Sex & The City: The Movie
[ 5 June 2008 ]
Alright, lovelies. Time for the inevitable discussion.
Sex & The City: The Movie. What did you think? Raging success? Flaming disappointment? Did you laugh? Cry? Cringe? Walk out dazed, wondering where the hell those two & a half hours went? Did you swoon over the shoes & belts? Did the product placement make you grit your teeth? Discuss.
(My opinion is in the comments — so don’t click unless you’re open to spoilers!)
Love letters & feather headdresses,
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Okay, here’s what I thought. Brace yourselves. (You know that I rarely if ever complain about things on here, so you can tell that I take this pretty seriously! Sad but true!)
I was really disappointed by the movie, & that is a big deal coming from me, since I have been looking forward to it since the first tentative announcements that they might put one out. SJP did a lot of press saying that it was “a movie for the fans” — & it felt like that. Like they were trying to appease us, & like it wasn’t really something they were into. I felt a lack of passion, & to me that was incredibly sad.
The product placement really bothered me, I thought it was totally shameless — especially the mention of the bag rental company whose name I will now not utter on general principle! I honestly watched that scene with my mouth open. I know that these days, product placement is just a part of life, but it really rubbed me the wrong way. I felt that they were disrespecting the audience by expecting us to be so stupid that we’d just sit there & take that.
I think the degradation of the personal relationships between the actors was very evident on screen. Those of you who are die-hard fans might remember the scene at the start of ‘Escape From New York’ in Season 3. Carrie & Charlotte are in the coffee shop, & as Carrie bids Charlotte goodbye, she presses her hand over Charlotte’s face. That sounds weird but when you watch it, you can see the affection — it’s real & genuine. In terms of the relationships between the women — which, let’s face it, SATC was actually about — the movie doesn’t even come close to that. Obviously if you’re all apart for years working on different projects, your friendships are going to fall apart a bit, but I don’t know. It made me sad. Sue me for buying into the fantasy that grown women can actually be close friends for a long time!
I was also really surprised by everyone in the audience clapping & cheering. You all know I am open, positive, receptive to new things… but I was shocked by how everyone else seemed to lap it up. I found the whole thing kind of insulting, to be honest.
I really did walk out of the theatre stunned & kind of confused. It’s not that I wasted $11.65 or two & a half hours. I think I feel more like my emotional investment from the past few years just got stomped on. SATC the show was hilarious, clever, touching & charming. SATC the movie was like the boulevard of broken dreams. I didn’t have any love for the characters — it was like someone had drawn a chalk outline around a body on the sidewalk & then covered it in clothes.
On that subject: Pat Field did an amazing job. I loooooooved the styling. It was incredible. But it upstaged everything else that went on.
Oh, & the fact that two of the major jokes revolved around toilet humour & weight gain? ...Yeah. Let’s not go there.
I’m thankful that I have the DVDs. I’ve been re-watching them & loving them. I really do regard the movie as just some abstract daydream. That movie is not what I pictured for my heroine, Carrie Bradshaw, & I’m happier imagining her life in my own head.
Now it’s your turn! I know that a lot of you really loved it, so I’d like to hear your thoughts!
You’re totally right about the degradation of their friendships, and for the past few years, I’ve always thought this was the route Carrie would never go down – but all the clapping and laughing in the theater (on my part at least!) was appreciating the movie just as some abstract daydream. There is humor, there is utterly rampant shameless product placement to show the audience that they could not have afforded the film production any other way, and there was a lot of fabulous style to gape at. The way some people online talked about the movie, though… you would’ve thought that it was a late-night comedy skit making fun of the original show! So I was partially relieved.
Oh, I felt like the individual characters themselves were way out of wack, too. One line says it all: “I always knew Carrie would marry Big” (Charlotte). My face falls flat every time I hear it.
I did almost cry at the scene where Carrie checks her e-mail. It was mostly just watching her emotions go through her face, and I think the women around me were giggling, so all was not lost in the world of fans lapping up the shouldn’t-be-canon movie!
