Lulu Movies
Part of The Blues documentary film series on PBS, Red, White & Blues is directed by British filmmaker Mike Figgis. This installment explores the impact of black American blues music on mostly white audiences in the U.K., who then reintroduced the style to mainstream America during the British invasion of the early '60s. Kids from London, Birmingham, Manchester, and other parts of England were heavily influenced by the "race music" that middle-class white America largely ignored. Figgis himself was involved in the British blues music scene in one of Bryan Ferry's early bands. Tom Jones, Jeff Beck, Van Morrison, and Lulu come together for a live improvised recording session at Abbey Road Studios. Eric Clapton, John Mayall, Mick Fleetwood, and Steve Winwood offer commentary in interview segments. Red, White & Blues was originally broadcast by PBS on October 3, 2003. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- 1999
- R
Set during the swinging disco era in decidedly unswinging Sheffield, England, this oddball comedy is both a coming-of-age story about getting funky and a supernatural mystery. Vince (Michael Legge) is a Travolta-obsessed teenager who lives with his aspiring magician brother; his randy mom, who has a taste for young men; and his laid-back father Harold (Tom Courtenay). Vince longs for the young, vivacious Joanna Robinson (Laura Fraser), as Harold wows his family with his unnervingly accurate mind reading tricks. Later, when he makes headlines for inadvertently stopping the pacemakers of a couple of oldsters, Harold learns that he actually does have a telekinetic brain. That doesn't stop him from getting arrested, however, and soon Vince and Joanna's snotty boss (David Thewlis) is representing him in court. Meanwhile, Vince has been unable to summon the courage to ask out Joanna. While walking home one day, he is taken by a sexy young punkette who turns out to be none other than Joanna. Vince promptly dumps his disco stuff and buys a Sex Pistols album. Pete Hewitt, whose previous efforts include Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey, directed this film. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Courtenay, Stephen Fry, (more)
- 1996
This made-for-TV sequel to the 1968 theatrical feature To Sir With Love stars Sidney Poitier, recreating his role as Mark Thackery, an American-born schoolteacher who in the original film had taken a post in a tough East Side London neighborhood. Thirty years have passed, and Thackery has been forcibly retired, much to the dismay of the thousands of underprivileged students both past and present who have grown to love him. Although he has received several offers to teach in America's most prestigious universities, Thackeray chooses instead to start his career all over again, teaching so-called "incorrigible" students at an inner-city Chicago school presided over by cynical, weak-willed principal Horace Weaver (Daniel J. Travanti). Anyone who has seen the original To Sir With Love can pretty much guess the outcome of the sequel, though a subplot involving Thackeray's search for a lost love is less easy to second-guess. In addition to Sidney Poitier, actresses Lulu and Judy Geeson appear in brief cameos as the now grown-up characters they played in the 1968 film. Directed by Peter Bogdanovich, To Sir, With Love II first aired April 7, 1996 on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sidney Poitier, Daniel J. Travanti, (more)
- 1995
At a posh public-relations awards show, Edina (Jennifer Saunders) guzzles champagne with Patsy (Joanna Lumley), bosses Bubble (Jane Horrocks) around, chats up supermodel Naomi Campbell, and prepares to take home a prize. She's beaten to the punch, however, by Claudia (Celia Imrie), her pretentious, politically correct professional arch nemesis. Commiserating later at home with Saffy (Julia Sawalha), Mother (June Whitfield), and Pats, Eddy reveals that she had rigged the awards in her own favor, thus rendering her defeat even more ignominious. Terrified that she'll lose her tenuous hold on her career, Edina creeps into Claudia's celebrity liposuction-a-thon in hopes of bagging Campbell for one of her own celebrity events. Later, at an industry luncheon, she loses her prepared remarks but gives a drunken speech anyway, slagging off the PR industry's parasitical piggy-backing on noble causes such as environmentalism. Eddy's rallying cry