Sarah Burns Movies

This compendium of material from the BBC sketch comedy program French & Saunders pokes fun at everything from Baywatch and the Batman franchise to Björk and Ingmar Bergman, stopping along the way to mock British tennis players and postcolonial biddies. Most of the material dates from the early to mid-'90s; all of it features future Absolutely Fabulous writer/actress Jennifer Saunders and Vicar of Dibley star Dawn French, who parody pop culture figures (Liam Neeson and Mel Gibson in a faux Braveheart/Rob Roy crossover) and inhabit their usual assortment of original characters. Guest players include supermodel Kate Moss and singer/actress/celebrity wife Patsy Kensit. The title refers to the duo's parody of Madonna's Truth or Dare, which, bowing to that film's British title, is called "In Bed With French & Saunders." Other French & Saunders collections include French & Saunders: At the Movies, French & Saunders: Gentlemen Prefer, and French & Saunders: The Ingenue Years. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

This French & Saunders special from May 1999 features an extended parody of the BBC TV drama Silent Witness. Here the program becomes "Witless Silence," and Jennifer Saunders steps into the forensic-pathologist part played by Amanda Burton in the actual series. In another segment, "Acting Masterclass," another BBC actress actually guest stars. Helen Mirren, known to legions of British TV viewers as London police detective Jane Tennison, here plays an actress very much like herself who's come home to teach an actor's workshop with a pair of far less successful fellow drama school alumnae: Maggie Moffit (Dawn French), who's done more work for Actor's Equity than actual acting, and Tillie Dickerson (Saunders), a housewife who once guest-starred on Doctor Who. Three additional sketches feature parodies of musical performers: teen pop group Boyzone, Welsh rock band Catatonia, and Canadian singer/songwriter Alanis Morissette. The entire special is framed by "F&S TV," a mock shopping-channel program hosted by the titular comediennes. French & Saunders: F&S TV is included as a bonus on the DVD edition of French & Saunders: Gentlemen Prefer. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

This collection of skits from the fourth series of French & Saunders lives up to its title. Although the comedic duo takes aim at British culture, BBC TV, pop stars, and the Middle Ages, most of the material focuses on Hollywood parody. Dawn French takes on a pair of box-office villains as she pokes fun at Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs and Kathy Bates in Misery; partner Jennifer Saunders, meanwhile, essays the Jodie Foster and James Caan roles, respectively. French experiences the familiar progression from face-hugger to stomach-exploder in a send-up of Aliens that also features Kathy Burke standing in for Jenette Goldstein as Pvt. Vasquez. Thelma and Louise also gets the patented F&S treatment. Other sketches include faux music videos for the Mamas and the Papas, Guns N' Roses, and Shakespear's Sister; "Lucky Bitches," a parody of celebrity sisters Joan and Jackie Collins; and an elaborate re-creation of the historical soap House of Eliott, in which the show's original stars, Stella Gonet and Louise Lombard, appear. The DVD edition of French & Saunders: At the Movies also includes the duo's 1999 Christmas special French & Saunders: The Phantom Millennium, an elaborate parody of Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi