Just perfect...

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

When I heard they made a movie from Are You Being Served, I was more than intrigued to check it out. Sadly, it lacked the hilarity of the TV series. Many of the lines in the movie were taken from various episodes of the series and just weren't as funny without the audience laughter. I liked that the original cast was all in it but seeing this movie just once was enough for me. I think the only BritCom that can pull off making movies and have them be just as funny as the series is Monty Python. I believe if Keeping Up Appearances or Allo Allo tried to make a movie, it would be just as much of a disaster as the Are You Being Served movie. If you're a die-hard fan of Are You Being Served, don't waste your time seeing the movie. You'll be disappointed.

This big screen outing of Are You Being Served is not as loved as the series is but it still features the original (and by far the best) cast at the top of their game and features lots of laugh out loud moments.The film struggles to adapt with not having the laughter track behind and the jokes are left hanging because of it. Without it the piece doesn't flow as it could which is a shame because the jokes do come thick and fast.Also some routines that have previously been used in the series are recycled but they are worth another viewing because they are so good.Overall a good rarely seen film that is well worth a look for those who already know the series and for those just discovering it.

Ever see some of those SNL sketches that are funny on the show but not nearly as good when a movie is made out of them? AYBS: The Movie is like that.All your favorite clerks from Grace Bros. go on holiday together, but there's a lot missing from this movie. Just like with Grace & Favour, it suffers because it's not in the store. It's really hard to make these characters work and flow as well when they aren't in the store, IMO. I mean, the chemistry is great between the cast, as always, and there are some pretty funny moments in the movie, but it's just not as good.The Arabic customers scene was similarly done before, and the ending really left a lot to be desired. Also, there was no laugh track. Not that you would expect there to be one in a movie, but not hearing that laugh every time someone does a joke just isn't the same.If you like the show, it may be worth renting. It's good for what it is, but it's not a movie you're going to want to watch repeatedly.

This film, based on the tremendously popular "Are You Being Served" British television show that ran from 1972-85 (and still endures on American public television), falls pitifully flat. It plays like one long episode of the television series, but without the spark that earned the series its large and affectionate following.Had this film come at or near the end of the television series' original production run, we might have concluded that the writers and/or players had lost some creative energy. But it didn't. It was released in 1977, at the height of the show's popularity. After the film, the same people went back to create some of the most enjoyable and memorable episodes of the show--they were by no means washed up.The plot plods doggedly through bits recycled from the television series, including some wince-inducing cultural slurs and too much toilet/fart humour. The writers even stoop to the "walk this way" gag, which is as old as time itself. Regular viewers of the TV show will tire at the cut-and-pastedness of the script; newcomers will sit puzzled by the running gags and in-jokes that one can only "get" from the TV show.The actors, while masterful at playing to a live audience (which they did for the television series), seem off balance without the buoyance of audience response, often pausing for laughter that never comes.The aural atmosphere is either dead and silent, containing only the players' voices, or filled in by a Muzakesque musical score entirely indifferent to the events on screen. The lighting also has an unnatural spotlight quality at times. Like makeup, good lighting should look like none at all.That there is tremendous talent here, both in the players and the writers, has been well demonstrated before and after this film. But not during.