Diagonaldi
Very well executed
Inclubabu
Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.
Ceticultsot
Beautiful, moving film.
Aubrey Hackett
While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.
HolyOnions
I was looking forward to this, but what a massive disappointment. The constant jumping back and forth completely destroyed any flow. Jaime Winstone was completely miscast. She's lovely enough, but she's not Babs, and she sounds like a rabbit being put through a mangle when she's singing... totally unpleasant.There were plus points. Samantha Spiro was excellent, as was Honor Kneafsey... and Robin Sebastian was again fabulous as Kenneth Williams.The BBC have produced some excellent stuff, but this simply wasn't up to snuff. In terms of Carry On films, this was more Carry on Abroad than Carry on Camping.
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.
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 :-)
studioAT
After the success of the ITV Cilla Black drama that so memorably starred Sheridan Smith, it's no surprise that the BBC have tried to repeat the trick with this drama focusing on the life of another British icon, Barbara Windsor.With a good writer in Tony Jordan penning the script this should have been great. And yet it's not.Jamie Winstone seems miscast, and the constant chipping and changing in terms of time and who is playing Babs makes us feel like we're trapped in a sci-fi film rather than a biopic. The only highlight is Samantha Spiro as the older Barbara Normally the BBC do this sort of thing so well. Not this time.
