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Sex and the City
(by Max's View - June 11, 2008)
After a month with nothing but superhero movies and second rate sequels, I was beginning to think that I had become a curmudgeon. I’ve been feeling like Andy Rooney: a cantankerous crank who dislikes everything new.
Thank goodness for “Sex and the City.” Not only was it a great relief to watch a non-action movie, but the film is much better than I had expected.
I saw a few episodes of the program when it was on HBO and didn’t care for it one bit. I couldn’t comprehend the obsession with name brand purses and shoes, and I found the women insufferably shallow.
Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) seemed as dense and emotionally stunted as Jerry Seinfeld. Only we were supposed to root for her instead of laugh at her.
Fortunately, I liked the film a whole lot better than the show!
It begins with all four women struggling to make their relationships work. Carrie is trying to find a suitable living arrangement with her boyfriend Mr. Big in Manhattan, Miranda is trying to keep her love life alive in Brooklyn, and Samantha is trying to resist temptation in LA. Charlotte, meanwhile, has the perfect marriage and is afraid that a letdown is inevitable.
“Sex and the City” is definitely better than the average cookie-cutter chick flick.
I like that all four women are involved in long term relationships when the film begins. I’m sick to death of the lonely-single-girl-meets-the-man-of-her-dreams-and-lives-happily-ever-after formula. Fairy tale love affairs don’t interest me. Relationships do.
I appreciate that the problems the couples encounter in “Sex and the City” are genuine relationship issues as opposed to contrived misunderstandings. The pitfalls that threaten Carrie and Big’s marriage plans are particularly believable.
While bad love stories conclude with the blissful couple getting together, “Sex and the City” shows that a life partnership requires work and flexibility. A good spouse always needs to pay attention to her partner’s feelings and make sure that there is an open line of communication.
While bad chick flicks offer fairy tale fantasies, “Sex and the City” provides mature, honest advice.
Unfortunately, the film gets a little sappy near the end as the filmmakers struggle to find a suitable conclusion to all of the story lines.
I also think it was a bad decision to introduce a new character, Carrie’s dutiful assistant Louise (played by “Dreamgirls”’ Jennifer Hudson). All she does is take screen time away from the ladies that we care about. Who needs five major characters, anyway? What is this, a Robert Altman film?
That being said, “Sex and the City” is still much better than the average chick flick and infinitely superior to all of the big budget trash that is littering theaters right now.
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