Sex and the City

Like a lot of girls, i quite enjoyed Sex and the City when it was on television. I didn't watch it during the first few seasons when it came on because it was on HBO and we didn't have it at my house. Then, one summer, my friend's sister-in-law loaned me and my best friends the seasons on DVD, and we got addicted. We spent entire days watching episode after episode. Then my family got HBO and I was able to watch the last two seasons at my house.

I think every girl identifies with Carrie, because she is the only truly multi-dimensional character on the show. While the other women sometimes show different aspects of their personality, there is no doubt that Samantha is the Slut, Miranda is the Sarcastic Realist, and Charlotte is the Traditional Romantic. I think if I could identify myself as one of these, I would say I'm definitely a Charlotte. But as I don't think I am a one-dimensional person by any means, I would say I am definitely a Charlotte-Carrie hybrid.

In the years since the show ended and been syndicated, it has gotten on my nerves. I will admit to watching it occasionally on cable and ABC, but I think it has lost some of it's magic by being so accessible. And don't Carrie's puns get on everybody nerves after awhile? I'm still not sure if it is a show that will stand the test of time, but it definitely broke ground. And I still think of it fondly, but it is not something I watch frequently, despite the fact that I have collected all of the seasons on DVD.


So when they finally decided to do the movie, I wasn't sure how to feel about it. Would I want to see it? Would I like it? I was very satisfied when the way they ended the television show and now there were rumblings about killing off a character. How could they do that to us as fans? But once I saw the previews, I changed my opinion. It looked awesome.


So my two best friends and I planned to go see the movie on the night it opened. This proved not to be as easy as it sounded. My friend Rachel offered to get the tickets and she had heard that they were having a special event last night at this awesome movie theatre called Alamo Draft House (it's a combo movie theatre-restaurant with really good food) so she called and they said tickets weren't going on sale until Midnight going into Tuesday. She called in at 7:30 AM and they were already sold out for the 7:00 PM and 7:15 showing. So we went at 10:10 PM instead.

We decided to get there early so that we could get good seats and get in line if needed. Well we got there at 8:00 PM because we figured we could chat in the meantime, and we started the line after sitting on a couch for about 15 minutes. 5 minutes after we had started the line, it seemed that it was out the door. Women dressed up to the nines for this thing. It was exciting, but I was also kind of annoyed with all of the women behind us who were very loud and everybody was getting testy because we had been standing in line for about 2 hours. And women were getting cut throat--a woman who had been sitting on the couch rather than waiting in line for the last 45 minutes talked to the little movie guy assigned to crowd control and got to sit down in the theatre before anyone else--let's just say--people were not happy (including us). But we were lucky, got exactly the seats we wanted and were very happy. And they even brought us Cosmo shots!!

So, onto the big question---how was the movie?

****SPOILER ALERT--IF YOU DON'T WANT TO FIND OUT MOVIE DETAILS, DON'T SCROLL PAST THIS PICTURE!!!!!--SPOILER ALERT!!!!****

First of all, let me just say, I thought it was fabulous!! They really captured the magic of the show and brought it to the big screen. Overall, I think they achieved what they wanted and will silence the box office skeptics who claim you can't do well with a "chick flick."
I think Carrie's plot line was great, and her reaction to Big leaving her at the altar was very realistic. Big was Big, and got freaked out by the big wedding and all of the extraneous stuff--a very male reaction. It pisses me off that he does this now, rather than at the first two weddings he was the groom at. Carrie's dress for the wedding at the NY Public Library was sensational and the bird in her hair was ridiculously Carrie Bradshaw.

Charlotte's plot made me so happy. I loved the way they left off with her and Harry in the series, so I was very happy to see that they're still so happy, their little girl Lilly is adorable, and Charlotte has one of the funniest scenes in the whole movie. The girls go with Carrie on what was supposed to be her honeymoon in Mexico. Charlotte "Poughkeepsie's" in her pants, and her facial expressions are just priceless. But she also has some of the most moving scenes, including the one in which Carrie and Big meet on the street after he left her at the altar and Carrie beats the crap out of Big with her bouquet and Big tries to explain--Charlotte's anger at him in that scene is so moving. I was so happy when she got pregnant and had her baby Rose.

Miranda's plot was very moving. I love Steve and I hate the way that Miranda treats him a lot of the time. But they belong together, and it made me so sad that he cheated on her. But during the scene on the Brooklyn Bridge, I was in tears.

Samantha brought the sex, but she wasn't having it. She was a voyeur. I think if anything was lacking in this movie, it was a plot for Samantha. They went out on such a high note with her character on the show going through breast cancer and chemotherapy, and really falling in love with Smith who was just adorable. They had made her character into so much more in the last season, and I feel like Samantha in the movie was not Samantha from the show.
She had moved to LA with Smith to help him pursue his career. Her life revolved around him. Smith was not his charming self, but she was staying with him because he stayed with her through chemo. And we saw more sex between Charlotte & Harry and Miranda & Steve than we did between Samantha & Smith. This is just not right. Most of Samantha's onscreen time was spent watching the hot next door neighbor guy have sex with different women every night. But after Samantha broke up with Smith, she didn't have sex with the next door neighbor, and they made a big deal about her being chunky because she gained 5 pounds. On a positive note, she adopted a cute dog but overall, I was disappointed in this plot line.

Other thoughts--I love Jennifer Hudson's character Louise and her relationship with Carrie. It was a breath of fresh air, and I was surprised, because I thought I wouldn't like any new characters. I loved when Big proposed to Carrie with a Manolo Blahnik in the closet. I loved that Big sent the love letters to Carrie. I loved that they got married in the court house and she wore her little suit and they went and ate dinner with their friends later. It was happy and beautiful.

So, overall, I give it two thumbs up, but not way up, because Samantha's plot was lacking. Even though it was 2 and a half hours long, it moved at a good pace. This movie reminded me why I love this show. The relationships between the women make them stronger and they love each other the way that you truly love your best friends.
Go out and watch it with your girlfriends or your sister and/or your mom--I plan on going back to see it again a couple of times!!

Thanks for reading!

Elle Bunny