Cinema
Sex And The City (15) ***
FANS of the trend-setting HBO television series rejoice! The film version of Sex And The City unwraps almost two and a half hours of fabulous couture, sassy girl talk, toned naked men, breathtaking New York City locations and enough relationship woes to give your waterproof mascara a stern test.
If, however, you're not au fait with the vacillations of author Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) and her pals Samantha (Kim Cattrall), Charlotte (Kristin Davis) and Miranda (Cynthia Nixon), then Michael Patrick King's film will be as appealing as horizontal stripes on a beer gut.
A slick, fast-paced opening credits montage condenses 94 episodes of tears, tiaras and tantrums into five minutes of soundbites and one-liners.
"Year after year, 20-something women come to New York City in search of the two Ls: labels and love," coos Carrie in omnipresent voiceover.
"Having gotten the knack for labels early... I concentrated on love."
Carrie and her paramour, Mr Big (Chris Noth), are poised to take the next step in their relationship: moving into a swanky penthouse apartment together.
Samantha has relocated to Los Angeles with her lover and model/actor client Smith Jerrod (Jason Lewis), while Charlotte paints a picture of domestic bliss with her dependable husband Harry (Evan Handler) and adopted daughter Lily.
Miranda continues to pursue work commitments ahead of home life in Brooklyn with her husband Steve (David Eigenberg), son Brady and nanny Magda (Lynn Cohen).
When fate sends Carrie into a whirl, she hastily interviews for a personal assistant.
"Why'd you come to New York," the writer asks young and inexperienced applicant Louise (Jennifer Hudson).
"To fall in love," she gushes, clutching a rented Louis Vuitton patchwork handbag. Kindred spirits.
Sex And The City knows its audience and panders to them with swathes of gorgeous fashion and saucy banter like a hilarious euphemistic conversation about sex in front of three-year-old Lily.
"Well, I can't colour enough. I could colour all day, every day if I had my way. I would use every crayon in my box!" purrs Samantha.
Old friends such as event planner Anthony Marentino (Mario Cantone), Vogue magazine editor Enid Frick (Candice Bergen) and confidant Stanford Blatch (Willie Garson) enjoy supporting roles, although sadly Aidan doesn't make a surprise appearance.
Indeed, there are few surprises here and nothing to warrant the transition to the big screen: this is essentially five episodes of the TV show sandwiched together.
Writer-director King presumes the audience has intimate knowledge of the women and their back-stories: newcomers to this glamorous universe will be emotionally untouched by some of the characters' tribulations.
The blur of designer labels is ridiculous as ever (Carrie would be covered in friction burns considering how frequently she changes her outfit) while Miranda and Steve's subplot relies on one of them acting out of character for dramatic effect.
Hudson equips herself well as the newcomer to the fray, proving that genuine style doesn't come in a size zero.
See it at ABC, Empire, Odeon
10:35am Thursday 29th May 2008
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CommentPosted by: jquain, Ringwood on 12:08pm Thu 29 May 08
Easily the best film of the year thus far, coming after the huge disapointment of Indiana Jones, this film was a ray of sunlight for the film industry!
Easily the best film of the year thus far, coming after the huge disapointment of Indiana Jones, this film was a ray of sunlight for the film industry!
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