Are You Being Served? The Complete Collection (Series 1-14 Volumes)
by David Croft
from BBC Warner
The definitive British sitcom is almost certainly Are You Being Served?, which depicts the squabbles, misadventures, and flirtations of the staff of Grace Brothers department store. The show was originally conceived as a vehicle for an irreverent junior salesman named Mr. Lucas (Trevor Bannister), but it soon became clear that mocking a social hierarchy isn't half as funny as taking it all too seriously. The show really revolves around Mrs. Slocombe (Mollie Sugden), whose wildly changing hair color and mercurial moods terrorize the rest of the staff, and cheerful but sly Mr. Humphries (the effervescent John Inman), one of the first gay characters on television treated with dignity--or at least no more indignity than anyone else (the show makes some noise about not being sure if Mr. Humphries is gay or not, but no one in the audience will have any question). But the rest of the cast is superb as well: Frank Thornton as the elegant but leering floorwalker Capt. Peacock, Wendy Richard as the sexy, impish Miss Brahms, Arthur Brough as cantankerous Mr. Grainger (who, sadly, died after the fifth season; other characters took his position on the sales staff, but never quite matched up), and Nicholas Smith as the self-serving but incompetent manager Mr. Rumbold form a comic ensemble that has rarely been equaled.
These characters, written with affection and played with superb comic dash, endlessly jockey for status and salary while simultaneously creating an alternative family (the core structure for any sitcom on either side of the Atlantic). Are You Being Served? deserves its devoted fan base, who will revel in this comprehensive 14-DVD box set (which includes specials about Inman, Sugden, and Richard, as well as other extras). --Bret Fetzer
Are You Being Served? The Movie
by Bob Kellett
from Starz / Anchor Bay
Writers Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft managed something quite clever with this, the film version of the 1970s sitcom Are You Being Served? The idea of this cheery collection of comedy stereotypes--the pompous one, the vulgar one, the camp one, the shifty one, and so on--being confined within a department store was a master stroke, as it allowed any kind of situation to arise without the plot having to exceed the restrictions imposed by the set. How, then, to keep the same theme for the big screen without just offering the television series writ large? Simple: send the whole cast on holiday together but make sure they can't leave their hotel, a state of affairs contrived easily enough by throwing a guerilla uprising into the plot. So it is, then, that the staff of Grace Bros. descends on the Costa Plonka while the store is closed for refurbishment. There are all the usual jokes involving knickers, boobs, toilets, and gay sex (sometimes all at once), adding up to a good slice of nostalgic fun for anyone who was there when lapels really were that wide. --Roger Thomas
The Tall Guy
from Miramax
Falling in love can be glorious, or poignant, or heartwarming ... but for most of us, it's mostly just absurd. And The Tall Guy captures that hysterical, head-over-heels surrealism perfectly. Jeff Goldblum plays the neurotic, allergy-ridden Dexter King, a stage actor stuck in a dead-end job in an interminable run of London's tackiest comic review. He's the "tall guy," the eternal butt of slapstick gags delivered by the star performer, a brilliantly obnoxious Rowan Atkinson. Cupid's arrow strikes between sneezes when hay fever propels Dexter to the doctor's office--and he catches his first glance of Nurse Kate Lemmon (a pre-Shakespeare Emma Thompson). Battling his deep-seated fear of needles, Dexter invents excuses to get shots just to get close to her. After much pain (and much prodding from Dexter's oddly maternal nymphomaniac landlady), their courtship takes off. (Kate's practical dating philosophy--have sex first, so you know if all those expensive dinners will actually be worth it--leads to one of the most comically destructive love scenes ever filmed.) Dexter, giddy with new love, gets fired--and lands the title role in Elephant!, a musical version of The Elephant Man (one heartwarming hit: "Somewhere in Heaven, There's an Angel with Big Ears"). But his curvaceous leading lady develops a champagne-fueled passion for pachyderms ... and Dexter's in yet another sticky situation.
As British romances go, The Tall Guy owes more to TV's Fawlty Towers than The English Patient--but what it lacks in depth, it makes up in sheer comedy. --Grant Balfour
From the hit-making writer of NOTTING HILL and FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL, THE TALL GUY is a sharply funny story punctuated by the likable comic chemistry of popular stars Jeff Goldblum (JURASSIC PARK) and Emma Thompson (SENSE AND SENSIBILITY). Awkward and out-of-place, Dexter (Goldblum) is a hard-luck American actor struggling to get by on the theatrical stages of London. His dreary personal life, however, gets a much-needed shot in the arm when he meets a pretty nurse (Thompson) during one of his many visits to the local clinic. Together they find love ... but when your life is like Dexter's it's hard to know a good thing when you get it! With a wonderfully memorable performance by Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean) and a stellar cast -- don't miss this smartly detailed and charmingly hilarious comedy treat!
The Funny Blokes of British Comedy
by Duane Huey
from BBC Warner
Experience again Basil Fawlty the sharp-tongued short-tempered owner of Fawlty Towers and the quiet humor of Lionel Hardcastle ( As Time Goes By) the once dashing young Army officer. Remember Father Dougal (Father Ted) the priest oblivious t anything outside of his always-sunny world; a character that Ardal O'Hanlon modeled after a dog. And who can forget the two words from Mr. Humphries (Are You Being Served) that can always make you smile "I'm free!" Revisit these and many more of your favorite characters. Join host Lenny Henry (Chef!) in honoring the careers and contributions of Britain's funniest blokes with clips of their funniest moments and new interviews.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY UPC: 794051215420
Boom Boom! The Best of the Original Basil Brush Show [Region 2]
Are You Being Served? [Region 2]
Writers Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft managed something quite clever with this, the film version of the 1970s sitcom Are You Being Served? The idea of this cheery collection of comedy stereotypes--the pompous one, the vulgar one, the camp one, the shifty one, and so on--being confined within a department store was a master stroke, as it allowed any kind of situation to arise without the plot having to exceed the restrictions imposed by the set. How, then, to keep the same theme for the big screen without just offering the television series writ large? Simple: send the whole cast on holiday together but make sure they can't leave their hotel, a state of affairs contrived easily enough by throwing a guerilla uprising into the plot. So it is, then, that the staff of Grace Bros. descends on the Costa Plonka while the store is closed for refurbishment. There are all the usual jokes involving knickers, boobs, toilets, and gay sex (sometimes all at once), adding up to a good slice of nostalgic fun for anyone who was there when lapels really were that wide. --Roger Thomas
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