against doom-and-gloom marketing -- "Cheer up, because it might not bloody happen!" -- becomes a sensation, and soon she's bagging new clients right and left. Meanwhile, Saffy gets hot and heavy -- for her, anyway -- with Gerard (Simon Stokes), her college psychology lecturer. Originally broadcast on BBC 1 on April 27, 1995, Absolutely Fabulous: Jealous marked series three, episode four of this popular Brit-com. Campbell guest-stars as herself in a send-up of the inane schemes to which hangers-on constantly subject the supermodel elite. Although she doesn't appear on camera, real-life singer Lulu, who is supposedly Edina's biggest client, can be heard announcing one of the PR awards. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- 1995
Our heroines find themselves at a mutual crossroads as Saffy (Julia Sawalha) heads off to college, leaving Edina (Jennifer Saunders) alone, and Patsy (Joanna Lumley) loses her job when her magazine folds. Pats soon moves in with Eddy, but their lack of domestic common sense spoils their otherwise jolly neo-conjugal relationship. Things are looking up at the office for Eddy, though, as a high-powered New York PR agency wants to form a liaison. That and a complimentary bottle of champagne are all it takes to keep past-her-prime singer Lulu in the fold; nevertheless, a spiteful Eddy attempts to fire Bubble (Jane Horrocks), who after three seasons as a personal assistant still doesn't understand the phrase "fax machine." Back at the house, during an impromptu wake for the magazine, fast-talking former editor Magda (Kathy Burke) announces she's taking a job in New York -- and that she wants to bring Patsy with her; that leaves fellow fashion hangers-on Catriona (Helen Lederer) and Fleur (Harriet Thorpe) contemplating jobs at the perfume counter and/or Eddy's firm. Later, smoking a joint in the bathroom, Pats and Eddy mull over the big-time success that they've always craved and try to fight off their terror of being alone. Saffy arrives to inject her usual doses of common sense, but the episode ends with a standoff: Eddy and Pats go their separate ways, each trying to convince herself that she'll be more fabulous flying solo. Originally broadcast on BBC 1 on May 4, 1995, Absolutely Fabulous: Fear marked series three, episode five of this popular Brit-com. Although her voice appeared in the previous episode, Absolutely Fabulous: Jealous, "To Sir With Love" singer Lulu makes her second on-camera appearance as herself; she was previously mentioned in countless episodes and appeared in Absolutely Fabulous: New Best Friend. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- 1992
In this satirical British sitcom, which became a cult hit on American cable, a grotesquely self-centered fashion victim chain-smokes, swills champagne, abuses drugs, munches caviar, terrorizes her daughter, and tries in vain to mingle with the beautiful people -- all in the company of her sleek, slutty, boozed-up best friend. Edina Monsoon (Jennifer Saunders) and Patsy Stone (Joanna Lumley) (aka Pats and Eddy) are '60s survivors and fashion-world wannabes; Pats works for magazines, while Eddy owns a PR firm whose biggest client is '60s has-been Lulu, of "To Sir With Love" fame. These women live in a cloud of self-delusion about the supposed glamour of their London lifestyle, forever attempting to claw their way past the velvet rope. Pats inhabits the attic of a liquor-store franchise, while Eddy lives in a well-to-do flat thanks to the double alimony from her two ex-husbands, a gay antiques dealer and a recovering alcoholic. When she's not being horrible to her dowdy, unflappable teenaged daughter, Saffron (Julia Sawalha), and her oblivious, tongue-in-cheek mother (June Whitfield), Eddy stages fashion shows, jets off to photo shoots, pays charlatans to put her in touch with her inner child, and tries every weight-loss cure known to man -- except curbing her decadent lifestyle. Thanks to its shrill satire, over-the-top costumes, outrageous excess, and all-around camp appeal, Absolutely Fabulous became a pop-culture phenomenon that spawned two Sesame Street characters, a slew of slang expressions ("Sweetie darling, I'm chanting as we speak"), and even a Pet Shop Boys charity single. The actual theme song, sung by Julie Driscoll and Adrian Edmondson, is a cover of "This Wheel's on Fire," a '60s obscurity written by Bob Dylan and the Band's Rick Danko.
