Friday 6 June 2008

Sex & The City: The Movie - Review by Carmody Wilson


Director: Michael Patrick King
Screenwriter: Michael Patrick King
Running Time: 148 mins
Certificate: 15
Release Date: 30th May

Considering the two big box-office bonfires about to burn their way through cinemas this summer, a lot is riding on the crowd’s reaction to Indiana Jones and the Badly Named George Lucas Project and that other titillating hushed awe-fest Sex and the City: The Movie. Ladies, get your panties out of a knot: Carrie and Co. deliver in this razzle-dazzle rollercoaster of sex, style and four sassy ladies.

Produced by the original HBO series producer, Darren Star, and written and directed by series stalwart Michael Patrick King, SATC: TM follows the further exploits of the no-longer-single girls Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), Miranda (Cynthia Nixon), Samantha (Kim Cattrall) and Charlotte (Kristin Davis) as they try to circumnavigate old expectations with new lives. Big (Chris Noth) is here too, of course, and any fan of the series will be biting her nails and twisting her clutch to see if it all actually works out. Samantha, in La La Land, spies on her randy neighbor (yes, there’s a shot of him in a shower, yes we see all of him,) and wonders if her sex life with Smith Jerrod (Jason Lewis) is as wet and wild. Miranda copes with Brooklyn, Brady, and Steve’s sexy demands very badly and ends up paying for it, and Charlotte actually gets what she wants, at long last. The characters are still shown warts and all (Charlotte doesn’t quite make it to the toilet, Miranda hasn’t cleared her brush in a while and Sarah Jessica Parker actually has one on her face,) and the intersecting story lines surprise without ever seeming contrived or predictable.

The only weak point is Samantha’s storyline seems fragmented from the rest by virtue of her only popping up at opportune moments, the better to play the “I just had to fly in” angle. Really, it’s the movie every fan of the show wanted it to be. The much-touted outfits are as quirky, brashly fashion-tastic and overblown as they were in the show, and The City shows up slyly, implacably as the chic throw that holds it all together. The only failing in SATC: TM is that I was there without my best friend to cheer, cry and squeal over the fashionista cameos with. Who else would cry out “Andre Leon Talley! Plum Sykes! Demarchelier!” with me? Certainly not the teenagers and the pensioner I shared the seats with. If you loved the show, go. If you’ve been curious about the show, go. If you’ve never heard of it, feed the cats, clear a path to the door and go. SATC: TM is a fun night out for anybody, but also a real jewel in the franchise crown. No spoilers here, dear reader, only cooing compliments for a film that manages to tie up loose ends and make it all surprisingly funny, touching, and glorious to look at. If only all series blockbusters could follow (such a fine) suit. Get that whip cracking.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Very accurate review. I was one of those who fed the cat and cleared a path to go see this movie.