Sex sells, but not this time around. Disregard the fact that countless numbers of people will flock to see “Sex and the City: The Movie” just because of the fact it’s “Sex and the City.” And disregard that a male who’s never watched the smash hit before is reviewing this film.
Guys who go to see the SATC film can expect to get in touch with their feminine side. It’s kind of like standing in the feminine isle at a supermarket and searching for the right tampon someone assigned you to find. Discomfort and confusion happen until two things occur. Either once a person explains what you should be looking for, or you accept the reality that you have no idea what you’re doing in the isle and you do your best to enjoy the experience.
Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrel, Cynthia Nixon and Kristen Davis pick up where the series left SATC viewers four years ago. The four ladies reprise their roles as fun-loving, strong, independent, sexual women. They are now older and wiser and better prepared for the drama that is romance…right?
Things go awry when Carrie (Parker) and Mr. Big (Chris Noth) agree to buy an apartment together in the 10th year of their relationship. Publicist Samantha (Cattrel) has moved to Los Angeles with her client/lover. Charlotte (Davis) has adopted a girl from China and is pregnant throughout most of the movie. In the meantime, level headed Miranda (Nixon) and her husband, Steve (David Eigenberg) face some issues in their marriage.
There is a lot wrong with the SATC movie. Most noticeably, in an effort to please die hard fans by truly finishing the series, there are a lot of subplots and apparently unanswered questions that carry over from the series finale. Does Carrie marry Mr. Big? How is Samantha doing? How is married life treating Miranda and Charlotte?
These answers and some additional subplots disrupt the flow of the film making it seem like the picture is way longer than its 142-minute runtime. About an hour into the picture, the climax is reached. After the climax, viewers might find themselves yawning, looking at their watches and yes, some may even fall asleep! Perhaps it’s due to being overindulged in subplot after subplot. This motion picture might have been better as a 90 to 105 minute feature.
Another issue with the film is its predictability. The twists and turns of the SATC movie are about as expected as a race at the Indy 500. Left, straight, left, straight throw in a few wrecks and someone is bound to come out on top.
Now the film isn’t bad, yet it’s not amazing. It has its moments like when Charlotte accidentally swallowed some water while vacationing with the girls in Mexico and also when Samantha is told she’s gained weight. It also has parts that are sure to make people get misty-eyed because of its underlying themes of love, friendship and family.
Sad to say, those themes and scenes can’t save the entire movie. All in all, SATC should please die-hard fans and at best amuse regular moviegoers. For the hardcore SATC fan it’s probably around an A- movie, but for regular moviegoers it’s a marginal C+ film.