"AbFab," as it's known, began its life as a sketch called "Modern Mother and Daughter" on the BBC comedy show French & Saunders. Although frequent Saunders collaborator Dawn French played the daughter part in the original sketch, she bowed out in favor of half-Jordanian, half-British actress Sawalha, a Press Gang vet who was closer to the character's age. Patsy -- played like a coked-up Dynasty caricature by former Bond girl and New Avengers star Lumley -- wasn't a part of the original sketch but quickly became a favorite of drag queens everywhere. In addition to cameos from celebrities such as Helena Bonham Carter and Naomi Campbell, AbFab includes frequent appearances by Little Voice star Jane Horrocks (as Eddy's airhead assistant, Bubble) and Nil by Mouth star Kathy Burke (as straight-talking magazine editor Magda). Although one BBC development executive's reaction to the pilot was, "I don't think women being drunk is funny," a beeb secretary handed out tapes in secret to her friends, and soon the buzz about the show became deafening. The first series premiered on BBC1 on November 12, 1992, but didn't make its American bow until July 1994, when Comedy Central began airing perpetual reruns of the show. Three six-episode series were broadcast in the U.K. in 1992, 1994, and 1995, followed by a two-part TV movie, Absolutely Fabulous: The Last Shout, in November 1996. In 2000, as Saunders was working on a new program called Mirrorball that reunited much of the AbFab cast, she decided to switch gears and revisit her best-known characters in a fourth AbFab series, which began airing on August 31, 2001. Co-funded by Comedy Central, the new series began its U.S. run a few months later, on November 12, 2001. Although Roseanne purchased the rights to develop an American version of the show in 1994, the first international adaptation of the program to see the light of day was the 2001 French film Absolument Fabuleux. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
"AbFab," as it's known, began its life as a sketch called "Modern Mother and Daughter" on the BBC comedy show French & Saunders. Although frequent Saunders collaborator Dawn French played the daughter part in the original sketch, she bowed out in favor of half-Jordanian, half-British actress Sawalha, a Press Gang vet who was closer to the character's age. Patsy -- played like a coked-up Dynasty caricature by former Bond girl and New Avengers star Lumley -- wasn't a part of the original sketch but quickly became a favorite of drag queens everywhere. In addition to cameos from celebrities such as Helena Bonham Carter and Naomi Campbell, AbFab includes frequent appearances by Little Voice star Jane Horrocks (as Eddy's airhead assistant, Bubble) and Nil by Mouth star Kathy Burke (as straight-talking magazine editor Magda). Although one BBC development executive's reaction to the pilot was, "I don't think women being drunk is funny," a beeb secretary handed out tapes in secret to her friends, and soon the buzz about the show became deafening. The first series premiered on BBC1 on November 12, 1992, but didn't make its American bow until July 1994, when Comedy Central began airing perpetual reruns of the show. Three six-episode series were broadcast in the U.K. in 1992, 1994, and 1995, followed by a two-part TV movie, Absolutely Fabulous: The Last Shout, in November 1996. In 2000, as Saunders was working on a new program called Mirrorball that reunited much of the AbFab cast, she decided to switch gears and revisit her best-known characters in a fourth AbFab series, which began airing on August 31, 2001. Co-funded by Comedy Central, the new series began its U.S. run a few months later, on November 12, 2001. Although Roseanne purchased the rights to develop an American version of the show in 1994, the first international adaptation of the program to see the light of day was the 2001 French film Absolument Fabuleux. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Saunders, Joanna Lumley, (more)
- 1992