I was disappointed as well, but for different reasons. I did not like that Carrie took Big back after he utterly embarrased her by not showing up to marry her. My girlfriends and I all had discussions about the movie afterwards and I was the only one who had a problem with this.
Also my favorite relationship throughout the entire run of the show was Miranda and Steve and to have Steve cheat on Miranda was just pointless to me – marriage is already a dying ritual but geez give me hope (even if in movie form).
Other than that I loved how the women looked in the movie. The syle was so beautiful and amazing. I have always thought Samantha to be the prettiest and she looked fabulous (as did all the girls).
The movie did make me laugh and cry (which showed how much of an obsessed fan I was) and I just became a fan as of this year. On a whim I bought the entire collectors edition which contains every season, trivia, etc and I watched it every day for two months and fell in love with the show. I will buy the movie when it comes out.
Product placement – grrrrr… that pisses me off too..
Do you think the all the hype could’ve influenced your opinion..? I find that happens to me; sometimes the hype is better than the real thing!
I haven’t watch it yet, but now I don’t know if I want to..
Gala,
Your point of view is very interesting, and I agree with you quite a bit. Particularly, about the product placement – it was unnecessary and annoying, quite frankly.
Perhaps it didn’t feel like our girls because of the angle shots they took? Or the lines they read? Or how they read it?
I felt that not all the actors and actresses were at there best. I didn’t like that Carrie’s assistant was suddenly thrown in the mix. It was confusing, and the storyline didn’t go much of anywhere. It was like she was there & then she was gone – and I was left scratching my head. I did think Samantha was at her best, though. Wow – she was hysterical.
On the one hand, I thought Steve (David Eigenberg) was completely understated. I actually had the chance to meet him on the street (the evening of the premiere, here, in New York). He was walking his dogs – we spoke a bit & he signed an autograph for me. He was incredibly sweet – and if I would have known then that his character was going to be so incredible in the movie, I would have said so.
The first 3/4 of the movie felt like a ride … and the last 1/4 felt like a free fall into what the producers thought the audience would like to happen. That bugged me a bit – and I wish the end would have been a bit more developed, even if it did have the same ending, it was all so sudden.
The movie amused me. Although there were some crummy parts – I enjoyed it. It gave me some closure to the show – even if it was a bit absurd at times – I am happy I went.
I didn’t think about it too much before I saw it, so I went in with no expectations at all to be honest!
Obviously, I enjoyed all the fabulous clothes & styling & oh god, that closet. Now that you mention about product placement, I guess it was quite prominent, but that’s completely what I expect of SATC and when I think of NYC, I think designers/labels/products. asos.com have this ridiculous SATC wardrobe creation, where you can pick an outfit of Carrie’s from the movie & get your very own rip-off. Ugh. I completely disagree with that & it annoys me to high hell!
I agree with the other poster who thought Steve cheating on Miranda was pointless. I guess if that hadn’t happened, her character wouldn’t have had much of a storyline, but to me, Steve just wasn’t that kind of man! It felt a bit like they just thought of it at the last minute.
I was so happy that Charlotte fell pregnant! (I’m really getting into this. Must remember that she is not real.) That was an amazing idea from the writers there. Not such a good idea, was Samantha splitting from Smith! I know she had to come back from Hollywood, but they should’ve written it in to the storyline somehow, that he came back with her. It was such an amicable split. Very odd.
Carrie is such a strong character, that I thought it would have taken more for her to take Big back, but apparently not! The scene where she’s smashing the flowers over him & screaming, was actually really believable in my eyes.
For me, the movie had a nice balance of humour & emotion & moved quite well from TV to the big screen. Some people complained that it moved too fast, but in 2 & a half hours, it kind of has to! I’m not completely mad about it, but it didn’t disappoint me either. No doubt I’ll buy it when it comes out, just as a keep-sake!
