Sex And The City: The Movie DVD Review

Picking up four years after the end of the cable series conclusion, Sex And The City: The Movie focuses on the heart of the show—the relationships between the girls, as well as the relationships between the girls and their guys.

For Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) and Mr. Big (Chris Noth), this means apartment hunting in New York City so they can cohabitate—a HUGE step for them. The penthouse they settle on comes with a hefty price tag, and Carrie questions whether or not they should be taking such a step without the rings on their fingers to make it all official. So, of course, Big proposes.

Then there’s Miranda (Cynthia Nixon), ever the workaholic, and her live-in boyfriend Steve (David Eigenberg), whom she hasn’t been showing any affection to in quite a while (hey—she’s busy!). Although they’ve been through a lot, and have the baby, Brady, to prove it, Steve strays and then admits it to Miranda, who handles things in her black-and-white way, throwing him out.

Meanwhile, things seem pretty rosy for the ever-perky Charlotte (Kristin Davis) and her husband, Harry (Evan Handler), who are happily married and have an adopted daughter that they adore.

Lastly, Samantha (Kim Cattral) is living with her boyfriend, Smith (Jason Lewis), in California, which means she’s flying back and forth from New York City to Los Angeles, juggling work and pleasure. And although she’s been monogamous, the novelty is wearing thin for her and she’s reconsidering the while relationship.

While Carrie’s wedding plans move forward, each friend is trying to deal with her own life crisis, all without raining on the wedding plan parade. Things come to a head when Steve crashes the rehearsal dinner, and in a moment of anger, Miranda says something to Big that causes him to hurt Carrie seemingly irreparably.

While Sex And The City: The Movie doesn’t provide flashbacks (other than brief clips through the opening credits montage), there’s enough character development and back story for the film to stand on its own two feet, so that those who have never watched the cable television show can still keep up.

The film is presented in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio, with audio in Dolby Digital 5.1. There are no optional foreign language tracks and the only subtitles are provided in Spanish. Extras include the standard commentary with director Michael Patrick King (also the writer/director/executive producer of the cable television show), but as it’s just him, there’s lots of quiet time.

Featurettes include “A Conversation with Sarah Jessica Parker and Michael Patrick King,” which is chit chat about the film with two of its biggest catalysts. In “The Fabulous Fashion of Sex and the City,” there’s behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with cast and crew regarding yet another character in the film—the wardrobe. “Additional Scenes with Commentary by Director Michael Patrick King,” shows extra footage that was cut, and why it was. Lastly, “Fergie in the Studio,” provides a brief background on Fergie’s creation of the theme for the film.

Sex And The City is rated R for “strong sexual content, graphic nudity and language.” It’s also an enjoyable, albeit slightly watered down romp akin to the cable show, and both Sex And The City fans and newcomers should have fun with it.

I give it 3 out of 5 stars.