Line #23 Film/AbsoluteBeginners


1	[[quoteright:280:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/absolutebeginners_3717.jpg]]
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3	->''"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."''
4	-->-- '''Opening narration'''
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6	''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 in [[TheFifties 1958]], 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...
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8	While that may sound like an issue drama, the movie is in fact a musical, featuring not only Bowie, but also music by [[Music/TheKinks Ray Davies]], Gil Evans, and Music/{{Sade}}, among others. Despite heavy promotion by Creator/{{MTV}}, the movie was a flop on release, but has since gained somewhat of a cult following, despite criticism of how different it was from the novel.
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10	----
11	!!This film provides examples of:
12	* ActorAllusion: Ray Davies' character is named "Arthur", after Music/TheKinks' 1969 ConceptAlbum.
13	* 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 [[spoiler:he may well be the one who came up with the Evil Plan]].
14	* AnachronismStew: Though most of the music featured in the film is from the period (except the ThemeTune by Bowie), or tries to sound like it could have come from the period (Sade's "Killer Blow", Ray Davies' "Quiet Life"), it is a little strange to hear Colin singing along to Style Council.
15	* AwardBaitSong: The title tune.
16	* TheCameo: Ray Davies (of Music/TheKinks) and Mandy Rice-Davies (notorious for being a minor player in the Profumo scandal in TheSixties) appear briefly as Colin's parents.
17	%%* CampGay: The Fabulous Hoplite. (Zero-Context Example)
18	* ComicallyMissingThePoint: After the riot that ends the film -- indeed, after the end credits have started to roll -- 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!").
19	%%* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Vendice and [[spoiler:Henley]]. (Zero-Context Example)
20	* DisneyAcidSequence: "That's Motivation" features Vendice and Colin performing amidst a variety of brightly colored set pieces themed after 1950s consumerism, playing into Vendice's attempts to make Colin part of his all-style, no-substance world.
21	%%* EarnYourHappyEnding (Zero-Context Example)
22	* EnemyMine: The mod and rocker who have been fighting each other throughout the film team up to stop the white supremacists.
23	* EvilPlan: As it turns out, [[spoiler:the white supremacists are being encouraged/employed by Vendice, Henley, et.al. to [[TheCon 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]]]].
24	* FashionShow: It's here where Suzette, accidentally dragged into the show when she's caught on one of the model's dresses, ends up creating Henley's "new look" - or so he claims.
25	%%* FemmeFatale: Dido. (Zero-Context Example)
26	%%* HenpeckedHusband: Arthur. (Zero-Context Example)
27	* LipstickLesbian: Big Jill, who runs a brothel.
28	-->'''Colin:''' "Chicks only for Big Jill, but a boy's best friend anyway."
29	%%* LowerClassLout: Ed the Ted and Colin's brother Vern. (Zero-Context Example)
30	%%* MeaningfulName: Cool. (Zero-Context Example)
31	* MinorCharacterMajorSong: Vendice gets the least screentime of the heavies, but gets "That's Motivation" for his trouble.
32	%%** Arthur, with "Quiet Life". (Zero-Context Example)
33	* MoodWhiplash: Starts out as a romantic and satirical musical. Then the white supremacist plot kicks in...
34	* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed:
35	** Harry Charms, clearly meant to be Larry Parnes the record mogul and manager of teen sensation Billy Fury.
36	** The unnamed leader of the white supremacists is very clearly based on British Union of Fascists leader [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oswald_Mosley Sir Oswald Mosley]].
37	* 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.) And when the accent drops, pay attention to what he's actually saying. It comes back to haunt Colin later...
38	* TheOner: The tracking shot through Colin's neighborhood early on in the film; it also introduces several characters.
39	* ParentalObliviousness: Arthur seems to be this way, what with Flora carrying on with her physical trainer (when she's not ordering Arthur around) and the kids up to all kinds of mischief. However, as his song "Quiet Life" shows, he's actually a subversion of this trope.
40	-->'''Arthur:''' (''singing'') Confidentially, between these walls, I'm on top of it all.
41	* SevenDeadlySins: All seven are called out during "That's Motivation", with Vendice assuring Colin that he can indulge in all of them without consequences if he joins his team.
42	* TeenIdol: Baby Boom is a satire of this trope.
43	* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: As with the original novel, the movie is loosely inspired by the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1958_Notting_Hill_race_riots Notting Hill race riots in 1958]], though the characters are fictional except for the head white supremacist (see NoCelebritiesWereHarmed above).
44	* VideoFullOfFilmClips: The full-length version of the title song got one, and it actually served as the trailer for the film in the U.K. (it was attached to ''Film/SpiesLikeUs'').
45	* VillainRecruitmentSong: "That's Motivation" for Vendice -- and it works, if only temporarily.

Context Film / AbsoluteBeginners