Sex and the City

Two actors in this movie went on to become way more famous than their bit parts would suggest.  Jennifer Hudson plays writer Carrie Bradshaw’s assistant and we all know how far this former runner-up for American Idol has become. 
 
And there’s Gilles Marini, a fellow whose penis was on display in this movie, if only for a few seconds.  Marini now dances, very well, in ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars” and for this he will more likely be a household face than because of this movie.

I am sorry folks.  This movie has two major, major flaws.  First, parts of the plot are totally unbelievable.  Second, the
screenplay does not roll along engagingly.  It is, instead, disjointed, rocky, confusing.  The writers seemed to have randomly stuck scenes in for want of leaving an awkward vacuum.
 
This movie is about characters as far removed from those in “Parenthood”, reviewed above, as possible.
 
All of the main characters are female, they all seem to be financially well off, and while they are in relationships with the opposite sex of some sort, there’s very little going on in the way or parenthood.  In fact, the film’s star doesn’t appear will ever have a child and doesn’t seemed concerned about it.
 
Another character, Samantha, played by Kim Cattrall, turns 50 in the film and has no children.  Miranda, played by Cynthia Nixon, has a little boy but I question her devotion to her son, more on this later, and unbelievableness, later.  Charlotte, played by Kristin Davis, has an adopted Chinese daughter and later becomes pregnant.  I wonder about her motherhood skills as she constantly exposes her daughter to adult female sex talk totally inappropriate for such a young girl.
 
In fact, the characters in “Sex in the City” could be called, by the unkind, as vapid, shallow and possessing few morals.  The kind would dismiss them as confused females sprung from today’s culture.
 
But hey, for movie viewers such as myself, it’s an escape into a fantasy world.  I quite enjoyed the fashion and there was plenty of it.  Surely any female tuning into to this movie would know, by virtue of the TV predecessor and its fame, that fashion was a benchmark of the series.
 
I don’t dress, or did I ever dress, like those women and for sure I never attended a fashion show as feature in the film clip below.
 
Again, it’s a movie, it’s fantasy, it’s about a life that ordinary women like me imagine is lived by some females out there even though most of us don’t know any of them.
 
If the movie had just stuck to the sex scenes, the fashion shows, maybe a little on the male/female relationships, no one could complain about not having gotten their money’s worth.
 
But no, they had to go and make a story line and this was the problem.
 
Nixon’s character confesses, during a lunch dinner, that her life has been so busy that she and her husband hadn’t had sex in six months.
 
Folks, SIX MONTHS?  Any normal married couple in the mid to late 30’s as I surmise this character is, going without sex for six months should be on the verge of divorce.  I’ll go out on a limb here and say there’s something seriously wrong with that marriage and I’m nowhere near the league of these characters in “Sex and the City”.  These modern, young, hip, liberated women should be doing the deed every night as I envision, at least every other night.  But nothing for six months?
 
At some point in time later, Nixon’s character’s husband suddenly confesses, out of nowhere, that he engaged in a one night stand.  Folks, I find this totally unbelievable.  Maybe I missed something but hey, it’s not like Nixon’s character CAUGHT the guy in the act.  Everybody out there who’s got a husband who would voluntarily, for no reason save to assuage a guilty conscience, confess to adultery, please raise your hand.  Hell, how many women would confess to such a thing if not required?
 
Not that I write with any expertise on the matter but hey, a spouse who ups and confesses to a one-night adulterous affair has one of two things going on…he or she wants his or her spouse to know that he or she was driven to such an act OR the adulterous spouse wants to brag.
 
We could understand a confession of an ongoing affair as maybe real love is involved, perhaps a request for a divorce.  But to just up and confess such a thing?
 
Nixon’s character, she who admitted she and hubby had sex a full six months ago, proceeds to kick out her adulterous husband and the rest of the movie involves, in jagged, difficult to follow sequences, that character’s wrestling and coming to terms with the betrayal.
 
First, no sex for six months, right there something’s wrong.  The guy admits he had a one night stand but sheesh, you’d think she’d cut him some slack.  Don’t forget, Nixon’s character has a little boy and did she give that child any thought? 
 
Yeah, eventually Nixon’s character reconciled with her husband but I wanted to slap her early on to get a grip, face that letting six months slip by with no physical activity (sure, in certain circumstances such a thing happens but in one’s mid-30’s?) was a sign something was amiss.
 
Then we have Parker’s character and her groom-to-be got cold feet on his wedding day. 
 
Folks, I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone overreact like Parker’s character.  Understand that the hunk she was marrying didn’t leave her standing at the altar.  He did phone her up while he was in his limousine.  He said he couldn’t go through with it but soon enough he realized his mistake and had his limo driver chase Parker’s character’s limo through town.  He even got out of the car to express his regret and goodness, he was ready to get married.  It was, as the viewer understand, a moment of cold feet. Instead Parker’s character beats the guy all to hell with her bouquet and leaves him cold.
 
This was unbelievable as well.  Both of these women came off as cold, vapid, unforgiving, almost unhuman.
 
