’t change at all. She’s just sort of embalmed and remains exactly the same.
How did this current move toward political correctness in pop culture affect your writing of the screenplay?
Saunders: Quite a bit, to be honest, only because people are much more ready to be offended these days. Also, if you write a movie, you have a raft of lawyers telling you who you can offend and who you can’t offend, and who’s going to sue you and who won’t. So, it was quite an issue, I have to say.
Which celebrity would you like to kill in real life?
Saunders: I would never kill anyone, but I’d quite like to slap Donald Trump.
Joanna, you announced recently that Patsy has gone transgender. Will Edina be far behind?
Lumley: Patsy’s been a man before. Patsy was a man in series two. We had a flashback to the ‘60s where she had a mustache and was dressed in a Sgt. Pepper coat to be like a Beatle.
I loved all the celeb cameos in the film. Was there somebody you wanted who you didn’t get?
Saunders: No. I mean, to be honest, no, because you always end up with the people who are available on the day and who you love and who you know and who are easygoing and happy. … We just said look, we’re having a party. Will you come and be in it? Lots of people turned up and were incredibly generous.
Ab Fab is unique in a lot of ways, because it was a show about women, written by women. Has the environment changed very much for women as far as the television world goes?
Saunders: I don’t think it has, actually. It makes me a bit sad that, if anything, that people seem to want to go back to an old model of normality, and sitcoms seem to want to be about ordinary families and things that aren’t very interesting. I just think it’s a bit sad. It’s a shame that life is still depicted in a very straight way, I think.
You involved gay characters and trans characters and a broad cross-section back when it wasn’t really that PC to do it.
Saunders: Oh, it’s been our pleasure, actually. We owe the gay community a huge deal, too, because they’ve helped make the show popular, and we love having them as fans.
Your gay fans have always adored both of you. I was just wondering why each of you think you’ve connected so deeply with the LGBT community because you have.
Lumley: I think from Patsy’s point of view, she’s very easy to copy if you’re a boy and want to dress up as Patsy, because Patsy’s quite tall. You just want to get your good, yellow wig on. Lots of lovely, red lips. Most men have very good legs, much better than mine, so men’s beautiful legs showing in good stockings.
Saunders: I think as far as the characters go, they live for each other, and they live a life they don’t apologize for. They don’t need men. They don’t need a relationship in order to have fun and get on in the world.
You two have such a unique chemistry together. Are you friends outside the movie and the series?
Saunders: We are friends. We’re very good friends.
Lumley: We’ve known each other now for 25 years, and we know each other very well.
Just so you know, there’s a big ”Ab Fabs” booth over in New York City at gay Pride.
Lumley: Oh, good. Fantastic.
Saunders: Oh, I’m so happy. I want to see pictures.
Will there be a sequel?
Lumley: Joanna keeps telling me there’s going to be a sequel, so there’s going to be a sequel.
absolutelyfabulousthemovie.com
IN THEATRES JULY 22
