French & Saunders - The Ingenue Years

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Is this compilation of sketches from groundbreaking British comedy duo Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders' 1987 BBC series absolutely brilliant or, to quote one especially inspired performance artists sketch, "mindless, pornographic, pretentious, and total crap"? Though hit and miss as any compilation tends to be, it is mostly brilliant as our fair ladies engage in Pythonesque absurdity (an extended conversation that begins when a couch-bound Jennifer refuses to answer the door because she has no leg bones), silliness (the girls pay homage to popular dances), and savagery (two matrons who prefer their blood-splattered furs freshly killed). Some of this is inevitably dated, and there are references that will soar over the heads of non-Anglophiles, but fans who discovered these two titanically talented women from their breakthrough series, The Vicar of Dibley and Absolutely Fabulous, respectively, will enjoy seeing the roots of their comedy. --Donald Liebenson

Description

Look out Hollywood! Watch your back, TV-Land! The silver screen will never be the same once it's been processed through the mad minds of Britain's greatest comediennes, Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders (the creator and star of Absolutely Fabulous).

Customer Reviews:

F&S -- whatever they do is fabulous.......2007-03-28

These are the two funniest people ever. However, this DVD is from an early, formative time and the material is little uneven. That said, it's still French and Saunders, and there's nothing better.

IIIIIIt's Great!.......2006-04-17

My only quarrel with this dvd, and all the French & Saunders dvds, is the fact that they're incomplete. Real fans want the chance to see the whole show the way it first aired, not just the BBC's edited bits. I've read that the first season of French & Saunders was done for very little money, with the girls playing mock daredevils failing at various stunts. I would LOVE to see some of that! Since their series, by the last season, had one of the biggest budgets ever given to a British comedy show (to stage lavish film parodies), it would be fascinating to see the entire progression. Instead, we get lots of Fat Old Men sketches. Just like Not the 9 O'Clock News, a few bits are available and the rest is inexplicably locked away in a vault.

THAT aside, this is a terrific dvd, showing French and Saunders young and confident. The sketches vary widely in quality, but the dvd is nicely chaptered by sketch so it's always easy to queue up the best bits, like "It's Great!" or "Arts Review". There are few parodies and the sketches are more character-driven, which is a nice change. The Christmas special included on the dvd as a bonus isn't very good, except for a brilliantly surreal parody of The Piano.

Raw Sex, the musical act of Ken and Duane Bishop (Comic Strip alums Simon Brint and Rowland Riverton) are featured more prominently here than on the other F & S discs - a huge bonus! Look for them as half of the Bangles.

(Trivia - Dawn French's husband Lenny Henry and Jennifer Saunders's husband Ade Edmondson, both talented and successful comics, play their fictional husbands in the wonderful sketch "Informal Evening". More Trivia: Look for Nigel Planer - Neil of "The Young Ones" - as Andy Warhol.)

great stuff.......2006-02-23

i too think this is a great F&S DVD. this doesn't have any real movie parodies which may explain others' less-than-positive reactions, but you won't miss them at all. (the exception is an absolutely fantastic rip of the piano, and there are some parodies of movie stars inc. jennifer as a great loopy liza minelli and a short bit w/ dawn as elizabeth taylor on cat on a hot tin roof). there are some really classic moments here, inc. a series of sketches where the two are schoolgirls, some of the best living room sketches, and some great 80's parodies inc. a kid's TV show called "it's great!" and a pet shop boys and bangles parody. there are some misses, like the bits w/ the two lechers gets a bit old, but overall this is a very worthwhile collection.

My personal favorite of the F & S DVDs.......2004-02-08

This collection has what is some of the earliest material from any of the French & Saunders DVD collections and some of the best. Whereas the other DVDs rely more of parodies of well-known films, this DVD features some of the ladies' best repeated characters and aggressively bizarre but hilarious scenes (like a profile of two strange performance artists). The scenes, as a result, succeed more as the comedy is not limited to the confines of movie plots or characters that must be lampooned. There are many classics bits here which the girls have kept around for years in live appearances (i.e., a discussion between two schoolgirls - "worldly" Dawn & naive Jennifer - about contraceptive devices). And, as a bonus, the DVD features their early '90s Christmas special which includes guests shots by Adrian Edmondson (Vyvyan of "The Young Ones," Eddie of "Bottom," and Jennifer Saunder's husband) and Christopher Ryan (Mike of "The Young Ones," Dave Hedgehog of "Bottom," and Marshall of "Absolutely Fabulous"). Also, look for Dawn French's husband, comedian Lenny Henry, in a fine Dinner Party sketch. Other highlights: a history of dance crazes and the absurd conversations which take place in Jennifer's sparse flat. Great stuff!

BAD!!!.......2003-11-16

I love French and Saunders, but out of all of their 4 DVDs for sale this one is the worst. The material isn't funny at all. I wouldn't recommend this one at all.

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