Of course the movie continued on after the initial break-ups.  We had the characters going to Mexico, racing madly through town to be together on New Year’s Eve, moving out of apartments and back into apartments and meanwhile, over here, we had another character filled with the hots for some stud muffin (Gilles Marini…now dancing on ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars”) who beds a different babe every night, sometimes two a night.  He’s hardly anybody I’d lust for but then I’m not a character on “Sex in the City”.  Sure, he was a handsome dude but I stand by my belief that females are just not as into looks as our male counterparts.  I’d have been turned off dead the moment I saw him in bed with two babes, which this character did witness.  It only aroused her more.
 
Like I said, the “Sex in the City” characters were of a different breed, miles apart, from the “Parenthood” characters.  Well of course, I understand, they were two very different screenplays telling two very different stories.  It was a coincidence that I’d watched both movies on the same day but there was a certain serendipity about that bit of providence.
 
And on some level I did enjoy the film “Sex in the City”.  It’s definitely a chick flick film but I’m willing to bet very few women who see this movie, or watched the TV show for that matter, were anything like the characters as depicted.  For us less sophisticated and worldly women, this movie was more an intriguing peek into a world we know we’d never populate and most importantly, we’d never want to.

BOTTOM LINE: A very faithful translation of the TV show to the silver screen, whilst still working very well on a level for people who have never watched the show. It scores points for being a decent romantic comedy with themes and unique characters (just like the show), but it loses points for overstaying its welcome at two and a half hours.

THE GOOD: "Sex and the City" is a surprisingly fresh and unique romantic comedy; it works so well because of its strong character and quirky delivery which breaks it away from your stock-standard formulaic films in this genre. The film begins very slickly with a funky soundtrack and smart editing to introduce the four lead girls for the benefit of any one who hasn't seen the TV show, and for the most part this emphasis on slick, sassy, funny and unique qualities is maintained throughout the film. Aside from a dull half hour in the middle, the film is not boring, and manages to engross you in the lives of these four women as they go in search for love in the Big Apple. Although Carrie (Parker) is the lead, all four girls manage to get solid storylines, even Charlotte (Davis) who I didn't particularly like in the TV show for her princess-like qualities but manages to be funny and endearing in this film. Miranda (Nixon) probably has the most dramatic storyline as she deals with her husband's infidelity (even better than the drawcard of Mr Big's and Carrie's wedding). Samantha (Cattrall) is absolutely hilarious in this film in her quest to satisfy her sex-starved cravings, and even Mr Big (Noth) lends a certain gravity to the piece as the only real major male character in the film. Carrie (Parker) is okay, but then I never really liked her character that much, even from the TV show, so I couldn't really sympathise with her plight. Overall, fans of the show will absolutely love this film, and even non-fans might be surprised that it's decent entertainment.

THE BAD: The film is too long. Way too long. Clocking in at two and a half hours, the film overstays its welcome and plays more like a half season of episodes strung together rather than a film. The mid-section is where you feel it start to drag where you know they should be starting to wrap things up but the story meanders a bit longer to give more screen time to the four leads. I'm guessing that they thought this was going to be the only film so they've tried to cram in as much as possible to give the fans as much as they can without going overboard, but I think they went a little overboard. It's a difficult juggling act when you have to give four strong characters solid storylines to justify their existence in the film, but I think it could have been done with much less screen time. Perhaps the Jennifer Hudson scenes could have been trimmed down a bit, or maybe the Carrie storyline should have moved closer to its inevitable and predictable climax sooner. Or maybe the low brow fart jokes or dog-humping scenes could have been omitted. Who knows, but there's about a half hour of fat in this film that should have been taken out, but I'm sure the fans couldn't care less and would've wanted more.

RATING: 7.5/10

Todd Murphy <br />
http://www.allaboutmovies.net

I’ve never watched Sex and The City TV series but I think I’ll start watching.

4 fun fearless female friends; Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall), Charlotte York (Kristin Davis) and Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon) live in New York City where everything is a toss between fashion, friends, and feelings.

Carrie is about to move in with Big, her boyfriend of 10 years, and that’s when they finally get enganged. The girls are delirious and quickly get busy preparing for the wedding. However on the rehearsal night, Miranda mindlessly makes a comment which shaken Big’s courage to try for his third marriage. On the wedding day, Big crumbles and jilts Carrie. The girls have to find ways to comfort her while dealing with their own problems; Miranda is devastated when her husband, Steve, reveals his one-time indiscreation. Samantha has about all a woman could wish for; fortune, career and a man who loves her, yet she senses something missing. Charlotte is a kind natured character whose life is perfect, so perfect she is paranoid that things are about to go wrong in her life. As the girls become pillars of support to each other, they are about to be confronted with the heart of the matter.



I’m a huge fan of this movie. Well, there’s nothing paticularly striking about it but somehow it speaks right through me. It’s more than just about sex and the city but it’s a smart and sassy movie about woman’s heart. The story is illogical sometimes and the characters are difficult to comprehend, but deep inside one could understand or relate to them. Carrie’s narration represents a woman’s thoughts which are not often exposed. This movie gets personal. Maybe that’s what I like about it.

Although I’m pretty sure this movie is targetted for women, ladies and gentlemen should be able to enjoy this movie all the same. Of course, the fashion part is more for females, but Sex and The City is definitely worth checking out.

Mel says: 8/10