Babs

Terrific, so beautifully written, directed and acted , would be a wonderful stage play. Loved all of the actresses that played her. A true icon of our times, Barbara Windsor was such a fabulous character, ups and downs but never daunted. The Lionel Bart part where she makes her name in Fings ain't what they used t'be was superb. I highly recommend watching this production. I loved Core Blimey as well where it was all about her love affair with Sid James, he was absolutely besotted with her. And then Fantabulosa with Michael Sheen who plays the great Kenneth Williams. A great treat and I'm sure I'll watch it over and over again.

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.

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.

I am a huge fan of the wonderful Barbara Windsor, let's face it she is a national treasure, which of us hasn't loved her in a Carry on film or EastEnders etc.

The BBC do dramas so well as a rule, particularly historicals, but this one seemed a little hit and miss. Barbara has a fascinating story to tell, but the way the story was told seemed clunky, the constant flashbacks of her Dad were overdone, I think it could have been told in a far more effective way.

I enjoyed the performances for the most part, the young Honour Kneafsey did a fine job as the young Babs, but Jaime Winstone somehow felt wrong in the part, she's a fine actress one I'm normally a big fan of but the drama at this point seemed to jar. The highlight for me had to be the introduction of Samantha Spiro, she's a hugely underrated and talented actress, and did capture the sparkle and mannerisms of our beloved Babs.

Overall it was good, and certainly watchable, I just feel that for someone so special and deserved so much more.

6/10.

A heinously self-indulgent love letter to herself from Barbara Windsor, penned by her long-time friend and collaborator, Tony Jordan, with heavy input from herself including far too many cameo appearances speckled throughout.

If the subject matter wasn't so self-serving, and if it hadn't already been done better previously (also with Ms Windsor in a cameo as herself), this might have been a little less vomit-worthy, since technically it is a pretty well-made film with excellent cinematography, production design, and editing. There are also some very good performances.

However, the structure of this piece is annoyingly self-conscious, with a middle-aged Babs (and occasionally the elderly one played by herself) interacting with younger incarnations of herself and other characters from her past, all backstage at a seedy theatre, as she narrates, converses, and analyses her way through a history of daddy-issues and gangster boyfriends, with occasional shrill renditions of "Sunny Side of the Street" to alleviate the tedium.

Essentially this is written and structured like a stage play, and it would probably have worked much better in that medium. On film, however, it comes off as tacky, forced, and muddled.

As well as having far too many actresses playing Ms Windsor, including herself - often all at the same time - there are also archive film clips of her, giving us in the end a rather unpleasant case of too-much-Babs-itus!

The final embarrassing self indulgence occurs at the very end when the real Barbara Windsor steps into a spotlight and sings "Sunny Side of the Street" to an audience of her friends and family, including Tony Jordan.

All in all, then, a cinematic circle-jerk. Sometimes it's a good selling point for a movie to recommend that you bring plenty of Kleenex. Not in this case!