[.ca] French & Saunders: Gentlemen Prefer French & Saunders

From Amazon.com:
For Americans not familiar with the comic machinations of the oddball collaborative duo of Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders, this video is the perfect introduction. Taken from one season of their British sketch-comedy television series, this video contains a great variety of their work. Dawn French is probably best known in the U.S. for her PBS appearances on The Vicar of Dibley and Murder Most Horrid. In addition, she cowrote the disturbingly funny series Absolutely Fabulous, which is usually associated solely with Jennifer Saunders (who plays Edina). French and Saunders excel at movie spoofs. Their talent for parody, combined with their excellent eye for wardrobe (notably the million hairstyles of Dawn French), make even their portrayals of Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe realistic. They also include non-parodying sketches, two of the most hilarious being the original Absolutely Fabulous scene and a women's-magazine publisher sketch. Although sometimes their humor includes decidedly English gags and British personalities, the entertaining nature of the show is not truly compromised. Those who are familiar with the show will delight in the duo's talent at its best, and those not familiar will have a great entrée into the fantastically funny, bizarre world of French and Saunders. --Amanda Powter

If You Are a Fan:
You can't live without this DVD!! Hilarious!! If you need your humour wet, enough to soak you with a super soaker...or shall I say, if that kind of thing amuses, you won't like this....but if your sense of humour is dry as the desert and you can understand heavy BRIT...you'll love THIS!!! Run and buy it!!

These Two Women Are Chameleons:
I rate these folks fairly highly because I understand British idiom and humo(u)r. If you are an American, trust that your mileage may vary on how well this tickles your funny bone. It is a good bit more sedate than "Monty Python", that's for sure. No doubt about it - Saunders and French are chameleons. I suspect a big award goes to the wardrobe and makeup crew who work with them, but we have a somewhat convincing 250 pound Jane Russell (French) doing schtick with a middle-aged Marilyn Monroe (Saunders). The DVD has sketches, not one running story. In this one, they lampoon opera divas, publishers of utterly worthless "stocking stuffer" books (I am resisting spoiling it and will not post the title of the dreadful book,but it is funny.), boring chat shows (one has the two women chatting earnestly about what the Queen had for "elevenses"), two rustic housewifes bragging about fleecing the yuppies ("She offered me 100 quid for the loo!"), and (my favorite) a couple of dour and indestructible old women in Wellies with two large dogs under the table. The sketches I did not like were the "Gone With The Wind Sketch" ( Too many "Fiddle-dee-dees" for my taste) and the visit to the friend in jail sketch (I got bored, so sue me.). Oh, yeah, this DVD also has the sketch that spawned the entire "Absolutely Fabulous".

F & S - Better than S & M!:
"Gentlemen Prefer French and Saunders" is truly the best of the 4 F & S DVD's. I bought the "Set", and what a bargain! I watched the first three DVD's today, and laughed for hours. If you are looking for some silly, yet witty entertainment I suggest these DVD's. I have begun to refer to F & S as "Monty-Pyfemme. A wonderful addition to my growing BBC DVD library! Make sure to watch the bonus sections - usually they are the best parts.

Belly-Laughs Galore Parodies of Well-Known Hollywood Scenes!:
Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders have no equal in their hilarious way of making fun of Hollywood. Watch them "impersonate" bombshells Marilyn Monroe & Jane Russel, playing "Two Little Girls From Little Rock", or see their version of "Whatever Happened To Baby Jane" (the infamous -lunch is served!- routine we rememebr so well), and many other great comedy skits. During one particular scene, I actually had to leave to get a drink of water, or else I may have passed out from exhaustion, that's how hard I had to laugh! While Jennifer Saunders (in the role of an entertainment executive) rambled on about new ideas, Dawn French (who at first paced the office, listening to the babble) suddenly grabbing her throat saying in a whisper "...this is all so trivial, it doesn't seem to matter at all... our whole lives are nothing but rubbish!" Quickly Saunders interjects "No, no, no, darling, it does matter, everything we say an do is of utmost importance!" - Instantly French regains her composure, and the two continue the senseless babble about new ideas.--This scene could have ended in the ER for me! These two British Comedy Wonders are the funniest thing to come across the ocean since Monty Python and Benny Hill! This particular DVD is on the very top of my list of favorites. You will never laugh harder than at French & Saunders' Comedy routines!

OK:
I would recommend this for hard core fans of French and Saunders. It's funny, but it's not as good as At The Movies or Living in a Material World.