Wendy Ide
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I’m going to come clean. I was a Sex and the City fan. Like so many other women I had a grudging respect for a woman who could wear a Hallowe’en pumpkin for a skirt and shoes that looked like attenuated pigs’ trotters and still take herself seriously. I am the target audience for the long-gestating film follow-up to the series that charmed us all with its frank-talking, froth and fabulously silly clothes.
So does Sex and the City retain its pert charm on the big screen, five years on? Well, as Samantha might drawl with a suggestive pout and her talons sunk into the flesh of her latest boy toy, like so many things in life it’s all a question of timing. And the timing here is a little off, not least because the length – 2½ hours, near enough – seems like an awful long time to spend with these irritating, self-obsessed women, however much we may have missed them.
There’s also something that suddenly feels a little jarring about the mantra of having it all – or at least as much of it as you can charge to your credit card. When, for example, Samantha can’t “get off”, she “gets things” – cue a shot of Samantha smirking in front of a freight container of Gucci carrier bags.
It’s perhaps unfair to suggest that the writer (Michael Patrick King, who also directs) should have had the foresight to predict the almighty downer that is the credit crunch, but suddenly it’s a lot harder to care about a bunch of women who swap real estate like top trump cards and who can, without a flicker of guilt, blow more than $600 on a pair of nasty, tacky shoes.
And then there’s the obsession with labels and price tags, which suddenly seems kind of gauche rather than excitingly frivolous and decadent like it used to be. “That cushion cost $300!” says Carrie as Samantha’s canine alter-ego frantically tries to mate with it. I like buying cool stuff as much as the next shallow, rapaciously consumerist person who grew up in the Thatcher era, but still. When one character buys an outfit that isn’t a designer label, it’s a really big deal that becomes a plot point.
All this wouldn’t be so much of a problem if the film delivered the requisite amount of sass, attitude and, crucially, laughs that we have come to expect from the show and its wisecracking coven of fashion mavens. Now that the girls are in their forties – or in the case of the remarkably well-preserved Samantha, turning 50 – the single life that they once celebrated is starting to look a little more like a life sentence.
Critics have been asked not to give away crucial plot points, but I will say that when one of the key characters’ relationship breaks down, she’s bed-bound for two whole days. It’s as if, just as the skin loses its elasticity as we get older, so the heart loses its ability to bounce back. Which is exactly the kind of bleak and depressing reality that we need the old SATC formula of escapism to blot out.
There are a few very funny moments. A throwaway Diane Arbus gag from Carrie’s editor at Vogueis priceless. A sequence involving Samantha and some homemade sushi makes you realise how much you were hoping for more of the old-style SATC naughtiness. Charlotte’s big embarrassing incident is a moment of scatological inspiration. And a new addition to the cast, Jennifer Hudson, as Carrie’s assistant, is a likeable, funny presence.
But for the most part, the tone is downbeat. Carrie’s endearingly dreadful puns now seem hollow and forced. It’s like being reunited with old friends only to realise that you’ve grown irreparably apart.
15, 145mins

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Hear hear Barry in Bolton - as a woman, I'm just embarrassed that so many otherwise intelligent women regress to gushy, helium-headed 14-year-olds over this vapid, one-dimensional drivel and try to make out it's representative of most women's lives. Bet they all have Friends boxed sets too.
Ruth , Salwa, Kuwait
My sister and I both loved this film and we laughed and cried all the way through... it was brilliant and I am now going to watch the complete series again. Recommend it!!
Angela Austin, Cadoxton, Neath, South Wales
Different people, different tastes. I, personally, liked the movie. I think, they played the characters in a credible way, considering, there have been years between. And they all looked really good and well conserved :) And the obsession with labels has always been in series as well.
Hexi, SOUTHAMPTON, UK
Oh come on reviewer...cheer up. The film was fabulous and full of laughs. It provided escapism much needed at this time. Saw this film last night. The cinema was packed out with women and men of all ages. Can't remember the last film that did that for me .....Shaun of the Dead ...how long ago ?
Rebecca, Guildford, Surrey
"Anyone who is or was a true fan of the series will love the movie"
Sorry, not so at all. I went to see it last night and hated it. This film completely lacks the almost facetious and clever wit of the series, as though it was written by a man who just read his first cosmo magazine.
