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9 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
A must for fans of the TV series!, 19 December 2001
Author: hugh1971 from London

OK, it's creaky, incredibly dated, and the sets (or was there just one set?!) are wobbly, but that's all part of the charm. It's also quite perceptive of the attitude of the British abroad, that still persists to this day. My friends and I always seem to end up quoting from this film when we go abroad!

The best scene has to be when the myopic Ernest Grainger, who's never been on a plane before, enters what he thinks is the lavatory (it's actually the cockpit). 'Oh, I'm sorry - will you be long?' he says to the pilot. 'About two hours' replies the pilot. 'Oh dear- I'll go to the other end' replies Mr Grainger. Absolutely priceless!

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7 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
Grace Brothers staff go on holiday, 29 August 2005
5/10
Author: TheFiendsThatPlagueThee from United States

When Young Mr. Grace sends the staff of Grace Brothers to Costa Plonka on vacation while the store is being remodeled, they find the accommodations less than they expected, including being at the center of a revolution.

Based on the popular television series, and utilizing the same actors, Are You Being Served? The Movie has a very different feel from the former. It is partly the difference in filming techniques from little screen to big screen. Unfortunately, the storyline, while it might carry well for an episode on the show, simply does not fill a feature length movie. Few of the jokes are original, simply taken from the show. While this has some nostalgic value, it does not help carry the movie for more than a few minutes. As a result, the humor is not up to the standards of the show.

Some have made comments criticizing the set used in the movie. I found the use of few, inexpensive sets to be one of the better parts of the movie, and brought it closer to the original show.

While the acting and characters remain faithful to the original series, this movie is not one that I would watch over and over again. I enjoyed the movie to a certain extent, and always like to see the further misadventures of the Grace Brothers' staff.

For those who are great fans of the series, this movie will be somewhat of a disappointment, but may still be worth watching. For those who have never seen the series, this movie should not be the introduction to Grace Brothers.

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7 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
Dear sexy knickers......are you free?, 31 October 1999
8/10
Author: david annetts (earwig69@hotmail.com) from sydney, Australia

Intellectual it isn`t,just a good belly laugh start to finish.All the old jokes double entendres and inuendo filled camp humour that made the tv show so popular for more than a decade.Inman sugden thornton & co at their funniest.Cheeky irreverant and pollitically incorrect.Enjoy!

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8 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
Film Not as Good as TV Series, 4 April 2003
6/10
Author: Space_Mafune from Newfoundland, Canada

This film is slightly disappointing as unlike the series, there's far more slapstick "Carry On" style hijinks and not as many jokes. Still I can't deny that it doesn't have it's moments especially after the notes get passed around. Still one really misses the series trademarks and the fact that the cast are only briefly at the store.

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5 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Worth a viewing? It depends., 16 February 2007
4/10
Author: underwood-catherine from United States

If you're a fan of the BBC series, this movie is worth watching just as a curiosity – it's fun to see these much-beloved characters on holiday and up to their usual shenanigans – but honestly, there's not much artistic value in it as a stand-alone work, and if you weren't familiar with the characters, it wouldn't make much sense. The sets are low-budget, the special effects laughable, and, as noted previously, much of the dialog is lifted directly and without revision from various episodes. It seems to me that someone was just attempting to cash in on the popularity of the series without putting much effort or financing into it. Given the talent of the cast and the creative synergy that they shared, it could've been much more than it is.

As a fan of "Fawlty Towers" as well, I have to say that Andrew Sachs is a delight as Don Carlos Bernardo – fancy Manuel finally running his own hotel!

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5 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Good old British slapstick and innuendo, 17 March 2006
7/10
Author: voyageruk from United Kingdom

I watched this film last night on a free DVD given away with a national newspaper and i have to say my wife and i I ENJOYED IT! Yes,it has oodles of cheese and camp moments but it was fun.I love the funky,Are you being served? opening theme tune at the beginning and the movie feel picture quality.Yes,the script is dodgy but not as dodgy as the Costa Plonka in a studio with cheap sets and the pretty abrupt ending with young Mr Grace storming through the hotel wall in an armoured vehicle dressed like he has just stepped out of Dad's Army! I never really cared much for the series only having seen a few episodes so i wasn't affected by the repeat joke syndrome so i found the film really amusing.Menswear!

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6 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
Another failed attempt to translate a successful TV comedy to the big screen, 24 July 2002
1/10
Author: cathaven from Peterborough, England

For some reason British sitcoms do not weather the translation to the big screen well. Many classic series have suffered from this problem ("Steptoe & Son", "Rising Damp", "Till Death Us Do Part" etc etc). None suffered worse than "Are You Being Served". Plagued by a weak Script, Sloppy directing & a cast who simply seemed to be embarrassed by the whole experience, it just plain isn't funny.

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6 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
I like them better behind their store counters!, 27 December 1999
5/10
Author: Tereza from usa

As a fan of the wonderful Britcom, I searched and searched for a copy of this movie. When I finally found it, I was disappointed. I like the characters much better in the store -- they just don't do well outside of Grace Brothers. It was a bit dull that many of the jokes were pulled from the TV shows (e.g. the "Dear Sexy Knickers ..." note; Mrs. Slocombe making offensive noises while blowing up her air mattress, etc.) and the ending was an abrupt letdown. Still a worthwhile watch for any fan of the show, but don't expect a lot.

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4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Not as good as the show, but not too terrible., 11 February 2007
5/10
Author: Dougal Cameron from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

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.

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7 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
Great TV Series - bad TV movie, 23 July 2004
Author: euroman1970 (euroman1970@inbox.ru) from United States

I have seen "Are you being served" many times over since the early 90's. In fact, I could probably restate word for word every episode made over the 13 year run (1972 - 1985). While I loved every episode of the TV series, the movie did not provide the same level of satisfaction.

MOVIE PLOT: Grace Brothers store is being remodeled and the crew is offered a 2 week Holiday vacation in Costa Planka.

ACTING: If you are very familiar with the TV Series, you will notice right away that most of the jokes were taken directly from the various episodes. One joke per episode with laugh tracks worked very well. But when you combine 5 or 6 and remove laugh tracks, you quickly lose interest. It looked like they grabbed whatever material they had from the earlier TV series and just cramped it into a 90 minute movie in a different setting... You will also notice that the characters looked very distracted and from time to time it seemed like they weren't even paying attention to the surroundings. Pay attention how the hostess girl in the hotel repeats her line word for word within a minute when she is trying to cuddle up with Mr. Humphries. Looked like she was reading directly from the script. There were also many inconsistencies. At one point everyone wanted to run for the bathroom, but after Mrs. Slocombe used it, no one seemed to want to go anymore??? Have they forgotten? Another one is when they kept writing notes to each other at the dinner table. I can see how there could be one mixup, but 3 or 4? One of the very first episodes featured a similar mixup but it was done as a part of a bigger scheme. Not in a movie, though.

SET: Here is another failure. The set looked extremely cheap, it was very obvious that the whole movie was done inside a TV studio, the lighting and shadow was even worse than in a TV series. The general feel of the set was like a Soap Opera. They must have had a very little budget to do this movie. It would have worked much better if they did 3 separate episodes 30min each, with laugh tracks.

CONCLUSION: If you love the TV series, it is worth to watch this movie. It has its moments but for the most part there was nothing new that the 30 min. series offered.

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