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Amos Lassen wrote on 02/11/2011:

“White Box”
Absolutely Fabulous
Amos Lassen
Like many gay men, I was somewhat addicted to “Absolutely Fabulous” and missed it when it went off of the air. I collected all of the copies of the show I could get my hands on but the 2004 Christmas special had never been released on DVD and so I did not have it. With its coming out this year my AbFab collection is now complete.
What is it about the AbFab sketches that drew us in? It was ridiculous and the characters certainly did not come close to representing the people I know but the antics of Patsy and Edina won us over as did the rest of the characters.
I understand that the reason that it took so long for “White Box” to get to video was because many considered it to be mediocre. It does not come near the quality of the early shows but the DVD extras save the disc. One of the extras is a look back at al of the shows with some of the best moments put here.
The story of “White Box” seemed to be a good idea and, indeed, some of it is quite good. It begins with Saffy preparing to leave for Africa to marry the man who fathered her child. Eddy decided not to go with her and chose to stay in London and decided to redecorate the house. This leads to some very funny results. Decorating one room completely in white causes a great deal of trouble and the original plan to redo the kitchen is never fulfilled.
I had a great time watching this and seeing all of our old friends plus a few new ones. Joining the special are Nathan Lane and Laurie Metcalf as well as Miranda Richardson. The problem, however, was a little too much slapstick. Patsy is still great and the subplot of her “pay as you go” plastic surgery is amazing especially when she drips wherever she goes. Other laughs are provided by Eddy’s ex and his male lover who are hiding from the authorities because they have illegally collected money for a fake televangelist.