Sex And The City.. reviews ( for those of us that like to read them)

[DAME]

Posted: 5/16/08 at 4:02am

Variety is extremely mixed.


"For a series so steeped in romance, the eagerly awaited “Sex and the City” movie feels a trifle half-hearted. Although there’s pleasure in seeing HBO’s fabulous four reunited, writer-director Michael Patrick King doesn’t fully bridge the gap between TV and film — delivering major story flourishes but, too often, playing like a regular episode bloated to five times its customary length. Best in its small moments, the movie should find receptive gal pals congregating for the mother of all viewing parties, but appeal beyond that core should present New Line with less of a storybook finish than it doubtless would like."


"Kind of like old times, actually, but not quite — evidence that even a glossed-up version of Manhattan is a hard place to go home again."



satc

Updated On: 5/18/08 at 04:02 AM

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 5/16/08 at 4:18am

Steeped in romance? What show was he watching?

[LePetiteFromage]

Posted: 5/16/08 at 4:22am

Updated On: 1/23/09 at 04:22 AM

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 5/16/08 at 5:11am

Oh, yes. Miranda's Betty Crocker addiction. I remember.

[jeniferrenepatricia]

Posted: 5/16/08 at 6:33am

And Charlotte's "rabbit" addiction.

[EponineAmneris]

Posted: 5/16/08 at 8:02am

Their romance with fashion

But...

UGH I don't like the review.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 5/16/08 at 9:21am

Everyone should boycott this movie because they had the premiere in London, turning their back on Manhattan which is a fifth character in the movie.

[Roscoe]

Posted: 5/16/08 at 9:25am

More like their romance with MONEY.

[DAME]

Posted: 5/16/08 at 12:26pm

I actually want the movie to be a hit.

Updated On: 5/16/08 at 12:26 PM

[thatgirl712]

Posted: 5/16/08 at 2:05pm

They should have premiered in Manhattan.

[DAME]

Posted: 5/16/08 at 2:10pm

Hollywood Reporter is mixed to bad.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/film/reviews/article_display.jsp?&rid=11091

[MrMidwest]

Posted: 5/16/08 at 2:37pm

Sex and the City fandom is a curious, powerful thing: there are women for whom the show was not just a show, but an articulation of a kind of post-post feminism in which conspicuous consumption and low-level self-destruction become a kind of political statement, where concerns about independence and empowerment have become so moot that something as seemingly provincial and outdated as “marrying well” has come back around as a reasonable goal for working women. In other words, it allows well-heeled, probably intelligent but politically unconscious women to do what they would have done anyway, and feel really, really good about it.

http://blog.spout.com/2008/05/05/sex-and-the-city-scent-and-sentimentality/

All the way through the interview, whether it be mocking Bush or canonising Hynde, Bernhard has underlined her concern about the status of women. It's ironic, then, that filming for the "post-feminist" Sex and the City movie is going on around the corner: Bernhard is flatly disapproving of the city's most famous female quartet.

"Any time that you are not going as deep as you can as a human being, if you are not taking it out of the realm of the superficial, it's not a good thing. I have managed to have as much, or more, fun as many people ever get to have in their life but I never forget the deeper levels of being a woman. You can't live your life twisting yourself into a pretzel in this perpetual, 'ooh, have I got the right dress, shoes, purse?' That message to me is very damaging to the psyche."

Reclining on the restaurant banquette, Bernhard embellishes her argument by reminding me of an oft-forgotten fact: "I was supposed to play the role of Miranda originally. I can't imagine that showing up every week to play a character who is bitter, bitchy, eating cake out of trash cans, could have been in any way satisfying. I've never seen women relate to each other the way these four women talk to each other. It's absurd and the number one problem is that those ladies are all too old to be running around doing what they are doing."

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/sandra-bernhard-bisexuality-and-savage-wit-397472.html


As a fan of the show, I'm curious to hear what other fans think about those quotes.

From reading a lot of blog posts about the movie lately, I'm starting to wonder if shows and movies that are targeted at women are examined more closely or held to a higher standard than ones marketed to a predominately male audience.

[mateo]

Posted: 5/16/08 at 2:46pm

I think most reviews will be like this. From men, who aren't invested in the characters and reviews from a male perspective on what the majority feels is entertaining.

Well, to me, not all films have to appeal to everyone. I know thats not what studios want, but is there anything wrong with making films for just those who want to see them?

