I’m going to lose my man card - I just know it. When Sex and the City went off the air, women everywhere went into mourning since they thought they’d not be seeing their girlfriends again. When rumblings that a movie was coming, excitement was in the air.
I must admit up front that I’m no Sex and the City expert. Wait, that didn’t sound right. I’ve only watched one episode (that I recall) and it involved the voluptuous Samantha and a celibate yoga teacher. Needless to say this didn’t exactly sync up with the lifestyle of the nymphomaniac and the slow sexless burn and the verbal explosion in class was hilarious.
Created by Darren Star, the series ran on HBO from 1998 till 2004 and was inspired by the book and column by Candace Bushnell. The film takes up some years after the finale of the program.
Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) and John James “Mr. Big” Preston (Chris Noth) are continuing to the next step in their relationship – moving in together. Apartment shopping in New York is yielding little, until they find the perfect place, but out of their price range. Big has the bucks and tells Carrie that he’ll foot the bill.
However, she begins to wonder what will happen to her dream home if something happens to Big. She voices these concerns to him and he suggests they get married.
Speaking of marriage, Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) and Steve (David Eigenberg) have hit hard times (no sex for Steve for six months!) and when Steve confesses to a one-time-only affair she explodes and leaves him.
Charlotte (Kristin Davis) is happily married to Harry (Evan Handler) and is full bore into helping Carrie plan the wedding. Samantha (Kim Cattrall) is living with television star Smith Jerrod (Jason Lewis) in Los Angeles and acting as his agent, but having some naughty thoughts about randy neighbor Dante (Gilles Marini), but she flies back to New York to help with Carrie’s wedding.
Since Miranda isn’t exactly hot on marriage a remark to Big at the dinner the night before the wedding results in tragedy. So now the friends have to band together for emotional support.
That’s probably half a description of the film as there are more surprises and fun in store for the show’s fans. Not being a large fan and the opposite sex of the film’s intended audience; I was expecting a painful viewing experience.
First off, there’s a nice, short recap of some of the events that happened in the television show so I wasn’t exactly lost about the movie relationships. Since I was not a member of the intended audience there were several things that played upon me.
First is the film’s extreme focus on fashion. Carrie is made to do a photo shoot with all sorts of designer fashion names (I only recognized a few) that in my opinion seemed to do on forever and other of the fashion bits also seemed stretched. I also wondered how the film might play to a more rural woman since it seems to concentrate on gals in the city.
The film is also an extended cut. The theatrical cut ran 2 hours 25 minutes, and this cut adds about six more minutes of footage. Not having seen it in the theaters I couldn’t tell you what was new or not (maybe that fashion show overload?).
However, another complaint from this man was that the film seemed a bit long. I hate to say it though, but I did get into the drama of what the characters were facing and involved in the film. This surprised me since I really wasn’t expecting to as I never really had too much interest in the show.
I did scratch my head at some of the plot turns, such as Miranda not having sex with her husband for six months and then being shocked and horrified when he gives in to temptation elsewhere. It’s not like she didn’t set that one up herself and her reaction is a bit over-the-top for me (and her character seems to think so too a bit as to my interpretation of some of the dialogue, but won’t admit it).
Men may well want to stay away, but those that venture in might be entertained (there’s even some female nudity for them), but they’ll tune out when the relationship issues pop us. Does that make me a metrosexual? Gasp!
Sex and the City is presented in a 1080p high definition transfer (1.85:1). Special features include a commentary by director Michael Patrick King. Next is the 23 minute “A Conversation with Michael Patrick King and Sarah Jessica Parker” having both persons with three names [insert rimshot here] sit down and talk about the film, in high definition.
The 18 minute “The Fabulous Fashion of Sex and the City” focuses on my favorite aspect of the film – not, but it’s in high definition. The 2 minute “Fergie in the studio” has the recording artist working on the film’s end credit song and there are 4 minutes of additional scenes (with or without King’s commentary), both in standard definition.
Exclusive to the Blu-ray is an interactive map of New York “The City” and a set of pop-up fun facts, etc. called “Dish it” that pop up during the film. Disc two is a digital copy of the film that you can download to your PC or portable device.
Sex and the City is nirvana for fans of the show and the female demographic. This Blu-ray presents a lovely transfer and some nice special features. I didn’t much want to admit it since my man card might be up for renewal, but I enjoyed the movie. It must take a real man to fess up to that, right? However, I think that fans of the show will enjoy it more.
Sex and the City - The Movie (Extended Cut) [Blu-ray] is now available at Amazon . Visit the DVD database for more information. The film is also available for download at iTunes and Amazon Unbox. It will be available at On Demand on Oct. 7th.
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