The funny thing about a lost love is that you don’t realize how much you truly miss it until it comes racing back into your life. But what if it’s too late? What if love has passed you by and what remains is merely a cozy memory? Is Mr. Right nothing more than the bartender pouring you another Cosmo that will soon caress the lips that once came together for one soul-stirring, monumental kiss for the ages? What if the…
Oh, sorry. We sometimes get a little too caught up in our Carrie Bradshaw Voiceover Role-Playing Game. But at least on the occasion of the Sex and the City movie, we have just cause.
And reason to celebrate, too, because hi-ho, the gang’s all here: Carrie, Samantha, Miranda, Charlotte and Manolo.
It’s been four years since the finale of the HBO series, which is absolute perfect timing. Unlike the latest Indiana Jones, it’s been long enough that we’re justifiably nostalgic, but more importantly, recent enough that we still care.
The present-day lives of our favorite trio of fabulous fashionistas (oh, and Miranda) are comically complicated, with each of the ladies embracing the challenges of life and love.
Written and directed by series vet Michael Patrick King, the movie version of SATC is sufficiently expanded for the big screen, while maintaining the charm and personality of the TV show – no easy feat. There are plenty of riotous laughs, clever surprises and the unnerving realization that only Carrie Bradshaw could make an audience cry over the gift of a designer purse.
But that’s not to say the film isn’t without baggage. Samsonite, meet Jennifer Hudson. Or should we just call her by the Biblical names given to such abominations: Scrappy Doo, Cousin Oliver, Condoleeza Rice.
Hudson’s “acting” is really just lifeless line-reading. (Wethinks Effie was a fluke.) By eliminating all her scenes, the two-hour-plus running time would clock in at a bladder-friendly length or more time could be devoted to characters we already know and care about. Perhaps the gays, Stanford and Anthony?
Fortunately, these are minor quibbles as the successful formula remains mostly intact. Expect plenty of bodily function chats over brunch and cocktails, and lots of affectionate shots of NYC.
Samantha still gets the best lines. Carrie still gets the most costume changes. And Charlotte still has the funniest quirks. (Seems like we’re forgetting someone, hmmm…)
Most of all, Sex and the City is fun and frivolous summer fare. And we wouldn’t want it any other way.
Sex and the City opens today in theaters everywhere.
Starring: Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, and Cynthia Nixon
Rated R (Nudity! Bad language!)
Running Time: 148 minutes
www.sexandthecitymovie.com
