Are You Being Served?

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.

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!

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.

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!

I have to admit that I am a little surprised by the reviews and rating for this movie. I actually found it quite funny at times, but I grew up with the show. I think what ultimately pulls this film past an average outing is the facts that some of the one-liners genuinely are funny, and my own personal affinity of the characters.

That's not to say that there aren't a few issues with the film. While the cast doesn't have to be regulated to the store to be funny (Grace and Favour proved that years later), they didn't have to transport the same jokes. There were at least 2-3 scenarios taken directly from the more popular episodes. On one hand, it's not the most original, however funny it was the first time, on the other hand, one has to take into account that some people may have never seen the show, and this movie is their first exposure to it (And shame on you, if so).

The biggest problem is that the plot relies too heavily on the likability of the characters, and the one-liners they shoot out. There are several inconsistencies, the ending is startlingly abrupt (yet ends on the same note as any of the episodes on the show), and plot-wise, they don't do that much. The Grace Brothers staff never gets out to explore their surroundings to add to some new situations and jokes. Again, the innuendos are funny, but the middle of the film drags in terms of things actually happening.

I don't think this film is worthy of its current "3" rating it has. It has it's moments, and the main cast shines in their personalities and silly hi-jinks (the supporting actors don't give the main cast much to work with, however). I think the biggest problem is that it's set up like an extended version of the show, minus the laugh track. You can see the television show format in it, and I think that ultimately hurts the pacing.

Perhaps this would be better for fans-only of the show, or people who haven't seen the show at all. It's not one of the best "episodes" of the series, but it's better than it's been given credit for, outside of some obvious flaws.