Aimee Marie
www.aimeemarie.com
www.missaimeemarie.blogspot.co…
Ivy — Definitely the hype blew it up way too much. No movie could ever live up to that much hype. & I think that if you’re a fan you should go, just for curiousity’s sake, but honestly if I wasn’t a fan I would have been like, ‘What is this rubbish?!’
Cassaundra — I think the script was, uh, not good. Not punchy at all. The show is so much funnier & the dialogue so much more believable! A lot of it seemed like a rush job.
Aimee Marie — I was happy for Charlotte too. (Seriously, to me, they are real people!) But argh! So many disappointments :\
Another thing that bothered me about it is that I feel like it gives the people who disliked the TV series even more fuel. Those people who say, “Oh they’re just shallow & bitter & one-dimensional” — I think they actually have a point when it comes to this movie. The women were shallow & bitter & one-dimensional! That is so frustrating to me!
To be fair, I did laugh, I did cry. Just not as much as I expected. I think what I was connecting to was my memory of the characters, not what was actually going on in front of me. They just weren’t very likeable!
I have to chime in and agree with everyone- I was disappointed. It was cute I guess? But it wasn’t my SATC. Remember the good ol’ days when they used to avoid even getting ads in their shots so as to keep the integrity and not date the show? Yup, all out window. I just remember the movie ending and thinking to myself, “I’m just going to pretend the actual show’s finale was the real ending and this didn’t happen.” Eh heh! I mean, I didn’t hate it. It’s been good to talk about the show again. There were some laughable moments. And I did love the clothes! Pat Field to the rescue! So if nothing else, there were the belts and shoes. But otherwise, it just felt like a caricature of itself to me.
first impression… it was too long! there seemed to be a lot of false endings, at least two or three for me. it felt like a bunch of episodes stringed together instead of one long movie, and i felt like the girls’ story lines were really separate. i guess they usually are in the show anyway, but it felt weird to me in the movie. i thought carrie and big’s story was surprising yet predictable at the same time!
i totally agree with cassaundra — jennifer hudson’s character felt like a blip. there she is, now she’s gone, and everything is the same. she supposedly brought carrie “back to life” but overall i felt like her character was unnecessary to the movie, which was disappointing because i was looking forward to seeing her in something other than dreamgirls.
i loved charlotte in the movie, especially her scenes with big. and don’t get me started on her daughter! cutest. kid. ever.
i thought samantha and smith’s exaggerated los angeles cheesiness was pretty funny. the matching robes and champagne by the fire on new years eve? the sushi? hilarious! the break up was weird though. i understand that samantha left him because she was losing her sense of self, and i admire her for looking out for herself like that, but after being together for five years, smith kind of had a nonreaction. he was just like “okay, whatever”. and she left him, just like that. no emotions!
overall, i’d say that i liked it a lot, but it didn’t blow my mind or anything. i consider myself more of a casual fan of the show, so i didn’t go into it with very high expectations. i was more excited for the event itself. just being there in the midst of all that energy was exciting and fun for me!
ps. fun as it was, the movie doesn’t hold a candle to the series finale!
Ugh, I totally agree with Fallon! Maybe I should forward this by saying I have never really liked, eep, Carrie and Big. In fact, I hate Big and I hate how Carrie acts around him. Maybe it stems from me being a Charlotte fan, with a keen interest in Samantha, but I just never quite warmed to Carrie’s co-dependent, self-destructing relationship with Big. I started watching the show when I was really young and never got into it because I found Carrie to be so pathetic. As I got older, I ended up watching it on dvd and really loving the show, if only because I appreciated how the women interacted.
I wasn’t disappointed in general with the movie. I didn’t really notice/care about the product placement, because, to me, that was always a huge part of the show. (She dragged Burger to Prada, showed off her Manolos in every episode, died over Dior…this show was never trying to hide it’s love of brands!) and I thought, contrary to reviewers, that the thing was not too long or mundane.
