Search - French & Saunders: The Ingenue Years on DVD

Movie Release: 2003 DVD Release: 09/30/2003 Format: DVD - Closed Captioned Edition: Television SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 25 mins Studio: BBC Warner Members Wishing: 0 Genres: Comedy, Variety Show [TV], Sketch Comedy

This collection of material from the BBC sketch comedy program French & Saunders focuses on the show's earliest episodes, from the late '80s. The duo's signature film and TV parodies are in short supply, although Dawn French does essay the role of Elizabeth Taylor as Maggie the Cat in a send-up of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Jennifer Saunders, meanwhile, performs a parodic show tune in the guise of Doris Day. Much of the rest of the material focuses on music and dance, from a deadpan Pet Shop Boys impersonation to a mock awards show in which a decrepit Ginger Rogers is forced to dance, despite her wheelchair, with a phalanx of Solid Gold-style dancers. As a framing device, French and Saunders parody girl groups of the ages, from flappers to hippies. The comedians also get their digs in at conceptual art, safer sex, Liza Minnelli, and the foibles of British schoolgirls. Additional performers include comedy duo Raw Sex. Those with sharp ears will also notice a joke about June Whitfield, the British actress who would go on to appear with Saunders in Absolutely Fabulous. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

Dawn French
Jennifer Saunders

The comedy team of Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French spoof all manner of popular entertainment on French & Saunders: The Ingenue Years, released on DVD from Warner Home Video. This collection of skits from the 1987 season of the BBC sketch comedy series is presented with a standard full-frame transfer and a Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo soundtrack in English. Closed captions are accessible. There are no special features to speak of, but this is still an excellent DVD release of a TV show that never aired in the U.S. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide