History Film / AbsoluteBeginners

* TroubledProduction: Went hugely overbudget during its production, was critically panned and failed at the box office. Considered an OldShame for most of the cast, especially Bowie.

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Harry Charms, clearly meant to be Larry Parnes the record mogul and manager of teen sensation Billy Fury.

* EvilPlan: As it turns out, [[spoiler: the white supremacists are being encouraged/employed by Vendice, Henley, et.al. to drive minorities out of Notting Hill. That would allow them to buy up the tenements cheaply, knock them down, and build luxury apartments in their place]].

->''I remember that hot, wonderful summer. When the teenage miracle reached full bloom and everyone in England stopped what they were doing to stare at what had happened. The Soho nights were cool in the heat, with light and music in the streets. And we couldn't believe that this was really coming to us at last. Nobody knew exactly why. But after so many dreary years of bombs and blitz and slow rebuilding; no sugar, no jam, nothing sweet anywhere; with the whole English world dressed in gray, it seemed, forever. Suddenly life broke out in warm colors again, so young and beautiful that a lot of people couldn't stand to look at it. For the first time ever, kids were teenagers. They had loot, however come by, and loot's for spending. And where there's loot, trouble follows.''
->'''Opening narration'''

'''''Absolute Beginners''''' is a 1986 musical drama directed by music video director Julien Temple, [[TheFilmOfTheBook and based on the cult novel by Colin [=MacInnes=].]] Set in London during [[TheFifties the late fifties]], it chronicles the story of Colin (Eddie O'Connell), a struggling young mod photographer, and Suzette (Patsy Kensit), his fashion model girlfriend. Suzette loves Colin, but is more ambitious than he is, so she gets a job working for Henley (James Fox), a top designer, and through chance, ends up being the showcase of his latest campaign, which is cashing in on the new teen craze. Colin reluctantly ends up working for Harry Charms (Lionel Blair), a pop promoter, but is afraid of selling out. He also catches the eye of Vendice Partners (Music/DavidBowie), an unscrupulous businessman. Meanwhile, the neighborhood Colin lives in -- Notting Hill -- seems like a perfect combination of energy, music and cultural harmony. But there's trouble brewing as a group of white supremacists start causing trouble, especially when Colin finds out who's behind them...

* VillainRecruitmentSong: "That's Motivation" for Vendice -- and it works, if only temporarily.

'''''Absolute Beginners''''' is a musical drama directed by music video director Julien Temple, [[TheFilmOfTheBook and based on the cult novel by Colin [=MacInnes=].]] Set in London during [[TheFifties the late fifties]], it chronicles the story of Colin (Eddie O'Connell), a struggling young mod photographer, and Suzette (Patsy Kensit), his fashion model girlfriend. Suzette loves Colin, but is more ambitious than he is, so she gets a job working for Henley (James Fox), a top designer, and through chance, ends up being the showcase of his latest campaign, which is cashing in on the new teen craze. Colin reluctantly ends up working for Harry Charms (Lionel Blair), a pop promoter, but is afraid of selling out. He also catches the eye of Vendice Partners (Music/DavidBowie), an unscrupulous businessman. Meanwhile, the neighborhood Colin lives in -- Notting Hill -- seems like a perfect combination of energy, music and cultural harmony. But there's trouble brewing as a group of white supremacists start causing trouble, especially when Colin finds out who's behind them...

* BillingDisplacement: Music/DavidBowie gets third billing even though he gets less screentime than most of the other antagonists -- mostly because he was by far the biggest name in the cast, especially for non-U.K. audiences.

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Harry Charms, clearly meant to be Larry Parnes the record mogul and manager of teen sensation Billy Fury. Veers a little towards UnfortunateImplications, as Parnes was homosexual and [[DepravedHomosexual Harry Charms]] is a [[AllGaysArePedophiles predatory pedophile]] who uses his position to literally scout for boys- and it's PlayedForLaughs.

* AffablyEvil: From what the viewer can tell, Vendice Partners is a genuinely pleasant, friendly guy, and his charisma is a big reason his VillainRecruitmentSong temporarily proves effective. But that song is largely about how a life of glamour and dirty dealings tend to go hand in hand with each other, and he may well be the mastermind of the EvilPlan.

* AwardBaitSong: The title tune.
* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: "That's Motivation", bizzare even by the film's standards. It has no bearing on the plot because it's a SellOut song, despite the fact there already is a song called Selling Out, it's way over the top, it comes out of nowhere, and David Bowie's character disappears for the rest of the movie save for a glimpse of him at the end.

* BiTheWay: Big Jill.
-->'''Colin:''' (Jill) only liked girls, but was a boy's best friend anyway.

This film contains examples of:

''Absolute Beginners'' is a musical drama directed by music video director Julien Temple, [[TheFilmOfTheBook and based on the cult novel by Colin [=MacInnes=].]] Set in London during [[TheFifties the late fifties]], it chronicles the story of Colin (Eddie O'Connell), a struggling young mod photographer, and Suzette (Patsy Kensit), his fashion model girlfriend. Suzette loves Colin, but is more ambitious than he is, so she gets a job working for Henley (James Fox), a top designer, and through chance, ends up being the showcase of his latest campaign, which is cashing in on the new teen craze. Colin reluctantly ends up working for Harry Charms (Lionel Blair), a pop promoter, but is afraid of selling out. He also catches the eye of Vendice Partners (Music/DavidBowie), an unscrupulous businessman. Meanwhile, the neighborhood Colin lives in -- Notting Hill -- seems like a perfect combination of energy, music and cultural harmony. But there's trouble brewing as a group of white supremacists start causing trouble, especially when Colin finds out who's behind them...

