review: Sex and the City (2008)

For the past couple of months I’ve been living in a double room in a friend’s house with all my worldly possessions around me in boxes… This rather limited the maneuverability in said room. Anyway, finally I have moved into my very own apartment so hopefully this means that in the near future life will settle down I will be able to get back to writing more film reviews…

Tonight I’m sitting here on my own, listening to (and sometimes watching) Germany play Austria in the last Group B game of Euro 2008. What better time so, to write my review of Sex and the City!

So I’ll get to it… I’m not -not- a fan on the series… when it first started up I hated it. I thought it was overly sexist and more than a bit ridiculous. As time went on however I think the series grew up as the characters did. In the end it became very easy watching – like much TV of that ilk, the characters became comfortable and you didn’t need to know what happened last week to enjoy it because you know the characters so well. I liked it, but it was over and I didn’t really miss it… I couldn’t, it’s repeated all the time on cable.

Anyway fast forward to 2008… it turns out a lot of people have been missing it. For what is effectively a film for a niche audience, it has generated an amazing amount of press. Quite apart from the “news” about the stars and their dresses, the promotional opportunities taken by various brands in Ireland and I’m sure all over the world, have been so omnipresent it’s hard to know which brands are officially associated and which are just jumping on the band wagon. The film really has been a phenomenon.

But it is any good…? this is the question we always have to ask. In my eyes, yes. I enjoyed it. I went along on the first night with a crowd of about thirty girls and saw it in a packed out cinema. I spotted two guys but rumour has it there were a few more hiding somewhere. I find that hard to believe.

To be honest, it’s a very safe film. They know their audience, they’ve written for them for years, and they haven’t bother to stray from their tried and tested formula. Which is fine… I think at the one point, when things were looking a bit bad for ol’ Carrie, people were quite worried that they might try to do something different. That didn’t happen though, phew! Oh, have I given something away?

The only criticism I might have is that it was a bit TV. I don’t think it mattered that much but they did move through things a little too quickly, there were fast cuts, short scenes – all things you need to do to tell a good story on TV but I don’t think they needed to on the big screen. As a result there were some bits and bobs that they really could have left out. Most notablely Jennifer Hudson‘s character. I didn’t mind her, but there was just no point really. Oh yeah… and I almost forgot, that scene at the end – What was that about!? I didn’t need to see that! If you’ve seen it then you know what I’m talking about…

So in the end, after all the anticipation… what we got was some great outfits, fabulous shoes (though I myself have no interest in shoes) and some good girlie fun. If they never come back I won’t miss them but if they did, I would surely watch their antics with a smile on my face again…

btw – apparently 50 is the new 40… or is that 30…

7/10