LF, Liverpool,
u should have pics on pushing dasies coz who does not like it
chloe, saltburn, england
hi it's chloe again go on my picso site but it's not really mine it's my mates
chloe, saltburn, england
Isn't this movie really a big metaphor about friendship and loyalty and honesty despite one's limitations and neurosis? On that level, I feel the movie worked well..
David
USA
David, Beverly HIlls, USA
Anyone who is or was a true fan of the series will love the movie. It make me laugh, cry, and I left the cinema like I'd been through another journey with these women. Despite the bleak issues it addresses (which we will all eventually face), the ending is a euphoric, hopeful one. This is four *.
Sam D'Elia, London,
Come on then where are all the women who lambasted a man for giving it only 2 out of 5? This time it's a woman reviewer... oh dear...
Chetan Makani, London, UK
I saw the movie at a sneak peek and LOVED it! With all the hype and "plot dropping" - for me, it was close to perfect.
Kristin, Detroit Lakes, USA
I saw the film on Wednesday and agree with some of the comments. However, I disagree that there were only a few funny moments in the film, everyone in the cinema was laughing out loud and at the end of the film there was an impromptu round of applause. It is great and funny - go see it!
Ruth, Paris,
Whether the film is good or bad, the girls will tear the actresses up. Why, because girls cannot stand another girl succeeding. I look forward to the film, good or bad.
I conclude by stating that these girls are absolutely hot to look at.
Allen, Rochester, US of A
"I had a grudging respect for a woman who could wear a Halloween pumpkin for a skirt and shoes that looked like attenuated pigs trotters and still take herself seriously"
NO its called acting, it was a tv show, boobtube fead aspiration is gonna be the ruination of many a young girls life
Jason, Ireland,
I agree 100% with Tom. I am shocked that this has only been given 2 stars! I went to see this film last night and I loved very minute of it. The story touched my heart. I cried and laughed throughout the entire film. I loved the story and unlike the writer of the review I am not giving the plot away
Louise, London, England
I thought it was a fitting end to such a brilliant series and the clothes and "things" were simply an entertaining "add" to a storyline which dealt with the issue of aging and relationships. If thats all you can concentrate on then it seems to me to be the watcher that is shallow and not the film.
Emma, Stamford, UK
I cannot disagree more with your review.
The film was so incredibly well balanced emotionally. I have never heard so much audience participation as last night, the gasping with horror and applauding right the way through.
Well done SATC team, for an ardent fan, it was perfect!!
Julie Warner, Hoddesdon, UK
the film could age like real life does
a whole pack of sequences showing the fab 4
at five-years-past situations
jaderdavila, sao paulo, brazil
I loved it! The movie was sassy, full of fabulous fashion and a credible plot line. Carrie had mellowed was believeably in love and had become comfortable in her own skin. The movie's strength (other than it's aesthetics) lay in it addressing our insecurities about love and life. A great see!!
J, London,
I think the word is "escapism" not "docudrama".
go girls!
bobby, London,
Remeber Men Behaving Badly? If only they'd do a female version, but instead of laughing at the witless, charmless characters, we were asked to empathise with their self absorbed, shallow existences and laugh with them- even better hold them up as aspiational!
Nah, we're all too smart for that.
Barry Saint, Bolton,
I have been waiting for this movie for the longest time and I am gonna enjoy it no matter the length of it! It will be good to see the girls on the big screen.
Gail Johnson, Whetstone,
Criticising Sam's shopping is missing the point - most fans will never afford that lifestyle credit crunch or not. The point of SATC is that it deals with real emotional issues that people identify with, but does so with a hearty dose of glamour and sex. On that score the film is a HIT!
Tom, London,
Thankfully, a friend posted up the plot twist on facebook so i don't have to see the film. It only took me 5 seconds but, judging by your review, I've probably filled in the rest far better than the celluloid. Doubtless though, hordes of women will still 'aspire' to the empty life. Thanks feminism!
Alistair Kipling, Birmingham,
Who cares if its good or bad. I still can't wait to see those 4 women together again.
m, london, uk