Wednesday, October 08, 2008

Ab Fab - Another Hollywood remake

Variety has reported that Fox is going to remake this classic British show. It will be set in L.A.

How will this work? The original is very un-PC and the Eddy and Patsy are train wrecks. ha

The women are over 40. Hello, are there any actresses, other than Diane Lane, who haven't had so much work done they look around their age and not like creepy women trying to look 25?

Any fans of the show? Do you think this remake could work? Who would star in it?

25 comments:

nikinpos said...

NOOOOOOOOOO!
My God, I HATE it when Hollywood comes along and Americanizes what were once good English programmes, books or films. Why do they do it? Can't they understand the English accents? Can their attention only be held by bonafida Hollywood actors rather than interesting foreigners, or are the un botoxed, un plastificated British actors just too damm ugly for Hollywoods delicate palate?

Ab Fab will be ruined if Americanized. The Beach was better in British. Bridget Jones was a farce with Renees odd accent. ANd why oh why do British books have to be Americcanised before being sold the the public there. Are the words petrol station, colour, favour and carboot really that hard for Americans to understand.
Geez, next thing, they'll want to Americanize Doctor Who...or the Queen..

Anonymous said...

Well, it's hard to think of American actresses who would do it justice. I read that Rosanne Barr and Carrie Fisher wanted to do it a few years ago but it never came through. Too bad because they're both brash enough to fill in Edina and Patsy's designer shoes. Perhaps Kim Cattrall would be good as Patsy. I could see Lauren Graham in the Edina role but she's too young.
Not all American remakes of British shows are terrible. Look at The Office. Having said that, I hope to god they won't remake Peep Show. I love it so!!

fail_safe said...

Yeah, that remake thing just isn't going to work. AbFab was really unique and was incredibly brash; something that I think American tv doesn't do very well. I have to concur with masala though, the American version of "The Office" is really good, but only because it found it's own footing after awhile. When they remade of few of the first episodes, it was God-awful.

AbFab still makes me laugh and it's what, 16 years since it first aired? My favorite line uttered by Patsy, "Yea. Not swinging saloon doors, Eddy." Love it!

Anonymous said...

I am having a hard time imagining that hard drinking, smoking middle aged women will be much of a draw for teenage boys. I mean, that's who they make everything for isn't it? I could totally see Jean Smart in it though.

nyc/caribbean ragazza said...

charlie - sorry to deliver such bad news. I just don't see it working unless they really water it down. Then it would be a different show.

milanese - I don't remember what happened with the Rosanne/Carrie adaptation. Sanford and Son was another good remake, Coupling...not so much. Kim Cattrall could be a great Patsy.

ninety9 - I remember the first few episodes of the American Office. I thought maybe I was being too harsh on it because I was a huge fan of the original.

joanne - Love Jean Smart. She is on the ABC hit show Samantha Who (or Samantha Chi? here in Italy). Not only do you have middle age ladies, drinking, smoking, swearing and screwing but they barely work. Also I wish they would set it in a different city.

Italianissima said...

It will be hard to capture the magic that Joanna and Jennifer had but who knows...with the right actors and writers I suppose it could be done. I think the Office has succeded because of the right mix of people and writing. Not sure who they would be marketing AbFab, to though.

I think my favorite episode is when Saffy has to do the presentation for school and she takes the porn video to her class instead...Patsy and Eddy are at home with the male hookers and they pop in the genetics video...I could watch that one over and over again!

Anonymous said...

There is not one frame of that show I don't like. It is absolutely brilliant, and actually gets more complex and nuanced the more you watch it.

I'm scared of American television getting its hand on it. The things they can't show, and the need for jokes to be hitting you in the face with a 2x4. Yech.

That being said, my dream American AbFab cast:

Eddie: Patricia Richardson
Patsy: Katey Sagal
Saffy: Sarah Gilbert
Mrs. Monsoon: Shirley MacLaine

Lisa Johnson said...

I've never seen the show except for these clips. It looks a bit insane. The phrase "over 40" includes quite a range of ages. Do they want someone 42 or 70 or the whole range? Maybe they'll get some unknowns...

I loved the original "Coupling" but the American version just didn't work, so I'm not sure how this will translate.

Lenoxave said...

