Sex and the City
I feel that I should open this review of Sex and the City with three simple facts.
Fact # 1 - Before walking into the movie, I have never once watched a single episode of the TV series, nor did I know anything about it. I knew of the show, of course, and the very basics of it, but never really made it a priority to get caught up on info about it.
Fact # 2 - This movie is strictly a fans-only affair. Whenever a character walked onto the screen, there would sometimes be excited whispers all around me, while I would sit there, dumbfounded, wondering who this person was supposed to be.
Fact # 3 - Given the above two circumstances, I probably got about as much enjoyment out of it as can be expected.
Sex and the City is not a groundbreaking movie, or even a very witty one. The number of laughs for the uninitiated, or those not familiar with the characters, can probably be counted on less than one hand. That being said, I could see a small hint of what made the show endure for the six or so seasons it ran, especially in the chemistry of the four lead actresses. They play off each other well, and seem to really enjoy playing their characters, even after all this time. I'm glad there was something I could grab onto, because unless you're a devoted fan who has been following the lives and loves of Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), Samantha (Kim Cattrall), Miranda (Cynthia Nixon), and Charlotte (Kristin Davis) from the beginning, you're going to find this to be an extremely thin and rather slight film experience. Throw in an overly bloated two and a half hour running time, and you have something that would have been a lot more enjoyable in a smaller dose. I guess that's why it worked in half hour installments for so long.
The film is basically a chance for the legions of fans to catch up on what's been going on with the characters since the show ended. Carrie is still involved with her on-again/off-again boyfriend, Mr. Big (Chris Noth), and they are slowly starting to take the next steps in their relationship. Of course, they both have conflicted emotions regarding taking those steps, and as they begin to advance further, more and more doubts begin to appear. Samantha has since moved to L.A., has been dating and getting involved with the career of a rising actor, and generally finds her life to be very unsatisfactory. If it weren't for the next door neighbor who has sex with a different woman every night (sometimes more than one), whom she frequently spies on, she would be downright bored. Miranda has been trying to run a home and a family with her husband, Steve (David Eigenberg), but the lack of intimacy in their relationship is starting to take its toll. Finally, Charlotte is living quite happily with her husband and adopted daughter, and only fears how long the good times can last.
Take those simplistic storylines, stretch them to an unbearable length of tedium, and you pretty much have the movie in a nutshell. The main problem with Sex and the City is a crucial one, and it is simply that there is no reason for it to be on the big screen. This is essentially a "reunion special" splashed onto thousands of screens, and arriving on a mountain of hype. Was there a single daytime talk or news show that wasn't devoting at least a part of their segment to this movie in the weeks leading up to its release? After being bombarded with seemingly non-stop coverage and interviews with the four lead actresses, I have to kind of ask, what was the point? What we have here is something that will only appeal to a limited audience. Writer-director Michael Patrick King saw no reason to broaden the fanbase of the characters. He simply saw it as a way to go home again, so to speak. What's perhaps most maddening (especially for fans) is that the movie doesn't really do anything to broaden or add to his characters. Many of them seem to be in the same place they were at the beginning of the movie, and except for a development with the Charlotte character, none of them really have any big changes to their lives.
I mentioned earlier that the lead actresses have good chemistry, and indeed, it's one of the few things that keep the film from sinking completely in its own excess. The chemistry is a Godsend in this case, since because the characters don't really advance or go anywhere in this movie, everyone comes across as being somewhat shallow and one-note, unless you're completely up to date on them from the show. All of the plots surrounding the four women are not exactly deep, and could have easily been covered in a single episode, since the movie devotes an obscene amount of its running time to them gathering together and talking about the same problems over and over again. The sole interesting element that the movie adds is an assistant for Carrie, played by Dreamgirls star, Jennifer Hudson. She comes across the best, because she was never on the show, and therefore she is automatically the most rounded character in the movie. It's too bad that she never winds up playing a very large role in the film, and the script seems to be in a rush to have her move on, so it can get back to the four female characters that the writer is most comfortable with. In an interview, King stated that he added the character, due to fan criticism that there wasn't a black woman on the show. Instead of merely satisfying his fans, he could have done a lot more with this very likable character who exits the film all too soon.
If there is anything memorable to say about Sex and the City, it is that it contains the first fart and poop joke that actually made me laugh in a long time. That's certainly worth something, but not worth two and a half hours. I can't bring myself to say that I didn't like this movie, as the chemistry and the fleeting bright moments made it at least watchable. That being said, I also can't say that there's any reason this needs to be on the screens, or why it needed to be made in the first place. The fans will learn nothing new about their favorite characters, and those outside of the loop will feel like they're watching a really long joke that they're not in on. Given the hype, and the fact that the TV series has often been called one of the smartest shows around during the height of its popularity, this is a disappointment.
