Are You Being Served
was one of my favorite shows as a kid. I had absolutely no idea what was going on most of the time, of course, but I felt smart and cultured because I watched something with British accents (I was 8 or 9... cut me some slack). There may have been some appeal because the show was forbidden by my parents and watched only at my grandmother's house. At midnight. With ice cream. At any rate, I think this would make a hilarious movie. Sort of an Office-meets- Confessions of a Shopaholic- meets- every raunchy comedy made in the last 5 years. Sounds good, yes?
Here we go:
Mr. Wilburforce Clayborne Humphries is a very, very effeminate man who personal life is always in question (Why do you assume every friend of mine is a man?!) and I think that even in today's day and age leaving his sexuality as a big question mark would be funnier than playing him out and gay. So let's see... British, questionable sexual orientation... could anybody be as ambiguous as Rupert Everett?
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| the-planets.com |
Captain Peacock is a pompous windbag who considers himself to be above reproach because he is the sales floor manager. He drones on about his military combat service, although he was in a non-combative unit. This is John Cleece, all the way.
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| thebosh.com |
Betty Slocombe is the head of the woman's department and is mostly known for crazy hair choices and double entendres that seem to go over her own head entirely. I have to say this goes to Julie Walters, hands down.
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| nndb.com |
Shirley Brahms was the sarcastic, nearly useless girl with the Cockney accent. She's younger, prettier and in considerably better shape than Mrs. Slocombe, and is often played for the trashy bimbo. I think if they were to re-do this, she ought to be played by an American instead of the Cockney accent. It would still be funny; nobody can understand her, they think less of her because she's an outsider still. Is there a more beautiful or voluptuous woman than Christina Hendricks?
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| thesassyminx.com |
Dick Lucas is the womanizer of the group. He's a cad and he's usually broke. Is there a better womanizer in Britain than Hugh Grant?
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| buddytv.com |
Young Mr. Grace is actually quite old, and everybody jumps when he says jump... at least, as long as he's looking. I picture somebody like the old banker the Dick Van Dyke played in Mary Poppins. And, although Dick Van Dyke is not British, I think it would be just hilarious to see him play this type of a role when he is actually old. Heh, heh.
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| filmfanatic.org |
Please post your ideas in the comments- whether you agree with me or not!
