peefyn
I wish I could rate this higher, but there are parts of it that holds the whole production a bit back.To start with the good stuff, I love the setting. The party next to the party, the older, unhappy people trying to have fun, next to the young and carefree. It's a great set up for allowing the actors to become human characters, as the back drop acts as a constant reminder of what kind of life they're not living, and not having any more. How they themselves are becoming something other than they wanted to be. Their unhappiness comes through well in their acting, but even more so because of the neighboring party.And the characters are also really good. They're all very different, but they're more than arch types. I'm sure the actors playing the parts got a lot of freedom in how to shape the characters, because they all seem to fit them perfectly.With this great back drop, and interesting characters, the whole movie/play ought to be fantastic. And much of it is, with the banter, the conversations, everything said and unsaid. But where the movie falls apart, is where it tries to be dramatic. The ending felt really out of place, and seems more like a way to end the play. There's also a certain sequence with a knife (not much of a spoiler) that feels completely unbelievable. These "plot points" just ruins the realism. The movie still holds up well, but it's a pity that they felt the need to go that far.
magicwand444
i was an avid watcher of 'play for today' because the next day at work everybody would talk about it.in the case of abigail's party people still talk about it now.when the wonderful alison steadman created the social climbing hostess beverly,she created a monster.as she strutted her stuff we cringed.her awful taste in music,her walking all over her husband,her unsubtle attempts to seduce tony,her thanking sue for the bottle of red wine and putting it in the fridge. when the play was re-screened two years later it captured an audience of 16 million.it has since become a favourite for brave amateur drama groups.my favourite story concerning this is the group that decided to stage the play and use real alcoholic drinks-they never made it to act 2.
horseyfly_91
I am currently taking drama as a gcse subject, and this was a play that we had to watch on t.v in a lesson for our coursework. First of all, the whole class thought it would be rubbish and really boring, but how wrong we were! The film is completely brilliant!! Its, cringing and painful to watch at times, others you want to slap at the characters or shout at them but mainly you're rolling around in laughter! Watching this film was definitely a time well spent, and I can't wait until we see it in the theatre! All the characters are completely annoying in their own way, but no one can top Beverly's squeaky voice, and Tony's violent outbursts! This is definitely a play to recommend!!
wilywilliam
I reckon that this is the sort of movie that gets film students all excited. There are so many levels to this flick that you could probably go on for days pulling apart and examining the different characters, relationships and commentaries. But I recommend you watch this film purely for entertainment purposes - it's great. The actors are believable, the story is simplistic (yet so effective) and the period touches are great - because this is essentialy a period drama (the period being very firmly in the 1970s). For a film to have such little plot yet remain so compelling is testament to each and every element that makes up this movie. Watch it.
AD