I LOVE AB FAB! I don't think H'Wood has the talent or guts to pull this off. Leave AB FAB alone.

Jen said...

I totally echo Charlie's:

"Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

No.

I mean really.

No.

No. No. No.

Then I'll tell you how I really feel about it.

Anonymous said...

I'm going to be positive today and hope that it does work. But I think the only way it can work is if they do it differently.

Take a look at 'The Office' the British one was HILARIOUS and the American one is as well...so it can be done...let's hope the execution is on point.

They just can't redo every episode...they need new material or you know what? Don't we all ready have a sort of Ab Fab going on right now? The Minor Accomplishments of Jackie Whitman comes to mind.

Claudia said...

That show was brilliant!! Any remake would be...sad.

nyc/caribbean ragazza said...

italianissima - I remember that one. It was hilarious. Again I can't see something like that airing on American TV in prime time. HBO or Showtime? Sure.

missexpatria - I like your casting choices. I'm curious to see who will end up being the stars.

anali - The American Coupling was a train wreck. The actors they casted were very bland, they looked too C-list Hollywood and the show was supposed to be set in Chicago right? The British actors had more quirks. Eddy was around late 30s-mid 40s and Patsy was supposed to be a little older than her.

sdg1844 - Wow so far there isn't a lot of hope for this remake. Fox has their work cut out for them. One of the producers created ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT so maybe it won't be too bad? One can only hope.

jen - ha.

anon - That is true about TMAOJW... and do you remember that show with Cybil Shepard and Christine Baranski? It's about execution and casting. Fingers crossed.

moi - There are going to be more and more remakes and not just from the U.K. There are several shows in development from Israeli TV.

Faith at Acts of Faith Blog said...

Oh boy I guess Jennifer Saunders is happy to make the money but it's going to be totally crappy! I would have suggested Molly Shannon but she's doing that horrid Kath & Kim remake. But to be honest both British actresses had a lot of plastic surgery as well esp as the series got more popular in the US. At least it's a movie not a sitcom.

nyc/caribbean ragazza said...

faith - I think it is a sitcom for Fox network. I don't get how Molly Shannon can play Selma Blair's mom when she is only a couple years older than her! I heard that remake is terrible. The humor doesn't translate.

glamah16 said...

They should just well enough alone. I dont know why they do this.I mean watching the new version of Kath and Kim last night was the last straw!

Anonymous said...

They did try to do it in the 90's. The best friends were changed from British to New Yorkers. Mary McDonnell was the "sane" one, while Jean Smart played the crazier best friend. It was called "High Society", but it failed.

Kataroma said...

I love that show. My fave is where they go on holiday to Marocco and sell Saffy into slavery... Tee hee! And I looove Joanna Lumley. She really makes the show (kind of like Kim Cattrall in Sex and the City - she gets all the best lines). Oh and I often remind myself these days of that stressed out couple with a baby who stay with Edina in London (the mum is played by the same actress who plays the Queen in Blackadder...) Hopefull my husband won't end up having an affair with Patsy though.

I can imagine an American remake being ok. The humour isn't really that different from scrubs and its ilk.

nyc/caribbean ragazza said...

glamah16 - Even the commercials of the remake looked bad.

jstele - you're right. It did fail.

kataroma - that is one of my fav. episodes. Hilarious! I'm very curious to see how the show will be Americanized.

Anonymous said...

Speaking of shows being americanized, have you seen Kath and Kim? I haven't made up my mind about it, but then I haven't seen the original. I really don't think Brit comedy shows should be re done in America, because the humor is entirely different, don't you think?

nyc/caribbean ragazza said...

NWY - I haven't seen Kath & Kim. Some British shows like Sanford & Son translate well. British humor is different but I think the biggest issue with Ab Fab is they will have to tone it way down for network TV.

Tracie P. said...

i thought about that a lot back when i watched the show. one thing i loved about it was that it was SO gutsy (NOT pc). that would never work in hollywood.

nyc/caribbean ragazza said...

tracie b - I know, they had characters snorting ridiculous amounts of coke on screen.

Tracie P. said...

do you remember the one where eddie got a dui?

i'm sorry, but that was hilarious.

nyc/caribbean ragazza said...

no I don't remember that episode. I doubt that one will be Americanized.