Absolutely Fabulous: Series 4 (2001)
Review by HTQ4
Film:
DVD:

Directed by Bob Spiers
Written by Jennifer Saunders
Starring Jennifer Saunders, Joanna Lumley, Julia Sawalha, Jane Horrocks, June Whitfield

Features:

• Commentary with Saunders and producer Jon Plowman
  
• Mirror Ball: a special starring Saunders, Lumley and Sawalha
  
• Outtakes
  
• Who’s Who Guide to the stars of AbFab
  
• Photo Gallery
  

Anamorphic: Yes.

My Advice: Own It. And then go find Series 1-3, too.

This double DVD set is the complete 4th series of this hit from the BBC. For those of you plebes you do not yet know the joy of the show, let me catch you up to speed. Edina (Saunders) and Patsy (Lumley) are best friends who are now in their 40's. They are in constant rebellion against their age--amongst their weaponry are drugs, plastic surgery, excess, and the torment of Edina's daughter Saffron (Sawalha). And so runs the humorous debauchery.

In this set, we're treated to another six episodes. Amidst this dosage of chaos come anti-wrinkle injections complete with side effects, an unknown back door, a trip to Paris, a detox diet, and Menopausal Anonymous.

AbFab is probably one of the funniest shows to come out of the BBC in some time. That being said, it’s no surprise that Jennifer Saunders is at the helm. And this DVD does the series a great justice. The commentary tracks are almost as funny as the shows themselves. Saunders and Plowman seem to talk more about the costumes than anything else, but their comments are always irreverent.

The outtakes provided are hilarious. The best feature of them all, however, came as a complete shock to me. It’s a BBC special called Mirror Ball starring most of the AbFab cast in completely different roles. It’s also written by Saunders and it’s a riot. I had coffee coming out of nose, ears, and fingernails I was laughing so hard. Mirror Ball is the short story of three actresses, played by Saunders, Lumley, and Sawalha. Saunders’ character is auditioning for a leading role in Angela’s Ashes: the Musical. I think you can imagine where it goes from there.

I'll do more than recommend this set to you. I'll tell you to go out and find everything that Jennifer Saunders has been involved with over the years, find it on DVD, and buy it. Or at least rent the things if you're cheap like that. You won’t regret it.