Sex And The City : The Movie
Review
by Sean Lynch
Sex And The City - The
"Girl" Review
Remember
how one of the scariest moments in Jurassic
Park was when the characters realised that the ferocious
and manipulative Velociraptor traveled in groups?
Guys will most likely get that exact same sense of impending doom
heading into a screening of Sex
And The City.
How
you survive is totally up to you: battle it until the end, or let it
devour you until there is nothing left but a piece of used meat!
As
much as it pains me to admit it (it could have been the several free
cocktails and vodkas served at the Premiere I downed), and as much as I
wanted to hate it - the long awaited Sex And The City
flick sucked me in and devoured me whole.
While
most of those planning on attending to see the flick will know the show
inside out, I had the extreme pleasure of going into it fairly cold;
without expectations, without needs to be met.
All I knew
was that one is a slut, one is a prude, one is ugly, one is Ferris
Beullers wife and Mr. Big is who all men are now compared to.
And thankfully, that's all you need to know.
Kicking
off with a short and sharp recap of events from the TV series, we are
quickly taken into the thick of the action with montages of friendship,
fashion and New York.
... And then some more of that... and then
some more.
Plot
wise it's all pretty basic stuff: long time love, love, broken hearts,
love, shoes, girl power, love - and a rather small amount of sex. Oh,
and love...
The thing is, Sex And
The City
works really well even without the excess baggage of audience
expectation. Almost immediately I found myself drawn into this bizarre,
shallow world of money and socialites, but moreso the accuracy in which
the film can deconstruct the realities of every form of a relationship.
It's not all happy endings - and sometimes it's not even
over-the-top drama; sometimes love and relationships are simply
mundane, with the film also showing (whether the girls picked up on
this or not I'm unaware) that men's actions aren't always
unjustified.
And the film captures this to a tee.
If the film falters anywhere, besides the fact Sarah Jessica Parker
looks like Felicity Huffman in Transamerica,
it's the rather chubby running time.
Any
thing over two hours is usually the realm of over-budgeted CGI epics,
so a Rom-Com clocking in at two hours and twenty five minutes is
nothing short of excessive. Sure, the fans might have guzzled in every
moment of it and wanted more - but for the occasional viewer there are
more than a few instances after the 90 minute mark in which you truly
hope the final act is set to begin.
However, at the end of the
day, the big drawcards are the characters themselves - and in this
department it all seems to work quite well.
For the
unfamiliar, characters are given a good deal of material in which to
flesh themselves out (Samantha 'The Slutty One' gets the most to work
with in that department) as well as deliver some genuinely funny
moments. Cynthia Nixon is simply superb, while new recruit
Jenifer
Hudson is a welcome addition.
Whether or not fans will find the character
development redundant remains to be seen in the coming years.
Oddly enough, it is the first time in the history of my cinema-going
experience where grumbling chats taking place in the audience
throughout the film weren't "Oh my, this movie is BAAAAAD", but moreso
"How amazing is that dress!".
For those who like to watch their movies
in silence, be prepared, because it happens a LOT!
There
are some great moments on offer, it flows well and looks and plays out
unlike any other romantic comedy in the last decade - so it's got some
originality to boot.
A word of warning to the lads, plan ahead
and leave your testicles at the door - that way, at least you'll be
able to re-attach them after the credits start rolling without ever
having to admit you enjoyed yourself.
3.5 out
of 5
Sex And
The City
Australian release: 5th June, 2008
Official
Site: Sex And The City
Cast: Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim
Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon, Kristin Davis
Director: Michael Patrick King
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