Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
39 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Les Liaisons Stupide, 11 Mar 2007
Cruelly under-rated, this is easily as good as anything produce by French & Saunders, either collectively or individually. Set in the Palace of Versailles in 1782, the basic premise is similar to that of Blackadder 3. But instead of Rowan Atkinson as Edmund Blackadder braving the idiocy of Hugh Laurie as the Prince Regent, here we have Dawn French as the bored but wily servant who has to suffer fat, rich and stupid member of the French aristocracy Colombine, Comtesse de Vache (Jennifer Saunders).
In supporting roles are Adrian Scarborough as Bouffant, Colombine's dress-maker, Alison Steadman as Colombine's nemesis Madame de Plonge as well as Lucy Punch playing Eveline, her sexed-up but (supposedly) virginal daughter. Appearing in individual episodes are Richard E. Grant as the Marquis de Sade, Julian Rhind-Tutt as Madame de Plonge's camp acid-tongued advisor, Cathy Burke as Colombine's poor and duplicitous sister and Maggie Steed stealing every scene she's in as Madame Vigee-Lebrun, artist to the aristocracy.
With everyone involved playing to the gallery, the humour comes fast and funny helped along by an abundance of silly costumes, wigs and situations. The performers are encouraged to adopt several ridiculous (and historically inappropriate) accents ranging from Dawn French's distinct west country twang and Adrian Scarborough's broad Yorkshire to a quite ridiculously over-the-top Bavarian accent afforded to Marie Antoinette (Elizabeth Berrington).
Stand-out situations include Colombine's absolute refusal to open doors for herself, Lisette's regular references to the 'the old Comte' and the superb moment when Bouffant staggers in with hair and make-up everywhere having been subjected to the amorous attentions of Eveline declaring angrily 'do I LOOK like I'm heterosexual?'.
TV comedy is littered with shows that were unappreciated during first runs and only became favourites upon being repeated extensively and maybe 'Let Them East Cake' would have benefited from such repetition on TV. Or perhaps Dawn and Jennifer were less committed to the show as it was a rare example of them performing in something they did not write (Peter Learmouth gets the credit here). Whatever the reasons, the show was not a huge success and was not re-commissioned so, alas, we only have these 6 episodes to treasure. We must therefore be grateful for the issuing of this DVD and, if you are a fan of French & Saunders, Absolutely Fabulous or Blackadder all you really need to do is just press the 'Add To Shopping Basket' button above. Honestly, you'll thank me.
|
|
|
17 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
one of the most brilliant comedies of our time, 2 Jan 2007
i own three coppies of this series ( australian version)- one for travel -one for home and one to keep safely should anything happen to the others.fans of ab fab,french and saunders the series etc will absolutely not be dissapointed by this brilliantly written ,art directed,filmed and acted series -the historical references that pepper the dialogue and visuals scathingly achieve blatent belly laughs and the principals -french,saunders,scarborough and steadman}who play respectively the saucy slutty maid, the ignorant arrogant ditzy arristocrat, the flaming witty sarcastic gay couturier and the bitchy scheeming rival arristocrat are all HILARIOUS as are the supporting players and brilliant guest stars-the script is camp, politicaly incorrect beyond imagination ,riotous and brazen -it is filled with delicious cliche and is always surprising and intelligent, the great thing about this comedy is it doesnt have one single irritating moment of serious sentiment(aka any american sit com trying to convey a social message in between the canned laughter) just laugh after laugh with a f--k it if they cant take a joke attitude- please i employ you get this dvd strap on an incontinence pad die laughing and get your next of kin to hound peter learmouth to write another series and all others involved to do an encore.
|
|
|
4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
historically and hysterically funny but..., 13 Sep 2007
This story of secrets, lies and intrigue at the decadent French royal court is something of a puzzler. On first watching the series I didn't know what to make of it. It was funny but somehow lacked finish. Like it needed just a little more rewriting or editing or something because it sometimes feels like you're watching a play.
That being said I ordered the series the second I found it on DVD. On rewatching it I was surprised that most of that "something lacking"-feeling was gone and I just enjoyed watching the series immensly. While I still think that it could have been better, I must say that it is very funny. The plots are ingeniously stupid (and I mean that in a good way), costumes and decors are beautiful, the acting top notch.
Then why only four stars? Because I do feel it could have been even better. Here's hoping that some day they make a second series that's really 5-star quality. But I do consider this as a very good buy and a very good laugh.
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
![Let Them Eat Cake - Complete Series [DVD] [1999]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51SFDygp2EL._SL75_SS50_.jpg)
![Jam and Jerusalem: Complete BBC Series One [DVD] [2007]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51tJkFtBYaL._SL75_SS50_.jpg)
![Murder Most Horrid : Complete First Series [DVD]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61oR17fr74L._SL75_SS50_.jpg)
![French & Saunders Series 1-6 Box Set (6 discs) [DVD]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41c%2Bl5zQf2L._SL75_SS50_.jpg)
![Murder Most Horrid : Complete First Series [DVD]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61oR17fr74L._SL500_SS90_.jpg)
DVD ~ Dawn French
![Jam and Jerusalem: Complete BBC Series One [DVD] [2007]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51tJkFtBYaL._SL500_SS90_.jpg)
DVD ~ Sue Johnston
![Girls On Top - The Complete Series [DVD]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51-owCxRfEL._SL500_SS90_.jpg)
DVD ~ Jennifer Saunders
![Wild West : Complete BBC Series 1 & 2 [DVD]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51K766ZHF0L._SL500_SS90_.jpg)
DVD ~ Dawn French
![French & Saunders Series 1-6 Box Set (6 discs) [DVD]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41c%2Bl5zQf2L._SL500_SS90_.jpg)
DVD ~ Dawn French
With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is). 
Amazon Home