Pretty Good

I wanted to but couldn't!

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

I never saw 'Abigail's Party' in 1977 and seemed to have missed the repeats, so I was grateful to 'The Observer' for giving the D.V.D. away last Sunday. It was devised and directed by the talented Mike Leigh, with the dialogue improvised by the cast.It centres around a posh party thrown by overbearing Beverly ( Alison Steadman ) and her control freak husband Lawrence ( Tim Stern ). They have invited their neighbours - divorcée Susan ( Harriet Reynolds ) and husband-and-wife Angela ( the wonderful Janine Duvitski ) and Tony ( John Salthouse ).Beverly's taste in music extends as far as Tom Jones and Demis Roussos ( the obese Greek who got to No.1 in Britain in the mid-'70's with 'Forever & Ever' ) and her idea of art is tacky pseudo-porn. Lawrence fancies himself as an art buff, listens to James Galway, and brags about owning 'The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare', despite never having read a word. Angela is every bit as vapid as Beverly, and while they chat Tony looks thoroughly embarrassed. He is like a volcano waiting to erupt and at the end, does.Poor Susan has gone to the party mainly to escape from the one her daughter, the Abigail of the title, is currently throwing. From all accounts it sounds like the orgy of the century. She too is a reluctant guest ( and vomits in the bathroom at one point ). Beverley's probing questions about her failed marriage causes her distress, but the hostess appears not to notice. So you have an interesting mix of characters here. Lawrence and Beverly are perfect examples of people trying to be something they are not. Another reviewer claims this is a revealing snap-shot of '70's life, but I beg to differ. Change the fashions, alter a few details here and there, and the story would work now. We've all been to parties like this, where the men are sidelined by the women ( I went to one in June ), and we've all met a dozen or so social-climbers like 'Beverly'. The era in which it was made is irrelevant.Nothing much happens over the course of 101 minutes ( Lawrence and Beverly row over art, and he experiences a fatal heart attack ), but the dialogue is believable and performances are uniformly excellent, particularly Alison Steadman as the dreadful, self-obsessed 'Beverly'. She has been rightly described as the prototype for 'Edina' from 'Absolutely Fabulous'. Chain smoking, talking rubbish, flirting openly with her male guests, she is a total pain ( though admittedly very sexy! ). Janine Duvitski's 'Angela' likewise has much in common with 'Pippa', her 'One Foot In The Grave' character.Like the title character in 'Waiting For Godot', Abigail is only talked about but never seen. In the years since its broadcast, the play has acquired a cult following, and some fans stage their own parties by way of tribute. So thanks to the 'Observer' for letting me have a good laugh for free. The accompanying article, however, featured the likes of Arabella Weir, Julia Davis, and Tony Holland all claiming to have derived inspiration from Mike Leigh's play. In what way? 'Abigail's Party' was funny!

This 'Play for Today' is brilliant, I remember watching them and this one inparticular. If I remember right it would have been a Saturday night. I did not relise the social signifcance of the play until years later when it clicked and I realised it mirrored my loony family! My Mother, Aunties and Grandmother would hold 'do's' like this, and the spoke like it as well, complete and utter 'boredoom'. The discussions would centre on each other kids (My Cousins and me), the latest car in the family, the furniture (usually from 'Habicrap' or G-Plan). One social yard stick was how many bottles of spirit and booze could be collected and stored. The yucky '70's wall paper, ornaments and 'suites', egh, I can see why men, like me son's of women like this, of a certain age got hobbies around this time that stayed with them when they got married. The other subject discussed was jobs and it would end up in a heated discussion of who had the best and most paid. I can see why home computers and the invention of Satellite TV came about, to escape this moronic '70's life. A brilliant film that reminds one how bad it was. Oh, Alison is gorgeous...

Watching Mike Leigh's Abigail's Party is like jumping into the past in the Seventies, when the play takes place. It's about a supposedly enjoyable party that soon becomes a hilarious and tragic disaster. And all is due to the ambition of being part of the middle class. The play is a portrait of people of that time, but nonetheless its themes are really up-to-date. For example, everything and everyone must be at Beverly's command so you can guess that it is unsafe to be victims of the desires of people like the cold-hearted Beverly, because events could take the wrong turn. This charming film is blessed with very talented actors who develop very peculiar characters. I really recommend it because it is clever thanks to the analysis of social reality and at the same time you can enjoy yourself with a good laugh.

Wow. Abigail's Party - and I am the first person to comment on it? This is certainly an interesting film. In parts it's riotously funny... I mean laugh-out-loud funny... the characters are all obnoxious (except perhaps Sue) with traits that'll make you thank the Lord that they are not your neighbours or friends. The tension just rises and rises through the film... you know it's building up to something big... by the end though it's damn depressing. You hate these characters, you want to shout at them! But the acting is brilliant. Alison Steadman's Beverly full of clichés and tartiness, with a voice that gives you the creeps. Tim Stern (Laurence), the hen-pecked husband, an uptight little weasel and an intellectual snob. Angela (Jane Duvitski), weak and ineffectual, annoying as hell, easily-led, yet comes through the whole thing with more strength than the others. John Salthouse as Tony is a magnificent character, you can feel his anger brewing underneath this quiet exterior. And then there's Susan, played by Harriet Reynolds, whose unseen daughter Abigail is the one having the party. Sue's the one who gets thrown in with all these misfits... poor thing. The setting is claustrophobic, the humour is full on, sometimes though it just gets a little too nasty for words, and leaves a rather bittersweet taste. Funny it may be but it's a bloody painful ride, and though it's looking seriously dated, it's still a fascinating piece of work.