DVD Review: Sex and the City - The Movie

Kim Cattrall, Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia
Nixon, Kristin Davis.
(c) 2008 Warner Brothers Entertainment Inc.

It's with that in mind that we take a look at Sex and the City: The Movie. Based on the popular HBO series that ran from 1998-2008, the film reunites all the principle cast members but writer/director Michael Patrick King does little to broaden the scope of his audience beyond the fanatics who made the series a pay cable success. Sex and the City: The Movie is basically a two-and-and -a-half-hour episode of the series.

Picking up four years after the series finale, the movie begins with Carrie encapsulating what's happened to her, Samantha (Kim Cattrall), Charlotte (Kristin Davis) and Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) since then, boldly declaring that they all "still feel like single girls." Carrie is preparing to move in with her longtime boyfriend, Mr. Big (Chris Noth), Miranda's (Cynthia Nixon) husband Steve (David Eigenberg) has been feeling unloved, and his actions drive a wedge in their marriage, After five years in Los Angeles with her actor boyfriend (Jason Lewis), Samantha is itching for New York and her old sexual habits and Miranda (Kristin Davis) is happy being a wife and mother.

After Big purchases a castle-like penthouse for he and Carrie to share, the two decide to get married in what has to be one of the most unromantic onscreen proposals ever. Upon hearing about the upcoming nuptials, the editor of Vogue (Candace Bergen) decides to devote a whole issue to the event. Already, there's a mountain of pressure. When the wedding suddenly goes awry, Carrie hires Manhattan newbie Louise (Jennifer Hudson) to help sort out her life.

I always felt Miranda was the most human of the characters on the series and Cynthia Nixon, the actress who plays her so well, gets the meatiest material in the script. When Steve cheats on her, she refuses to forgive him and moves out of their Brooklyn brownstone. King dares to suggest that Miranda may be partly to blame for their troubles. Even as a fan of the series, I have to say, it was nice to have one plotline that had nothing to do with fashion labels or closet space. Miranda and Steve live in Brooklyn and are trying to balance careers. They seem downright normal!

Poor Kim Cattrall just needs more to do. As Samantha, she spends her time gawking at her next door neighbor or covering herself in sushi to interest her boyfriend in sex. Heck, she even buys a little dog that humps everything in sight. While this worked in half hour doses, it gets quickly tiresome in movie form.

(c) 2008 Warner Brothers Entertainment Inc.

Bottom line: if you like the show, you're going to like the movie. You'll laugh, you'll marvel at the ridiculous clothes, and you may even tear up a little--the gamut that kept us all sticking around all those years. If you hate Sex and the City, I doubt the movie will change your mind. If you've never seen Sex and the City before, then this isn't the best place to start. Go get season 1 on DVD. By the time you work your way through all the season sets, this film will likely be ready for you to buy next.

Warner Brothers is releasing Sex and the City: The Movie in three different packages. There will be a Blu-ray version which will include an extended feature film version (12 additional minutes, 157 minutes total) with extended commentary with director Michael Patrick King, a digital copy of the movie plus extra content featuring "Conversation with Sarah Jessica Parker and Michael Patrick King", "Fabulous Fashion of SATC", Deleted Scenes, Fergie interview, and 2 interactive features "The City" and "Dish It". Sex and the City: The Movie Special Edition which will have the same features as the Blu-ray edition, minus the HD quality. Your third option is the DVD I reviewed, which contains the theatrical release of the film and a standard commentary by writer/director Michael Patrick King.