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Bookmark this pageSex and the City (2008)
Director: Michael Patrick King
Movie review
From Time Out London
Straight men never got television series 'Sex and the City', but really – what was not to get? Brunch without calories, sex without consequences, friendship without recrimination and shoes without price tickets: the programme about four thirtysomething women single and loving it in the big bad Apple was the ultimate consumer fantasy. So it’s no surprise that, despite years of denials, there’s now a feature-length version: isn’t capitalism all about stuff that’s surplus to requirements?
We didn’t need it but boy, do we want it: the night I went the queues were half an hour long – and we’d all pre-bought tickets. Happily, our independently earned cash wasn’t spent in vain. Writer-director Michael Patrick King (a stalwart of the TV series) hoves straight in with a mission statement by fashionista columnist Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) to the effect that she’s a fortysomething and life is different, but friendship never changes. The girls have moved on a couple of years but are all pretty settled: Charlotte (Kristin Davis) and her Harry have a cute adopted daughter; Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) is still in Brooklyn with Steve and little Brady; and Samantha (Kim Cattrall) may be out in Hollywood managing her boyfriend Smith’s career, but her killer Manolos must be leaving some seriously inelegant carbon footprints, because she’s back in New York every other minute.
The emphasis has shifted, as is probably proper for this demographic: it’s still about relationships but they’re no longer hypothetical. The questions are larger in scope: Carrie has her Big – but will he marry her? Should he marry her? Is there life after a happy ending? They’re all good issues, even if they're treated so frothily as to disappoint. Nobody wants existentialism from 'SATC', but as Carrie might once have put it, I couldn’t help but wonder why, when Love with a capital L slinks into the penthouse, sex and banter both apparently sashay straight out.
Never mind: there are good lines and plenty of laughter, even if there are none of the verbal doubles that made every TV episode feel like a really good Wimbledon final. And there’s some gleeful hypocrisy: this is not just a fashion film where the men look a hell of a lot better than the women (Carrie’s makeup bag must be bigger than her walk-in wardrobe) but we also detect a sanctimonious whisper that fashion labels – hush, now! – are just calorie-free gateaux for women whose appetites, of all kinds, aren’t being satisfied. Apparently, you can be rich, good-looking and in a relationship and still not be happy. Thank goodness for Cosmopolitans.
Author: Nina Caplan
Time Out London Issue 1971 May 28- June 3, 2008
User reviews of this film
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- joey said...
- Posted on Jun 24 2008 22:16 sup homies
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- Chloe said...
- Posted on Jun 23 2008 15:59 Omg it was so good, the best 3 hrs of my life lol! it was so funny but at the same time it was very touching and emotional! omg everybody must go and see this, goin 2 c it again very soon! its a must have, cannot wait until its out on DVD. !!!!
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- Tracey said...
- Posted on Jun 23 2008 13:06 Absolutly fantastic can not wait till it comes out on DVD will be def buying it
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- becky!! said...
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Posted on Jun 23 2008 12:20
i think this film wer really
good i went with my friend
and it made us laugh lol
and i think people who did not like it are boring and
cant have a laugh !!
think you should gooo and she it lol
bit rude like but thats wot makes it fun :D - Report as inappropriate
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- JOSIE said...
- Posted on Jun 22 2008 14:43 I went with 7 of my friends the best three hours ive spent in a cinema, and for all you saddo's who didn't enjoy this movie i think you want to open your minds up and start living a bit, truly the best movie ive ever seen
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- happy said...
- Posted on Jun 21 2008 21:23 omg it was amazin luved it
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- Me said...
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Posted on Jun 21 2008 13:54
The age rating Sum1 is a 15+
Dont see it tho its very average film.
Its good tho. - But a bit average, nothing special to it. - Report as inappropriate
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- sum1 said...
- Posted on Jun 21 2008 10:56 does any1 no the age ratin???
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- Prince Leopold said...
- Posted on Jun 20 2008 17:12 Went to see it (not on the plane). The whole thing has become unavoidable anyway, so, got it out of the way now. Actually, it wasn't bad. But definitely no where near as catching as the series. Hence, une point!
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- rebecca said...
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Posted on Jun 20 2008 14:21
for all the people who wrote, longest film ever, boring.. etc.. you're wasting your time. this was a great film and anyone with half decent taste, loved it.
ohh and since you're time is so precious that you cant waste it on a film that is clearly amazing, maybe you should take your comments elsewhere and save some of that time for someone who cares.
keep watching people. great film indeed. - Report as inappropriate
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- leanne said...
- Posted on Jun 17 2008 20:14 I thought the film was great went to watch it with 3 friends, we all thought what a great film, i would defo buy it on dvd.
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- Viewer said...
- Posted on Jun 17 2008 16:26 Went on for far too long ! ... you will only enjoy this is your a true sex and the city fan ! .... Thot it was boring ! ... was in the cinemas for 3 hours and a half ! =O
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- trent said...
- Posted on Jun 16 2008 08:55 This film is full on sh*t
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- Dean Harris said...
- Posted on Jun 15 2008 19:42 Treated my wife to it. Review said there was plenty of laughter so I fortified myself with a brandy to uninhibit my chuckle button (my wife drove). I laughed aloud through the first half an hour, laughed and cried through the rest. I have not cried so consistently with any other movie - it pressed many of my emotional buttons (anything to do with the brandy?) Thoroughly enjoyed it, though. More than my wife did, I think. Money well spent.
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- victoria said...
- Posted on Jun 15 2008 11:03 Fantastic - If you are true fan of the series you will love this! I didn't want it to end
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Cast & crew
Director: Michael Patrick King
Cast: Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon, Kristin Davis, Jennifer Hudson, Chris Noth, Candice Bergen, Lynn Cohen, Mario Cantone full cast
Genre(s): Comedy
Duration: 142 mins
UK Release: May 28 2008
US Release: May 30 2008
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