During my collage days in the early 80s, Benny Hill was all the rage. What a snoozefest!
Aside from shows on TV in the U.S. that are adaptations of sitcoms across the pond (The Office!), we American’s don’t get much exposure to what makes the Brits laugh unless we tune into PBS or BBC-America.
One exception to my BBC-viewing lack of interest is the cult-classic: Absolutely Fabulous or AbFab as it’s known by its fans.
Edina "Eddy" Monsoon and Patsy Stone are a pair of high-powered career women on the London fashion scene: Eddy runs her own PR firm, and Patsy holds a sinecure position at a top British fashion magazine. The two women use their considerable financial resources to indulge in a life revolving around alcohol, recreational drugs, and chasing the latest fads in an attempt to maintain their youth and recapture their glory days as mods in Swinging London. The partnership is largely driven by Patsy, who functions as both codependent and enabler to Eddy. Their lifestyle inevitably leads to a variety of personal crises, which are invariably taken care of by Eddy's young daughter, Saffron, whose constant abuse at the hands of Eddy and Patsy has left her a bitter, cynical teenager (and now twenty-something woman just released from prison) who nonetheless continues to care for her mother out of a sense of unconditional love.
While the dialog may not make you laugh, the subtle references and odd turn of events mesmerize me. Over the course of several seasons, Patsy’s beehive hairdo continued to get taller.
I watched a few of the most recent episodes. And while I sat watching the idiotic adventures of Eddy and Patsy, I had no idea why I continued to watch.
Maybe I’m starting to understand what makes the Brits laugh.
View all the BNB blog posts at: barenakedbill.blogspot.com
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