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Sex 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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- julia said...
- Posted on Jun 02 2008 14:05 a real disappointment to fans of the show although that wont stop people watching it "for old times' sake" - what happened to the witty banter, clever writing and great comedic tension of the series?! Can't believe one of the subplots involved a character pooing in her pants to elicit a laugh from the girls and the audience!
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- Henry Zakumumpa said...
- Posted on Jun 02 2008 09:07 SATC will not disappoint the TV series fans. The girls are back! There will be whar you have come to expect from the quartet. Sarah Jessica Parker has taken a more leading role in this one and the major plot evolves around her. The movie is definately worthy time for its die hard fans.It picks up from where the TV series left off. The one liners, the laughs, the witty dialogue is still on offer here. The setting has become more international so look out of some exotic scenes. Compared to the TV series, this a much more fashion show case, bridal style and the usual fashion trend setting you have come to expect from the four-some. Th plot is a little thin here but then again its SATC! Carrie is the cross roads will Big propose or not,Samanth is still experimenting with monogamy, how long can she hold up? Just how strong is Charlotte's marriage? Can it survive a strong test? Miranda has an adopted cute Chinese girl, will she attain her lifelong desire to be a parent? Overall , its a worthwhile two or so hours The R rating is well deserved!
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- didi said...
- Posted on Jun 01 2008 22:58 entertaining, though not very intelligent, and too much story line (rambling nothingness actually) taken up by Carrie, and the real things, like C having a baby, and Sam and Miranda's stuff skirted over. A dissappointment. I loved the series, because more time spent on the other 3 girls, who actually have a personality (even if caricatured) unlike Carrie who is shallow and vacuous, like Big. Oh well....
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- Boysie said...
- Posted on Jun 01 2008 20:52 Never seen the TV show. However, I thoroughly enjoyed this film which has a nice balance of wit, observation and pathos. I now like Sarah Jessica Parker. Couldn't stand her previously.
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- usman khawaja said...
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Posted on Jun 01 2008 14:58
sumptuously stylish ,sporadically sexy and smart and i am a man who is not a fan of the show still i found this a funny ,witty and frivolous romp with great acting and some really provoking dialogues ,
go watch it yourself and make up your own mind whether it is good or bad -
sarah virtually graces every scene in this stylish take on a quartet of new york's 40 something smart women ,
but kim catrall steals the show as she gets the best role and lines as a self styled nymphomaniac,
the movie has enough designer costumes and accessories to make most women swoon,and a latino stud called dante to provide soft-core sex in lost angels ,
it is a feel good and look good scren version and despite some cliches and stereotypes it does come up with some smart one-liners .
it is dressed like audrey hepburns breakfast at tiffanys for 2008 ,and that was possibly the inspiration for the tele series too,
my girlfriend and me both enjoyed it and if you do not go to see it expecting some kind of deep ravages into the psychological insight of feminine psyche -it is an amicably amiable amble ,
it is nowhere as smart as smart people -sarah's last outing on screen, but i doubt it has any intention to be smart other then in a chic way and there is plenty of chic here and enough to keep you pondering and peeling with thought and laughter,
in that context i absolutely adored a line about men -it was very amart indeed about what woman view men as -they are just there to indulge in sex whether good bad or indifferent -and that is true ,ultimately it is all about sex .
jennifer hudson was rather inserted as an afro-american stereotype from st.loius who loves louis vuitton ,as if this was not a global epidemic which has inflicted all races equally ,
but there is no denying the movie has a lot of old-fashioned style both visually and as a pure escapist cinematic vehicle for the fair sex -as for men like me,we will tag along with the fair creatures for the sake of sex .
GO SEE IT AND HAVE SEX .
- jbz7879 - Report as inappropriate
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- Tori said...
- Posted on Jun 01 2008 09:59 This was pure perfection, it was funny, genuinely moving and a visual feast! The chemistry between the 4 girls is incredible despite all the media chat to the contrary. I loved it so much I can't wait to go and see it again and this is from someone ho never watches movies twice. In short you'd be 'carr'-azy not to see it
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- kels said...
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Posted on May 31 2008 17:43
i havnt really watche SATC as a seiries
do i have to know anything about it to actuallt watch the film or will i get it from watching it ????
looks great anyway x - Report as inappropriate
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- lord SNOT said...
- Posted on May 31 2008 13:11 the film was absolete bollocks ,i was complaining all the way through this film so much i got thrown out!
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- Annie said...
- Posted on May 31 2008 11:45 Guilty pleasure! You do not go to this flic for plot and substance. It is so far removed from my working woman reality. That is why I so enjoyed it. Went with some work friends, different age ranges, all thought it was good. Come on people. Life is a little too serious most of the time. Fantasy is healthy.
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- Yass said...
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Posted on May 31 2008 10:59
Message to Hanner-ox
Hi, to confirm the film is a 15 so you may just get in. It depends on how your parents feel I guess. Anyway its a great movie. Whether you see it on the big screen or a DVD you will not be disappointed. Lots of laughs and tears and great preformances from all involved. Anyone that knocks the film should be sent to Australia, no sorry that is too good for them, the moon, and left there with just one boxset of DVDs to watch. Yes you guessed it "SITC" and they should be sent the SITC movie DVD when it comes out. And only when they repent should they be allowed back on Earth. Harsh I dont think so!
All the best - Report as inappropriate
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- Hanner-ox said...
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Posted on May 31 2008 10:45
I So Wanna See This;;
But im Onlyy 13 + i N33D To Know if its a
12 Or a 15
Someone PLEASE Tell Me
ox - Report as inappropriate
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- sophie=) said...
- Posted on May 31 2008 09:31 whatt rating is it a 12 or 15
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- joss said...
- Posted on May 31 2008 00:54 OMG it was fantastic, a total rollercoaster of emotion, written brilliantly, i had a smile on my face throughout, well except when the tears flowed..lol, i think for those who didnt follow the series, you wont get the magnitude of it all, being an avid watcher, well its been long awaited, but well worth waiting for, and then some. its gonna stay with me forever. love it.
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- leeann said...
- Posted on May 30 2008 20:11 brill best film i've seen in ages was nearly weeing ma self with laughter and ma man loved it even though he only went for me. And every guy in there enjoyed it i even seen a guy cry. Its only guys that cant handle a independent female that complains about films like these as there prats.
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- Suzanne said...
- Posted on May 30 2008 17:09 Bloody hell, what a LET DOWN. I want to see guns, explosions, fast cars and ATTRACTIVE women.
- Report as inappropriate
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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