My issues, broken down by woman:
Samantha: Who the @#!& dressed her?!? She’s fifty, not a time transplant from 1985 Wallstreet. Samantha is hot, she’s cool, and a smart gal. She would not be wearing such filth. Also, I was really saddened by the way they broke her and Smith apart. They messed up with who he was, I think, and I didn’t want Samantha to ‘get fat’. What was up with that? I guess people change, but it annoyed me that the writers changed who I thought Smith was.
Carrie: What an insane disappointment. Half of me thinks, well, she and he deserve each other. She isn’t very nice to other men and she lets Big treat her like crap and has since day one, so she gets what she deserves. The other half of me thinks, but isn’t Carrie supposed to be promising me that I will be smarter when i hit 40? Guess not.
Charlotte: I love her and it’s hard for her to go wrong in my mind. But I think she was so underdeveloped, so under played in this movie it made me sick. She like, had no problems, Harry and her relationship wasn’t explored. They just decided that she did get the happily ever after and that was that. I think her marriage should have had something. And okay, her kid was cute and EVERYWHERE, but I ever saw her interact with her without an audience. And where are Harry’s family? Ugh…I wanted to see so much more, since she is my FAVE.
Miranda: Okay, I was less upset about Miranda. She had a lot of air time and I liked her struggles with Steve. It was the only part of the movie that felt real and made me tear up at the end. I liked how she got involved with carrie and big, but I wish she had screamed something like “he’s a asshat! Get out while you can!” Also, apparently they got her and Samantha’s wardrobe mixed up or something because Miranda looked kinda skanky for a mom. And def. not looking as good as she could. I love a red-head, but I never felt like they dressed her like they should have, to really make her pop.
Oh well, it wasn’t too bad and I didn’t spend any money, as my boyfriend paid for my ticket and popcorn. Not a waste at all!
I actually read the entire plot on jezebel before going to see the movie, so that I could concentrate on the fashion! Despite this, I left the movie totally depressed. So many horrible, heart wrenching things happened to the girls. Everyone in the theater laughed when Charlotte yelled at Big after Carrie smashed his flowers over her head, but I thought that was a really touching part of the movie, that probably made me cry the most.
I found some of the product placement pretty annoying. I am actually less inclined to visit bag borrow or steal after hearing it mentioned five times in the movie.
I thought that the throwing paint on Samantha’s fur coat was pretty pointless. It was such a minor event that it seems horrible that they ruined four fur coats to make it. They should have used faux. At least they donated them to PETA after.
I did love the shoes! So fabulous!
When I first came out of the cinema I was overjoyed with the film but the more I’ve thought about the more things I noticed that annoyed me.
2 things you picked up on that I did too:
>The product placement, not only for the bags swapping! Okay we expect to see designer labels, Blahnik, Vuitton etc… but it really jarred!
>Charlotte’s little accident. OH MY GOD. Waaaay too Beavis & Butthead!
And even though it was over 2 hours long it felt rushed. Like they’d tried to squeeze a whole series into 155minutes. As a result, certain themes/devices were underdeveloped. Like, why are Anthony and Stanford friends now? Who was it that Steve slept with? Oh any why is Miranda’s new apartment so pokey and small and in a dodgy area when, before she met Steve, she had a gorgeous apartment!! And why is Smith now a jerk? He was adorable and caring and sweet before!
Little things, but they wouldn’t have happened in the show.
But regardless of the above, it was funny and entertaining even if it didn’t live up to the show. I think I loved it so much initially because I wanted to love it so much! And it was lovely to see where they all are a few years down the line.
danielle — I have always liked Big, I think because he seemed real: he was charming & sexy & very very flawed. I loved that about him. But in the movie he was like a cardboard cut-out…
Chic & Charming — I actually met the guy who made those fur coats at the Pat Field party. It was so weird, I was polite to him but didn’t really know what to say because all I could think was, ‘What you do is so abhorrent!’
Okay, to balance out all the grizzling, I loooooved…
+ The shoes (Carrie’s Givenchy heels, OH MY)
+ Carrie’s belt (in fact, Patricia Field is making them & will be selling them in her boutique soon!)
