Absolutely Fabulous, the BBC TV series that ran from 1992 to 1995 (with a few subsequent resurrections), served up whole wardrobes’ worth of ruthless, bad-gal humor: Jennifer Saunders’ PR agent Edina Monsoon and Joanna Lumley’s magazine editor Patsy Stone were catty, boozy, druggy pals who just couldn’t let go of their swinging youth. Fans found their unchecked bad behavior, and their wild outfits, freeing.
Each episode was a small, potent ampoule of vitriol. Now Edina and Patsy are back with Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie, and this dose of hot-pink poison is just too much. Edina and Patsy are older, and it’s terrible. They’ve run out of money, which may be worse. Their withering wisecracks should be funnier than they are, and their fashion-victim flamboyance now only makes them look pathetic. It doesn’t matter how much jewelry they pile on. Ugliness shines from within.
–S.Z.
This appears in the August 01, 2016 issue of TIME.
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