Sex and the City: The Movie [2008] [DVD]

Good movie but the series are much better. There are still too much emphasis on carrie bradshaw aka SJP unfortunately...

Before I start, I am well aware that most people will simply rate this review unhelpful purely because it is critical. But please read it and see why I don't like this movie; I'm sure others feel the same as me.

I got into Sex and the City quite late on, half way through the sixth and final season in fact. As a single, straight man, then in my early 20s, I spent years dismissing the show as just a chic program...until I actually gave it a chance. I have seen every episode of the series at least three times and love the great characters and the intelligent and witty stories; they comprise hours of fabulous fun.

Sex and the City the show is also an extreme rarity: An American show that knew when to end and ended in style. The final episode is one of the finest episodes ever made of any drama, sitcom (or whatever other classification you give it) and culminated in a perfect ending. The final scene with a final look at the four women and their relationships was pure gold. It doesn't matter what happened next because when the show ended, all four characters were in a good place.

So it was that a movie picked up all the tied up ends and continues stories that, from an entertaining and narrative point of view, had already ended. What was more, they were all quite depressing, predictable and far-fetched:

Miranda, the hard faced cow of the show finally softens enough to let a man near her with the feisty and rough diamond Steve. Steve puts up with all manner of behaviour from Miranda and stays loyal despite how badly she treats him. Yet in the film, in a bizarre twist, he cheats on her and she leaves him. This is both implausible and depressing.

Samantha is the sex beast of the show, ploughing through men and eating them alive. In what is only her second serious relationship of the show, she finally settles for Smith, her toy boy. Young, successful, handsome and hunky, Smith is both strong enough to handle Samantha and kind enough to win her heart. So they decide after a rather tedious subplot to split them up. This serves only one purpose; to bring Samantha back to New York despite the fact that it would have been better to leave them on the East Coast in and keep them together, more entertaining and less depressing.

Charlotte, the perfect princess of the show gets in right second time around in the most unlikely of men with Harry. Her part in the film is pointless; the show ended with the knowledge that she and Harry would adopt a baby as she was extremely unlikely to ever conceive. The film ends with her (now in her forties) getting pregnant, completely by chance. We are expected to believe that while the 35 year old Charlotte had a 15% of getting pregnant, being over 40, her oven can be bunnified. Unbelievable and very predictable.

And finally Carrie. The whole six seasons saw a 'will she won't she' tale with Mr Big. The beauty of this though was that you genuinely believed the 'won't she' part. We were constantly given red herrings like the hilarious politician who liked to pee to the serious relationships with Berger, Alexander Petrovsky and of course Aiden which you really thought would work out. But with the film, you KNOW she is going to end up with Mr Big and so the two hour 'won't she' is as unengaging as it is transparent.

The film drags on for two hours that you saw coming but never asked for, is very unsatisfying and totally unnecessary.

For me, the whole film can best be summed up by one scene near the start of the film. Finding out that she must clear out her wardrobe, Carrie does a fashion parade for the girls, trying on a variety of outfits that she wore throughout the series. Now what is the point of this scene? Does it tell us something we didn't know about any of the characters? No! Does it advance the plot? No! It is five minutes of fluff to show off some pretty clothes. And the clothes, just like the whole movie, were better in the series and superfluous this time around. The perfect ending of the show continues and flops. If you loved the series for the fab fashion then you will find this a treat: Shoes that had my wife drooling and me hiding the credit card, dresses straight of the catwalk and glitz and glamour. But personally, Carrie and co could have swapped Dolce and Gabbana for George and Tesco - I wouldn't have cared and probably wouldn't even have noticed. And as for the Manolo Blahniks? She could've worn Clarks for all I care. If you loved the wit, humour, drama and brilliant stories that made the show such a hit then you will find none of them here and will be well and truly bored as was I.

Firstly, I did not want to watch this film, my GF forced me into it, but I'm sooo glad she did. Gents, don't reach for the unhelpful button, I'm going somewhere with this I promise.

You see fellas; there is a technique to this. Buy this for your other half (counter intuitive it may seem, trust me you will not regret this). Instantly she will love you (particularly effective if purchased as an apologetic gesture). When the time to watch comes, get some snacks (popcorn recommended obviously) and sit down with your other half.

This is where you play your ace card. Wait until you are about 5 minutes into the film, get up and tell your other half you need the loo (as I did). At this point, make a hasty exit to the bedroom. Now, its time for some Xbox/PS3 or whatever you want to do for two and a half hours, the beauty in this is that at no point during the time period which the film runs will your other half know you even exist. Seriously, I got a few grand prix's done on f1 2011 and still had time left over to write this review. Gents, this film will be a hit with your missus so get it bought and enjoy your 2 and a half hours of uninterrupted bliss.

Rating: 100% (you can't put a price on peaceful time to yourself.)
Genre: Who cares... It does the job!!!