Sweetie darling! Patsy and Edina return in ‘Absolutely Fabulous’ movie

By Saskia O’Donoghue and Marie-Louise Gumuchian

LONDON – Get the champagne out, Patsy and Edina are back. The champagne-swigging, chain-smoking duo, who love to shop and of course party, return for more antics in “Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie”, a big screen adaptation of the hit 1990s British television comedy show.

Stars Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley reprise their roles as raucous fashion PR agent Edina Monsoon and her best friend, magazine editor Patsy Stone, alongside other original cast members and plenty of famous names in the highly-anticipated film. This time the duo, known for their disastrous shenanigans and calling everyone “sweetie” and “darling” through it all, see their glamorous London lives turned upside down after accidentally pushing model Kate Moss into the River Thames. Seeking to escape a media frenzy over Moss’s presumed death, they flee to the French Riviera to try to get back into the glitzy high life.

“What don’t we get up to in the film,” Saunders told Reuters at the film’s premiere in London on Wednesday. “They do everything you’d expect them to do and more. They manage to kill a supermodel, I don’t know how much worse it gets than that.”

“Absolutely Fabulous”, which was born from a sketch by Saunders and her comedy partner Dawn French, originally aired for three series starting in 1992 before being revived again in 2001. The movie, has been eagerly awaited by fans, many of whom wore Patsy and Edina face masks at the premiere.

“We thought we’d be lucky if we got a second series,” Lumley said. “The extraordinary thing is knowing that this is going around the world and the fact that the world seems to know about ‘Absolutely Fabulous’ is thrilling.” On top of Moss, the movie features dozens of other famous names — models, designers as well as various celebrities – mostly playing themselves. Among those walking the gold carpet at the premiere were model Jerry Hall and designer Stella McCartney, as well as pop star Kylie Minogue, who sings the series’ theme tune for the film soundtrack. Asked if there could potentially be a sequel to the movie, Saunders said: “Well I said yes just now so we’ll wait and see. I’m never going to say no.”

“Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie” begins its cinema rollout from Friday.

(Writing by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Editing by Mark Heinrich)