Mirrorball (2000 TV Movie) User Reviews

Show uss zee vay to ze next viskey barr...

[JohnnyOldSoul · 8/10 · 23 December 2002]

Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant! Jennifer Saunders' pilot for a a potential new series is a classic in it's own right, growing from, but not overshadowed by it's AbFab roots. It is quite unfair (although natural enough) for this one-off to be compared so heavily to Absolutely Fabulous, as it is really quite different, apart from it's raking over the coals of celebritydom.

There are some truly inspired moments here. The scene in which stage great Bonnie Langford loses the role in "Angela's Ashes" (the musical no less!) to the obviously less talented Vivienne is priceless.

The characters are really quite different to the roles the cast played in AbFab. Freda is certainly less prim and prudish than Saffron, Vivienne is calmer and less frenetic than Edina, Jackie is less vapid than Patsy, and Yitta is not the vacant animated corpse that Bubble was, but rather an arrogant, spiteful young woman. Admittedly Dora seems a bit like Mother in some ways, but Dora truly is off her rocker, whereas Mother was obviously calculating her every off-the-wall-remark as a way to drive Edina insane.

All in all, "Mirrorball" is a good time all round and deserves to be enjoyed on it's own merits, not mearly as an offshoot of the AbFab phenomenon. It is available on the AbFab Series 4 DVD set. Don't miss it!

It may take more than one viewing to appreciate

[onnanob2 · 8/10 · 12 September 2005]

"Mirrorball" stars the regular cast from "Absolutely Fabulous," and it almost seems like an experimental special that asks, "Can you take the "Ab Fab" cast, and put them in something else?" It had been previously announced "Absolutely Fabulous" wouldn't have anymore episodes produced when "Mirrorball" was made. I heard Jennifer Saunders thought of turning "Mirrorball" into her next series, and I am very glad she decided to return to writing more episodes of "Absolutely Fabulous." I enjoy this one-off special, but I don't know if I could have become a hardcore fan if it were her next series. Actually, it took a few viewings for me to shake off the favoritism of "Absolutely Fabulous," and really enjoy "Mirrorball." At times similarities can be seen between characters, dialog, and actions. You can't really help but make comparisons between the "Ab Fab" characters and the "Mirrorball" characters, but Jennifer Saunders has done a fine job in creating a totally different setting and atmosphere. Saunders plays an out of work actress named Viv. She has some minor clashes and exchanges with her roommate, Freda (Julia Sawalha), who seems to be having more success landing acting jobs. Viv's close friend, Jackie (Joanna Lumley), lives right downstairs in a flat with her husband, Brice (Tim Wylton.) The couple doesn't get along, and tension rises when Brice buys the favorite local pub. Brice also has connections with show business, and one of his performers is an aging star named Dora (June Whitfield.) Viv tries out for a part in the musical version of "Angela's Ashes," and she wins the lead role. A time of celebration turns into a humorous tragedy when Viv breaks one of her legs in an accident. Jane Horrocks plays Yitta, a foreign girl with a heavy accent. Yitta also tries out for a part in the musical (a very funny audition), and she's a waitress at Brice's newly bought pub. Harriet Thorpe plays a bit player named Cat Rogers. She fills in for actors who need time off from their stage shows, and she seems to be filling in for every show in town. Television and stage actress Bonnie Langford plays another candidate for the musical version of "Angela's Ashes." "Mirrorball" may take more than one viewing to appreciate the differences and characters presented. It's a worthy effort with clever humor that may get lost if you are unwilling to dislocate your admiration for "Absolutely Fabulous." Saunders' husband, Adrian Edmondson, has done a fine job with directing "Mirrorball," and the show was put together very well. "Mirrorball" also contains some very funny stunts that look like they must have hurt! It is available on the "Absolutely Fabulous: Series Four" DVD as an extra feature.

In the shadows of Ab Fab

[megsie · 8/10 · 11 April 2001]

It was logical to think of Mirrorball as a follow-up for Ab Fab, though it isn't really. It has some nice story lines and of course humor is written all over it. Jennifer Saunders is as keen as ever. It's a shame it's not broadcast anymore.

A brilliant one-off programme with the cast of Ab Fab

[chrisme2000 · 10/10 · 29 January 2001]

This programme, shown on BBC1 in the UK on 22nd december 2000, is a one-off christmas special written by Jennifer Saunders. It was to be developed into a series but then Jennifer decided to write a new series of Absolutely Fabulous instead. This brilliant 30-minute comedy is about fading show-business diva Vivienne Keill (Saunders) and her has-been best friend Jackie Riviera (Lumley). Vivienne is a dancer who is well past her prime, but who still lingers in the public's imagination thanks to her trademark high kicks. She is nervous about her forthcoming audition for the role of matriarch Angela in Angela's Ashes - the Musical, and seeks advice from her sister Freda, a serious actress (Julia Sawalha). The audition and its fall-out serve to introduce other Ab Fab luminaries, notably the splendid June Whitfield as fifties starlet Dora Vermouth, Jane Horrocks as eccentric Icelandic waitress and would-be performer Yitta and Harriet Thorpe as desperate wannabe Cat Rogers.

Another triumphe by the BBC, but I still can't wait for the new AbFab!

I probably would not have kept watching

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 27 January 2019]

Here we have "Mirrorball", a television half-hour live action short film from 2000, so this one is already almost 20 years old. This is a British BBC production and it is closely connected to AbFab, the long-running successful series also from BBC and they got the key cast members back for this television special. The director is prolific actor Adrian Edmondson, who is the husband (still today) of lead actress and writer Jennifer Saunders. The latter is at the very center of it all, but it is at least about smaller characters and supporting performances here. Mix of characters and differing screen times are fine, maybe the film could have needed some more men in my opinion, but I don't think this is the key reason why this pilot episodes was not picked up. That would be too easy. I personally think that AbFab was enough already in terms of cast and characters and there is no need to reinvent something using the same actresses with just weaker quality. Some gags weren't that bad admittedly, but as a whole the laugh-out-loud moments weren't frequent enough to me for a positive recommendation here. I also struggled with the laugh track, which I normally don't do too much, but here it became quickly annoying as itg was also used on more than just a few at best mildly funny references as if they were trying to tell the (actually existing) audience when to laugh. I also have a feeling this would not have gotten better after the pilot episode and there were some characters where the pilot already felt too much and honestly I would not really want to know more about them. Some of them also felt too similar. A whole lot of the criticisms from me here are entirely subjective and I can perfectly understand that other people may have different opinion. It is also a special brand of humor that not everybody will warm up to easily. So my suggestion is if you really liked AbFab, then go give this one a try, but don't expectg too much. If you don't or have never seen AbFab, then skip the watch. Mirrorball is not a failure, but I give it a thumbs-down overall.