See the movie times in your area or buy the DVD at Amazon.com!
Fact # 1 - Before walking into the movie, I have never once watched a single episode of the TV series, nor did I know anything about it. I knew of the show, of course, and the very basics of it, but never really made it a priority to get caught up on info about it.
Fact # 2 - This movie is strictly a fans-only affair. Whenever a character walked onto the screen, there would sometimes be excited whispers all around me, while I would sit there, dumbfounded, wondering who this person was supposed to be.
Fact # 3 - Given the above two circumstances, I probably got about as much enjoyment out of it as can be expected.
Sex and the City is not a groundbreaking movie, or even a very witty one. The number of laughs for the uninitiated, or those not familiar with the characters, can probably be counted on less than one hand. That being said, I could see a small hint of what made the show endure for the six or so seasons it ran, especially in the chemistry of the four lead actresses. They play off each other well, and seem to really enjoy playing their characters, even after all this time. I'm glad there was something I could grab onto, because unless you're a devoted fan who has been following the lives and loves of Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), Samantha (Kim Cattrall), Miranda (Cynthia Nixon), and Charlotte (Kristin Davis) from the beginning, you're going to find this to be an extremely thin and rather slight film experience. Throw in an overly bloated two and a half hour running time, and you have something that would have been a lot more enjoyable in a smaller dose. I guess that's why it worked in half hour installments for so long.
The film is basically a chance for the legions of fans to catch up on what's been going on with the characters since the show ended. Carrie is still involved with her on-again/off-again boyfriend, Mr. Big (Chris Noth), and they are slowly starting to take the next steps in their relationship. Of course, they both have conflicted emotions regarding taking those steps, and as they begin to advance further, more and more doubts begin to appear. Samantha has since moved to L.A., has been dating and getting involved with the career of a rising actor, and generally finds her life to be very unsatisfactory. If it weren't for the next door neighbor who has sex with a different woman every night (sometimes more than one), whom she frequently spies on, she would be downright bored. Miranda has been trying to run a home and a family with her husband, Steve (David Eigenberg), but the lack of intimacy in their relationship is starting to take its toll. Finally, Charlotte is living quite happily with her husband and adopted daughter, and only fears how long the good times can last.
Take those simplistic storylines, stretch them to an unbearable length of tedium, and you pretty much have the movie in a nutshell. The main problem with Sex and the City is a crucial one, and it is simply that there is no reason for it to be on the big screen. This is essentially a "reunion special" splashed onto thousands of screens, and arriving on a mountain of hype. Was there a single daytime talk or news show that wasn't devoting at least a part of their segment to this movie in the weeks leading up to its release? After being bombarded with seemingly non-stop coverage and interviews with the four lead actresses, I have to kind of ask, what was the point? What we have here is something that will only appeal to a limited audience. Writer-director Michael Patrick King saw no reason to broaden the fanbase of the characters. He simply saw it as a way to go home again, so to speak. What's perhaps most maddening (especially for fans) is that the movie doesn't really do anything to broaden or add to his characters. Many of them seem to be in the same place they were at the beginning of the movie, and except for a development with the Charlotte character, none of them really have any big changes to their lives.
I mentioned earlier that the lead actresses have good chemistry, and indeed, it's one of the few things that keep the film from sinking completely in its own excess. The chemistry is a Godsend in this case, since because the characters don't really advance or go anywhere in this movie, everyone comes across as being somewhat shallow and one-note, unless you're completely up to date on them from the show. All of the plots surrounding the four women are not exactly deep, and could have easily been covered in a single episode, since the movie devotes an obscene amount of its running time to them gathering together and talking about the same problems over and over again. The sole interesting element that the movie adds is an assistant for Carrie, played by Dreamgirls star, Jennifer Hudson. She comes across the best, because she was never on the show, and therefore she is automatically the most rounded character in the movie. It's too bad that she never winds up playing a very large role in the film, and the script seems to be in a rush to have her move on, so it can get back to the four female characters that the writer is most comfortable with. In an interview, King stated that he added the character, due to fan criticism that there wasn't a black woman on the show. Instead of merely satisfying his fans, he could have done a lot more with this very likable character who exits the film all too soon.If there is anything memorable to say about Sex and the City, it is that it contains the first fart and poop joke that actually made me laugh in a long time. That's certainly worth something, but not worth two and a half hours. I can't bring myself to say that I didn't like this movie, as the chemistry and the fleeting bright moments made it at least watchable. That being said, I also can't say that there's any reason this needs to be on the screens, or why it needed to be made in the first place. The fans will learn nothing new about their favorite characters, and those outside of the loop will feel like they're watching a really long joke that they're not in on. Given the hype, and the fact that the TV series has often been called one of the smartest shows around during the height of its popularity, this is a disappointment.See the movie times in your area or buy the DVD at Amazon.com!
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