Babs
Babs
| 07 May 2017 (USA)
Babs Trailers

This is the story of Dame Barbara Windsor, the Cockney kid with a dazzling smile and talent to match. Preparing to perform in the theatre one cold evening in 1993, the cheeky, chirpy blonde Babs recounts the people and events that have shaped her life and career over fifty years from 1943 to 1993. She contemplates her lonely childhood and WWII evacuation, her decision to go from Barbara Ann Deeks to Barbara Windsor - inspired by the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, her complicated relationship with her father, her doomed marriage to Ronnie Knight, capturing the attention of Joan Littlewood and becoming the blonde bombshell in the Carry On films. Babs, ever the consummate professional, never lets her fans down whatever her personal anguish and steps on the stage to rapturous applause.

Reviews
ThrillMessage

There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

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Abbigail Bush

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

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Derrick Gibbons

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

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Paynbob

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

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ianlouisiana

"On the sunny side of the street" isn't a particularly difficult song to sing but it was noticeable that the only one of the several Barbara Windsors who had a go at it actually managed to get the whole melody right and that was the real one right at the end who gave it the full Bette Midler pzazz. And as in Ms Midler's "Beaches" where"The Glory of Love" was used as a leitmotif from from tinkling piano accompaniment to the full plush orchestral score at the end to note the journey the divine Miss M had been on,so in "Babs" - a much more modest affair I must own - "Sunny side" defined the subject's life. I'm sure that was just a coincidence. There was a lot of Chas'n'Dave type dialogue that spoke of lazy writing and "Up the apples and pears" accents that weren't very convincing and many of the stories told were too well - known to stand much repetition but overall because Miss Windsor is now a Grande Dame of showbiz and loved all across the social spectrum,"Babs" is well worth checking out on the i - player. For me the best performance was the wonderful Miss Z.Wanamaker as the eccentric Joan Littlewood who cast Miss Windsor in "Fings ain't what they used to be" written by ex - villain Mr Frank Norman and given music and lyrics by Mr Lionel Bart. One more little gripe;Ronnie Scott played the tenor saxophone but was repeatedly shown playing the alto - an error that would have made an excellent subject for one of his caustic jokes. Despite my misgivings I thoroughly enjoyed "Babs",the whole being more than the sum of its parts.

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charlieboy-12673

BBC does this kind of show incredibly well. Not knowing a huge amount about Barbara I was keen to see it and discover more. I'd no idea she was such a complex character, or that her relationship with her parents was so fractious. I've read a few of the reviews who quite rightly point out how good the woman that played the older Barbara was, but I thought they all had her to a t, especially the middle one, she captured the cheekiness of Barbara. I was hoping they'd have shown more of her Carry on Life, and the complex relationship she had with Sid James, they passed this important part of her life too quickly. Seeing her appear at the end of the film made it, I enjoyed all the more knowing she'd given it her blessing.Well done Beeb.

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nicholls_les

This was not a bad drama in some ways but for me it was spoiled by the over use of the older Babs and her Fathers constant conversations, it all seemed a bit arty for me which detracted rather than added to the story. Not sure if it was the fault of Dominic Leclerc's direction or Tony Jordan's dire script.The young Babs played by Honor Kneafsey was just brilliant and stole every scene she was in. Her scenes were also the most emotional.The more up to date version played by Samantha Spiro was also realistic but Jaime Winstone as the Babs we all know from the films was totally wrong, you can't fault her acting but she looked nothing like Barbara Windsor, she was too tall and heavy set to pull off the tiny and bubbly Babs we all know so well.Too much of her life was glossed over or not shown at all. The carry on years were only briefly touched upon, although Robin Sebastian did a good Kenneth Williams. Where was Sid James who she had a controversial affair with? With a better script and direction this could have been great but sadly it wasn't. Compared to the excellent TV drama Eric and Ernie about the late Morcambe and Wise which was directed excellently by Jonny Campbell and written by Peter Bowker and the late Victoria Wood 'Babs' paled into insignificance.

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tomatoe-26208

Seriously, someone decided a film about a vacuous irritating blonde with a penchant for flashing her boobs was a good idea? I was given the choice between watching this movie or soaking my feet in petrol and walking across hot coal.Does anyone have a handy fire extinguisher, the flames are starting to get pretty high :-)

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