Edina (Jennifer Saunders) gets in an uproar over the impending visit of Max (Patrick Barlow) and Bettina (Miranda Richardson), a pair of impossibly hip old friends. Terrified that her cluttered house won't be up to snuff with these chic minimalists, she chucks things -- and people -- right and left. Pats (Joanna Lumley), feeling abandoned, sets off to find another lunch partner. She even turns up at her own office, hoping to find Magda but instead encountering Bubble (Jane Horrocks), who is there on loan from Eddy's office. Meanwhile, Eddy, dismayed to find that Bettina and Max have become the shrill, neurotic yuppie parents of a very ordinary newborn, escapes to an imaginary lunch date of her own. Pats and Eddy find themselves at the same hip London eatery, where each tries to impress the other with her dining companions; Eddy gloms onto '60s singer Lulu, while Pats forces herself into the company of Swedish actress Britt Ekland and outrageous fashion designer Zandra Rhodes. Back at the Monsoon house, Eddy still can't stand the company of the hysterical Bettina, so she retires to bed. Strangely enough, so does Max. Originally broadcast on BBC 1 on February 24, 1994, Absolutely Fabulous: New Best Friend marked series two, episode four of this popular Brit-com. Although Richardson, star of such films as The Crying Game, played a fictional character, Ekland, Lulu, and Rhodes all portrayed themselves. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- 1990
Mark Huestis' low-budget, shot-on-video feature casts Doug Self as Steven, a young San Francisco man whose lover Victor has just died of AIDS. Following Victor's dying wishes to have his ashes scattered in Maui, Steven travels to the Hawaii-based New Age community founded by Victor's former partner Robert (Emerald Starr). Despite an edgy relationship with Robert, who never visited Victor in his final months, Steven finds romance with the camp gardener Peter (Joe Tolbe), a matter complicated by the fact that Steven has never undergone an HIV test. Robert admits that he, too, has never had an AIDS test--his fear of death is the reason why he built his closed-off island community. After hearing of another friend's AIDS-related death, Steven leaves Peter behind to return to California. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1969
Made for TV, Mister Jerico stars Patrick Macnee as smooth con artist Dudley Jerico. Marty Allen, the brillo-haired member of the Allen and Rossi comedy team, is good for a few laughs as Jerico's sidekick. The pair are in Malta to pull off a spectacular scam. Millionaire Herbert Lom is covetous of the mate for his priceless "Gemini diamond," and Jerico drops subtle hints suggesting he's the man to supply the elusive gem. The publicity packet for Mister Jerico assured that we'd see "a comic run of fake and real gems, mixed identities, and pell-mell chases." What we never saw was the weekly series for which Mister Jerico was so obviously the pilot film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Originally broadcast on the BBC back in 1968, filmmaker Tony Palmer's groundbreaking rock documentary features vintage performances by such legendary rock and roll acts as The Beatles, The Who, Pink Floyd, Cream, and Jimmy Hendrix. Additional insight by such revered artists as Frank Zappa offers a telling snapshot of a truly revolutionary moment in time. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patrick Allen, Derek Taylor, (more)
Sidney Poitier, who in 1955 played a student in a tough inner-city high school, portrays a teacher assigned to a similar institution in To Sir, With Love. Unable to find work as an engineer, Poitier accepts a teaching post in London's East End slums. To reach his sullen, rebellious students, Poitier throws away his textbooks and endeavors to reach them as human beings--and as the adults they're going to become. It's an uphill climb, but gradually the students are won over. They begin referring to Poitier as "Sir," not out of blind obedience but as a gesture of genuine affection. Not that there aren't obstacles to overcome: in addition to trying to get through to hardcase student Christian Roberts, Poitier must face down the resistance and hostility of his fellow teachers. The sweetly sentimental finale amply displays the vocal talents of Lulu, who trills the title song. Based on the novel by E. R. Brainwaite, To Sir, With Love was one of the biggest moneyspinners of 1967 (with this film, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner and In the Heat of the Night, Sidney Poitier had quite a year). In 1996, a belated made-for-TV sequel was produced, briefly reuniting To Sir with Love co-stars Sidney Poiter, Lulu and Judy Geason, none of whom looked a day older. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sidney Poitier, Christian Roberts, (more)