The reviewers have good things to say, but there main complaint is that its long, like many episodes stuck together. -- I feel like in general movies today are WAY to fast. I bet for some, like myself, wouldn't care how long the running time was. What most fans want is more episodes, so this is exactly it.

Like a series in one 2.5 installment.

I am very excited to see it. I think they underestimate the female and gay audience (not to say all women nor homosexuals like SATC), and why the movie was made. It was made for the fans to see the characters again and take them on a new journey. Not for a middle+ aged male to tell them that there is some dragging in the 2nd act.

I always say that I dont care about reviews, but I guess I care when any film not for the (white) male majority is reviewed.

Anyone feel that way?

Updated On: 5/16/08 at 02:46 PM

[Scripps2]

Posted: 5/16/08 at 5:03pm

"they had the premiere in London, turning their back on Manhattan which is a fifth character in the movie."

And much was made of this incongruity in the TV coverage of the premiere over here. I saw Sarah Jessica Parker dismiss it as something complicated to do with numbers that she didn't want to explain.

The TV show established its audience and ran its full term over here but was not top of the ratings, nor was it one of those US shows that seemed to establish a large cult following in the way others have done. Nor would I have though Kim Catrall's recent appearances on the West End stage were enough to justify a UK premiere. So I can't offer any personal guess as to why it premiered over here either.

There is a tendency in the UK media to assume that if an American film premieres in the UK it must be bad (there was something forgetable with Hugh Grant a few months ago that did the same thing), which doesn't bode well.

[Corine2]

Posted: 5/16/08 at 5:37pm

I don't care what they say. I bought my ticket last night.
If anyone cares to join me I am going to SONY LINCOLN SQUARE AT 10 AM. MAY 30TH.
The first movie open to the public. I already bought my ticket.
SEX AND THE CITY was my favorite tv show except for The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd and Murphy Brown.

Hope to see you all there.

[DAME]

Posted: 5/16/08 at 5:40pm

mateo,
Why don't you wait till you see the movie before categorizing the reviews like that?

[sweetestsiren]

Posted: 5/16/08 at 6:15pm

an articulation of a kind of post-post feminism in which conspicuous consumption and low-level self-destruction become a kind of political statement, where concerns about independence and empowerment have become so moot that something as seemingly provincial and outdated as “marrying well” has come back around as a reasonable goal for working women.

I take issue with this quote on a few different levels. I find that feminism gets itself into trouble when beginning to assert that to want traditionally "anti-feminist" things at all is counter to the goals of empowerment. Shouldn't it be about freedom to make choices, whatever they are? As neurotic as they could be, I don't think that the Sex and the City girls ultimately gravitated towards more traditional lifestyles because that's what they were expected to do. Relationships are an important part of life for most people, and the message I got was not so much "marry rich," even with the materialism, but "if it's what you want, find someone who makes you happy." The girls were, for the most part, financially and sexually independent....and in that sense, I think Sex and the City was important for a lot of people to see.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 5/16/08 at 6:20pm

this film is critic proof for me. Even the worst episode of this show made me laugh.

[Malice]

Posted: 5/16/08 at 10:50pm

I completely agree with corine and jrb, I have been stoked for this movie as soon as I found out it was being made. It is going to be beyond worth the ticket price just to see the chemistry again the actresses have in a NEW story line. Not to mention some new Chris Noth action as well. Cynthia Nixon said in some interview that she couldn't believe the screams she heard from the premiere, and how much people have missed the show. Hecks yeah!

[Corine2]

Posted: 5/16/08 at 11:05pm

I want to see Julie Halston and my pal Lynn Cohen who plays Magda.

I will do the dance of joy on May 30th. PS It takes a lot for me to go to a 10 am movie.

I'm in. I love SEX AND THE CITY! Don't forget, Nathan Lane is in it and Mario Cantone. Go, Julie Halston. Mrs Muffling.

[mc1227]

Posted: 5/18/08 at 12:08am

I didn't know Nathan Lane is in this movie? I know he did one episode of it when it was on HBO.

[thatgirl712]

Posted: 5/18/08 at 3:12am

That's true.

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 5/18/08 at 4:03pm

I think the % of critics reviewing the film are not Sex and the City fans. If I saw the movie without seeing much of the series, even if I watched the series as research, and didn't really follow these ladies all these years, I'd probably find the film flawed. It isn't trying to be the next Oscar film. This is really about the fans and giving us what we wanted. I'm so excited! Less than two weeks!

Nathan Lane and Julie Halston's characters are hysterical. I'm excited for all the cameos.