* CreatorKiller: Along with the previous year's ''Revolution,'' this dealt production company Goldcrest a blow that it's never recovered from (it still exists, but it's a shell of its former self).

* BillingDisplacement: DavidBowie gets third billing even though he gets less screentime than most of the other antagonists -- mostly because he was by far the biggest name in the cast, especially for non-U.K. audiences.
* TheCameo: Ray Davies (of TheKinks) and Mandy Rice-Davies (notorious for being a minor player in the Profumo scandal) appear briefly as Colin's parents.

* ComicallyMissingThePoint: After the riot that ends the film, Harry Charms is seen holding a newspaper and in tears - but instead of crying about the riot, he's upset because Baby Boom is getting married ("This could ruin his career!").

* MoodWhiplash: Starts out as a romantic and satiric musical. Then the white supremacist plot kicks in...

* TheOner: The tracking shot through Colin's neighborhood early on in the film that also introduces several characters.

* OohMeAccentsSlipping: David Bowie as Vendice. The corrupt businessman part he does very well. The American accent? Not so much -- but this is intentional; Vendice is British and affecting the accent to sound "important" and "convincing". (This was Bowie's idea, inspired by his experiences in TheSixties -- for a time, he worked as an artist at an ad agency where the higher-ups would affect such accents.)

''Absolute Beginners'' is a musical drama directed by music video director Julien Temple, [[TheFilmOfTheBook and based on the cult novel by Colin [=MacInnes=].]] Set in London during [[TheFifties the late fifties]], it chronicles the story of Colin (Eddie O'Connell), a struggling young mod photographer, and Suzette (Patsy Kensit), his fashion model girlfriend. Suzette loves Colin, but is more ambitious than he is, so she gets a job working for Henley (James Fox), a top designer, and through chance, ends up being the showcase of his latest campaign, which is cashing in on the new teen craze. Colin reluctantly ends up working for Harry Charms (Lionel Blair), a pop promoter, but is afraid of selling out. He also catches the eye of Vendice Partners (DavidBowie), an unscrupulous businessman. Meanwhile, the neighborhood Colin lives in -- Notting Hill -- seems like a perfect combination of energy, music and cultural harmony. But there's trouble brewing as a group of white supremacists start causing trouble, especially when Colin finds out who's behind them...

''Absolute Beginners'' is a musical drama directed by music video director Julien Temple, [[TheFilmOfTheBook and based on the cult novel by Colin [=MacInnes=].]] Set in London during [[TheFifties the late fifties]], it chronicles the story of Colin (Eddie O'Connell), a struggling young mod photographer, and Suzette (Patsy Kensit), his fashion model girlfriend. Suzette loves Colin, but is more ambitious than he is, so she gets a job working for Henley (James Fox), a top designer, and through chance, ends up being the showcase of his latest campaign, which is cashing in on the new teen craze. Colin reluctantly ends up working for Harry Charms (Lionel Blair), a pop promoter, but is afraid of selling out. He also catches the eye of Vendice (DavidBowie), an unscrupulous businessman. Meanwhile, the neighborhood Colin lives in (Notting Hill) seems like a perfect combination of energy, music and cultural harmony. But there's trouble brewing as a group of white supremacists start causing trouble, especially when Colin finds out who's behind them...

* OohMeAccentsSlipping: David Bowie as Vendice. The corrupt businessman part he does very well. The American accent? Not so much -- but this is intentional; Vendice is British and affecting the accent to sound "important" and "convincing". (This was Bowie's idea, inspired by his experiences in TheSixties -- for a time, he worked as an artist at an ad agency where the higher-ups would affect such accents.)

* AnachronismStew: Though most of the music featured in the film is from the period (except the ThemeTune by Bowie), or tries to sound period (Sade's "Killer Blow", Ray Davies' "Quiet Life"), it is a little strange to hear Colin singing along to Style Council.

* OohMeAccentsSlipping: David Bowie is supposed to play a corrupt American businessman. The corrupt businessman he does very well. The American part? Not so much.

* TeenIdol: Baby Boom is a satire of this trope.

* HeyItsThatGuy: RobbieColtrane appears briefly as an Italian shopkeeper.

* AnachronismStew: Though most of the music featured in the film is from the period (except the ThemeTune by Bowie), but it is a little strange to hear Colin singing along to Style Council.

-'''Opening narration'''

* OohMeAccentsSlipping: David Bowie is supposed to play a corrupt American businessman. The corrupt businessman he does very well. The American part? Not so much.

''Absolute Beginners'' is a musical drama directed by Julien Temple, and [[TheFilmOfTheBook and based on the cult novel by Colin [=MacInnes=].]] Set in London during [[TheFifties the late fifties]], it chronicles the story of Colin (Eddie O'Connell), a struggling young mod photographer, and Suzette (Patsy Kensit), his fashion model girlfriend.