+ Watching Carrie clean out her closet (very cool)
+ Um, okay, basically everything about the clothing
+ The fact that Carrie had graduated to writing books — that seemed very cool & natural to me
+ The fact that Carrie’s cellphone had tape holding it together — that also seemed very natural & real
+ Stanford Stanford Stanford !
+ Charlotte’s girl’s names
+ The fact that so many people went to the cinema dressed up
+ Lots more, actually! I think I just wanted to express my feelings! Forgive me!
I thought the styling was amazing! Most of the things I didn’t like have already been discussed here. One thing I liked about the movie was how they touched on the whole idea of letting a wedding get bigger than the two people involved. Contrary to all the bridal shows going crazy and spending way too much because of traditional expectations and becoming a different person isn’t what it should be like. I’ve had a couple of my girlfriends get married and while the ceremony is beautiful it’s not really their personality at all, it’s more like what is expected of them. That is disappointing because they are creative individuals and then that day comes and it could be anyone in that dress.
I have to say that, despite some crummy bits (Charlotte’s “accident” and, yes, product placement again) I really really enjoyed this movie. I might just be really easily pleased and over emotional but I cried lots, lusted on shoes and generally came out feeling really happy and even wanting to watch it again! But I’ve never been much of a critic.
I now really want to get married in a library too…
I thought the movie was really fucking cheesy!! Like Miranda and Steve smiling and running towards each other on the bridge. HAHA! But there were some great parts too. I have to disagree about the friendship thing though, after the non-wedding when they went to Mexico and Carrie was sleeping for days and the girls would come in and try to get her to eat. That part was so real to me. If you’ve ever been in a horrible breakup and your girlfriends were by your side you can probably relate.
Also Miranda’s bush. OUTTA CONTROL!
Gala, you made the point about the relationships being lacking… the most recent Marie Claire had an article about SATC, the movie, the characters and the show, and I can’t tell you how depressing I found it. The whole tone fo the article, and the interviews, was so… well, mercenary isn’t the right word, but there was very little emotional investment. They talked about how they made decisions about the characters based on what would sell, etc. While I never believed the whole thing was smiles and cupcakes for the sake of smiles and cupcakes, that article really did a lot to burst my bubble about how the whole thing was put together.
As for the movie – there were bits I loved (the girls coming together around Carrie after Big stood her up) and bits I loathed (the wedding dress scene, which felt more like a bridal store ad than an actually fantastic moment). I have to admit, the movie left me emotionally cold, if full of admiration for the styling. I could have done with more the little moments with/between the gals (Charlotte and her daughter – wasn’t that scene with “coloring” fabulous?, the New Year’s eve with Carrie and Miranda) – that’s what really shined for me in the series, and what I missed most about the movie.
I guess I’ll be the first to disagree. I really enjoyed the movie, it’s as simple as that. I’m a longtime fan of the show, I own the series and I watch at least an episode a week. And to me, the movie quenched my thirst for more SATC.
I thought it was really funny, really true to life and most of all, it made me feel good. It managed to take me out of a miserable mood, if only for the night. It really was just what I needed.
And maybe I’m horribly uncouth, but I thought Charlotte’s moment in Mexico was hysterical. For something like that to happen to Charlotte of all people?! I had a good time giggling about that.
So anyway, I loved it.
The movie was a fun thing to go see, but as a hardcore fan I was disappointed. There were a few scenes where the girls seemed like they did in series, like the closet scene, but overall I think the movie was rather depressing. I laughed and cried, but it was hard to enjoy it when Carrie was so distraught. Still, that seemed like a real reaction to me, and it was great to dress up with my mom and best friend and chow down on some popcorn!
p.s. Carrie’s giant closet in that amazing apartment was fabulous.
I think the most simple way of describing the movie to me is eating raw sugar. You would think it’s good until you actually try it.
