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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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- sue said...
- Posted on May 29 2008 16:01 PFTTT !?! SHIT
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- jemmar said...
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Posted on May 29 2008 16:01
Worst film evaa mann..
the end wer a let dwn. - Report as inappropriate
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- hiedi said...
- Posted on May 29 2008 16:00 it was great i cryed and cudnt stop lafin at othaa bitss..
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- Yass said...
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Posted on May 29 2008 14:20
I havent seen it yet but I know I will have to take my wonderful partner, Leo, to see it. She claims she is not fanatical about it but just to put things in perspective, I had to buy her the SITC DVD boxset because my Sky+ never had any room left for anything else. I am sure the film will be fantastic. Even if the four just girls just sat on a single set and talked about Shoes, Clothes, Sex and Men (Listed in order of importance) it would still be a good movie.
Also whoever said straight guys dont get it. I am straight, or at least I thought I was and I get it. Its simple, you watch and learn. Dont fight it guys.
I wonder how many brownie points I wil score with this review? - Report as inappropriate
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- Anushka said...
- Posted on May 29 2008 10:27 Very entertaining, but I was disappointed by the ending. It betrays the spirit of the series.
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- stevo said...
- Posted on May 29 2008 09:09 jesus christ lmao. A classic? Seriously people are beginning to like hollywoods 21st century shit
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- helena said...
- Posted on May 28 2008 23:42 As expected was brillient....you really feel ther emotions,i love it,you must go and see it!!!!!!!!!!
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- Nic H said...
- Posted on May 28 2008 22:38 fantabulsious!
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- Jess said...
- Posted on May 28 2008 22:29 it was amazing.
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- Jess said...
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Posted on May 28 2008 22:29
i loved it soooooooo much
moments of laughter i couldnt control!!!!!!!!!
:L
xxxxxxx - Report as inappropriate
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- shoegal said...
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Posted on May 28 2008 21:50
outstanding - this will stand the test of time to become a true classic, both stylistically and narratively.
visually stunning, acted beautifully, there are moments where you really, really cry and then moments of pure hilarity!
i urge you to see it - it will not dissappoint! - 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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