The Remote Island

American "Ab Fab": Is This Going To Work?

Posted by Lindy Parker

 

First, let's talk fashion.  We love it.  Despite the fact that Kathryn Hahn looks like she's falling a wee bit on the Grey Gardens side of the aisle, we feel like this pic captures the zany/quirky/cool quality of the original...

...and makes us feel generally positive about the whole endeavor.

Here's our updated pro/con list:

 Pro:  Kathryn Hahn.  We love her.  We've come to think of her as "the girl we love in movies we hate" -- see: How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days and Anchorman (yes, yes, we know we're in the minority here, don't write letters).  We think she may have the chops to bring a little of the Jennifer Saunders magic to the remake.

Con: Kristen Johnston.  We're not fully convinced that she's the right choice.  We mostly found 3rd Rock From the Sun unwatchable, and we think it increasingly unlikely that Johnston can bring the funny anywhere near as hard as Joanna Lumley.  That said, we're up for being proven wrong.  After all, the woman has three Emmys.

Verdict: undecided.  In recreating such a comedic powerhouse, it's enough of a feat in itself to even come close to packing the same punch.  Even if Hahn and Johnston can somehow mimic the funny of Saunders and Lumley, is that enough to justify a remake?  Is it possible to improve upon the original Ab Fab?  Our instinctual response is "hell no." But, Hahn and Johnston must at least think they can, because if they can't, why wouldn't we just keep watching our Ab Fab dvds and be done with it?

Previously:

American "Ab Fab": There's Good News and Bad News

Absolutely Fabulous: The American Version is a New Fox Pilot


+ DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT
Posted Mar 10 2009, 04:00 PM
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About Lindy Parker

Lindy Parker has worked as a ghostwriter, editor, dance instructor and a purveyor of dreams, one beer at a time. She now writes for nerve.com's TV blog, "The Remote Island." She loves Charles Dickens and Gabriel Garcia Marquez and also, straight-to-video releases with Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. It's possible she reads more teen fiction than she should. She hails from Los Angeles, her hometown and soul mate, but she lives in Brooklyn, the fling she'll never forget.

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    Lindy Parker has worked as a ghostwriter, editor, dance instructor and a purveyor of dreams, one beer at a time. She loves Charles Dickens and Gabriel Garcia Marquez and also, straight-to-video releases with Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. It's possible she reads more teen fiction than she should. She hails from Los Angeles, her hometown and soul mate, but she lives in Brooklyn, the fling she'll never forget.

    Olivia Purnell left Ohio for sunny Los Angeles; then found that she couldn’t ignore New York City’s call, and brought herself to Brooklyn where she has worked with GenArt, BlackBook, the School of American Ballet, and finished an M.A. in Creative Writing from N.Y.U. She loves one-liners with sting and hates the stench of the subway in the summer. That said, she can’t get enough of either.

    Jake Kalish is a freelance journalist and humorist whose work has appeared in Details, Maxim, Stuff, New York Press, Spin, Blender, Men's Fitness, Poets and Writers, and Playboy, among other publications. He is also the author of Santa vs. Satan: The Official Compendium of Imaginary Fights.

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    Ben Kallen is an entertainment, health and humor writer who's been lectured to by Sidney Poitier, argued with by Lea Thompson and smiled at by Jennifer Connelly. He's the coauthor of The No S Diet and author of The Year in Weird, along with hundreds of magazine articles. He lives near the beach in Los Angeles, just like the gang from Three's Company.

    Nicole Ankowski has lived in Ohio, Oakland, and on the high plains of South Dakota, but is now proud to call Brooklyn home. She wrote for alternative weekly papers in the first two states, and tried to learn Lakota in the last. (The vowels can be tricky.) She just earned her MFA in Creative Writing and has been published in Beeswax literary journal. She is unable to resist good writing or bad TV.

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