Are You Being Served?: The Movie

Give Grace A Chance!
I have read the various reviews on here that give this film version a bit of a panning. I note that the reviewers are also mostly from America. I felt it deserved a bit of an explanation from a Brit who saw this film at the movies when it was released and who has had an affectionate view of it ever since.

Back in the 70's it was traditional for many famous TV comedies of the time to get a filmed version released and AYBS was no exception. They were made mainly for domestic consumption - few people back then could ever have envisaged them being made so widely available, especially not in Video or disc format. Almost all of these TV spin-offs were essentially regurgitated episode scripts, with a bit of extra business occasionally thrown in for good measure. They deliberatley cashed in on the tremendous success of the TV series - just imagine it, with sometimes as many as 15 million peple regularly tuning in there was a ready made cinema market for such stuff!

The...

Are You Being Served: The Movie - - AYBS in a nutshell
Having been a fan of AYBS for a number of years, I eagarly awaited arrival of this video, and the wait did not disappoint me. Old fans and new acquaintances will enjoy this movie once a few guidelines are realized. First, this is a movie and not a television show. The laughtrack is gone but the set is more realistic and more modern (the store setting, for example, looks like a real store and not a stage prop). Previous reviews regarding poor sound and lighting quality are perhaps a bit too demanding, as is the complaint that the jokes are straight from the show. I went through the entire movie before I "remembered the jokes" -- they flow through the movie well. Second, please remember that this is AYBS, its not supposed to be realistic as no good comedy is. The original cast is here, in their youthful, energetic selves. Its only fault, in my opinion, is that there's a lengthy delay before they get into the trip itself, but this is only a minor problem. I would recommend...

Movie: 2 Television Series: 10 Too bad!
First of all, let me say that I am American and "Are You Being Served? (the t.v. series) is one of my all time favorite shows. It is rife with clever humor, memorable characters, excellent actors, wonderful innuendo, and often sharp writing.

This movie is not.

Possibly the biggest mistake is taking the characters out of their natural element: Grace Brothers Department Store. Granted, at the time, the writers must have thought they needed to do so in order to expand the scope for a film. I'm sure that they were correct, in part. But the way in which they took the characters out of the store is pitifully lacking.

Grumpy, tipsey Mrs. Slocumb; fey Mr. Humphreys; superior Captain Peacock; dottering Mr. Grainger; sexy but common Miss Brahms; randy Mr. Lucas; and jug-eared Mr. Rumbold are very lovable and very loved characters. Add in cockney and sly Mr. Harmon and you've got a recipe for hilarity.

Sadly "The Movie" doesn't really deliver on that. The beginning of the movie is...

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