Blahniks, Broken Hearts, and Bathroom Humour?: Sex and the City on the Big Screen
They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks and this is quite true. The Sex and the City movie was nothing fresh and spectacular, but more of a return to old ways in a grander, more glamorous, two-and-a-half-hour scale. At the risk of being insulting, the film was basically a rehashing of similar venues and scenarios already explored in the series. But this formula isn’t entirely bad per se as dedicated fans will love the nostalgia and new viewers will enjoy the seemingly fresh stories. They all win. So who said old tricks were bad?
At two and a half hours, the film was a bit tiring. It was the equivalent of five episodes, a good chunk of a season that I would rather watch at home on my couch while eating bonbons. It pretty much felt like five episodes too: it didn’t flow well for a feature length film and the storylines often felt disconnected. You just sat there and waited for the end credits and the title credits for the next episode, tuned to the jazzy theme by Groove Armada–but they never came. Likewise, the narration by Carrie was sporadic and, at times, you were left wondering “What happened with Miranda?” or “Where did Charlotte go?” only to have those questions answered half an hour later.
It was ultimately nice to see the cast reunited on the big screen, though with some additions that were better left out. The child stars (a toddler-sized Brady and Lily–Charlotte’s adopted Chinese daughter) were occasionally adorable but frequently annoying. Brady fails to pick up on the tension between his parents (how dense) and Lily has a penchant for hiding other people’s cell phones and blurting out “sex” to the women’s roaring laughter. Another ill-thought addition would be Jennifer Hudson. Major casting flaw here, Tricia Wood, as I see a better performance by someone like Gabrielle Union, who–despite her experience–can pull off innocent and naive without coming off as a horrible actress…how Hudson got an Academy Award, I’ll never know…You can practically see the cue cards reflected in her awe-struck-”I’m shamelessly piggybacking on Dreamgirls‘ success”- eyes.
Hudson’s only favorable contribution would be her song (”All Dressed in Love”) on the amazing soundtrack. From the fabulous and revamped theme by the Pfeifer Broz. Orchestra to the return of Al Green accompanied by the soulful siren Joss Stone in “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?” this soundtrack has it all. The songs play on all the turbulent emotions in the film. The moving rendition of “Auld Lang Syne” by Mairi Campbell and Dave Francis touches on the sense of forgiveness and renewal and Jem touches up Carrie’s makeover with her smoky vocals in “It’s Amazing.” The hip “New York Girls” by Morningwood (insert obvious pun here) embodies runway style as the fitting Fergie’s “Labels or Love” follows suit (complete with made-up words and all…)
”
<Spoiler Alert>
Yet despite the unexpected bathroom humour with unwaxed pubes and Charlotte noisily succumbing to Montezuma’s Revenge in Mexico, the Sex and the City movie met my expectations with the same women (one reaching the hump of 50 years) graced by clever writing and talented actresses who effortlessly slip back into their roles as they would a pair of Jimmy Choos. And, of course, Sex and the City wouldn’t be complete without the sex, which at times, was rather graphic as with Samantha’s Los Angeles neighbor (and male counterpart), Dante, who surfs, fucks, and showers in slow motion. It was borderline cheesy as Hudson’s-”I came to New York to find love”-character has a “LOVE” key chain to prove it and also uses “LOVE” as her password (and here I thought passwords had to be at least eight characters and alpha- numeric). Likewise, Steve and Miranda’s reunion on the Brooklyn Bridge was a little TOO Hallmark as Steve wears this idiotic David Archuleta-esque look of enormous gratitude. In the end, I couldn’t help but wonder…is any wedding with a man named Preston (yes, Mr. Big’s name is John Preston) doomed?*
*(In Grey’s Anatomy, Dr. Preston Burke leaves Dr. Cristina Yang at the altar as Big similarly leaves Carrie).
Leave a response