DVD Review: Are You Being Served? The Movie
Written by: Kage Alan

Film Rating: B
DVD Special Features: N/A

Man do I love British humor!  It's dry, it's over-the-top and simply
outrageous and often at the same exact time.  Fortunately, some of the their
series have gained popularity in North America and we actually get to see
them from time to time.  There's "Fawlty Tower", "Chef", "The Vicar Of
Dibley", "Absolutely Fabulous" (to name a few) and, of course, "Are You Being Served?".

Anybody not familiar with the staff of the Grace Bros. department store is in
for a real treat!  The men's and women's clothing floor is overseen by
Captain Peacock (Frank Thornton) with managers Mrs. Slocombe (Mollie Sugden) and Mr. Grainger (Aruthur Brough).  Associates (that what they're called these days) include Mr. Lucas (Trevor Bannister), Miss Brahms (Wendy Richard) and Mr. Humphries (John Inman).  Captain Peacock is the ever-straight disciplinarian, Mrs. Slocombe has oddly colored hair, a crush on the Captain and frequently talks about her cat (using the other word for it, though), Mr. Grainger is fairly senile, Mr. Lucas is always trying to get fresh with Miss Brahms, Miss Brahms is always running from Mr. Lucas and Mr. Humphries is the over-the-top flaming queen.

The television show followed the adventures of the staff at the store as they
dealt with all sorts of customers and personal (as well as personnel)
problems, quite often with hilarious results.  "Are You Being Served?  The
Movie" picks up at Grace Bros. as the store is getting ready to close down
for remodeling.  Since the whole building is being done at the same time, all
the staff members will be able to go on vacation together as well.  The
different floors are all going to separate locations and the men's and
women's clothing staff are off to Costa Plonka.

Unfortunately, Costa Plonka is anything but relaxing.  It seems there was a
problem with the reservations and hotel manager Don Carlos Bernardo (Andrew Sachs, "Fawlty Towers") is faced not only with having to make other
accommodations for the guests, but there's also the threat of a Civil War
that might happen within the next 24 hours.  Many of the best moments from
the series are performed here (such as "Dear Sexy Knickers") as well as a ton
of innuendos and fast flying one-liners.  There's barely a dull moment here,
especially when the action kicks into high gear.

The only downfalls are that the entire movie looks and sounds as if it's
being filmed inside a studio (which probably kept the budget to a minimum),
they sometimes borrow a little too heavily from the television show and the
ending is too abrupt.  Aside from that, I had a difficult time finding
something to dislike.

The Region 2 disc I bought from Blackstar.com boasts a very decent Widescreen transfer with excellent audio to boot.  Unfortunately, the audio might be a little too good because, again, it sounds like it was recorded in a studio. It's fair to mention that Anchor Bay will be releasing a version of this film in North America soon as well, so you won't have to rely on buying it
overseas.  I can't vouch for any extras the Anchor Bay copy will have, but
the Region 2 disc just has a trailer.

I'm a little surprised that the movie has come out on DVD and not the series.
Perhaps if this does well and there is sufficient interest, the episodes
will see a release of their own by season such as "Ab Fab".  If you enjoyed
"Are You Being Served?" and either didn't know or haven't seen the film, then
you'll get a huge kick out of this.  Well done!


Kage holds degrees in Creative Writing, as well as Film & Video. He has been featured in a Life Journey Tele-Course, published poems in several national anthologies, been a contributor to The Third Coast Magazine and written several novels. kage@modamag.com