Sex, the City, and Me

So along with about 14 other guys and a few hundred women (including Mrs. Bartender), I went to see Sex and the City on Saturday night. First, let me state that I had taken her to see Iron Man and Indiana Jones over the past two weeks (and for the record, she loved the former film), so she was owed a chick flick. Second, I had watched with her a lot of the series, so I didn't gripe about seeing the movie.

And for the most part, it was a decent film. First, the stars (no, not the shoes, the actresses) are quite good and make the film enjoyable. There are a number of genuinely funny moments as well as some touching ones that the actresses pull off with aplomb. And there are even a few self referential jokes that work pretty well.

The negatives. Well, start with the length--this movie does not have to exceed 2 1/4 hours, but it does. Connected to this is that three spontaneous fashion shows break out throughout the film. I don't mean, what is Carrie wearing; I mean real or pseudo fashion shows. Third, the plot is pretty simple and obvious where it is, for the most part, heading. Finally, the men are really relegated to the background in a way well beyond what, I recall, they were in the series. Indeed, they are given virtually no life of their own.

So, in sum, if you are guy, you can certainly make it through the film and even enjoy it. It's no classic, but you can make your wife/girlfriend/significant other happy and attend without true pain. And for women, I guess most of you are eating it up as it opened huge this past weekend. But what do I know.