I really liked the series and I think that the dynamic between the characters and the level of writing involved really drew in a lot of people.
As for the movie it’s as if they stripped away the good things that gave the series a unique edge and left us with just pure sugar. I couldn’t really feel the movie as much as I could the series.
In the end it was as if I was watching magazine adverts come alive for two hours with the occasional hint that this was indeed a SATC based film.
I did like it, but I totally agree with you about the jokes and product placement…product placement bothers me so much and I don’t see how other people aren’t bothered by it…it’s gross. I did think it was funny, however, that Carrie finally got a legitimate Mac :) The movie was good, but no milestone, by any means.
Oh, btw, there’s going to be a sequel.
i actually thought the movie was very similar to the series- even the tv show had very cheesy moments-
i wasnt a big fan of the humping dog in several scenes or charlotte’s accident- but i honestly thought the movie was going to completely slaughter my love for SATC (i guess i had really low expectations)
i totally teared up when carrie was hitting big with the bouquet- and honestly when miranda tells carrie about what she told big (i have had several incidents in my life in which people have hid things for a long time from me then decide to tell me way later- or i find out from someone else so this hit close to home)
i actually really liked the fact that miranda initially stayed true to her character and rejected steve outright and stubbornly would not even try to stay with him at first-
but the fact that both miranda and carrie end up with the people who betrayed them does not surprise me-
real life does not follow logic when it comes to matters of love-
honestly, i loved the movie. cheesy- absolutely. but insulting? there are ALWAYS labels mentioned- which ended up being a weekly commercial for manolo blahnik.
the only thing that was disappointing was charlotte’s storyline.
plus i agree with the so WRONGNESS of her saying “i always knew you would marry big” bla bla
i feel like the SATC movie was more realistic about relationships than any other romantic comedy i have ever seen. that should count for something!
There were definitely faults, but I walked out feeling warmed and entertained. I don’t think they could have produced a masterpiece, the aim was basically to please and it seems they did!
Maybe you went in with a critical mind? Did you laugh or cry? I felt it was weird because rather than sitting in your pjs watching box sets with ice cream and messy hair, the big screen shots were super clear and you could tell each line and camera angle was so thought over. It wasn’t natural. But I did enjoy watching it. I’m glad you included the things you liked in the end, I loved the wardrobe scene when they brought out the dress from the opening credits! Also, where was the Samantha sex? She didn’t even get with the guy in the end, just lusted after him, which so isn’t Samantha! I thought that would have closed her story better.
I do seriously applaude how they played out Carrie’s heartbreak, from the way she hit Big with the flowers, to her face in the mirror in Mexico. Toilet humour though- sooo not classy!
Hi Gala! I really wanted to join you on Friday but couldn’t get the tickets in time. I finally went to see SATC yesterday with my friends. Here’s a picture of the 4 us (people could totally tell which movie we were there to see, haha!). I’m the one in the polka dot dress.
i6.photobucket.com/albums/y239…
Like you, I’m a huge SATC fanatic and was looking forward to the movie. And let me tell you, for the 2.5 hours, I was in sheer heaven, twitching in fashion-induced ecstasy, haha! I did notice the product placement but didn’t let it spoil my pleasure for a minute. ;)
My only disappointment was that none of my gay friends could join us – that would’ve been the ultimate SATC experience! – and that my girlfriends didn’t get dolled up as much as I’d wanted them to, seeing that they were coming directly from work. Lucky for me I work from home (I’m a recording artist)!
I’m a long-time fan of your blog and would love to hang out with you one day. If you ever need a fashionista shopping buddy to show you all the secret NYC spots, gimme a shout. :)
xo
Doe
Honestly. I loved the movie. I thought it was great! I cried so much and it also made me happy. I don’t know…sure, there was some product placement, but they always had that in that show (“I lost my Choo!” “Give me your Manolos!”)
I think it ended all very well. The only thing I didn’t like was what they did with Samantha and Smith. The Smith I know wouldn’t have acted the way he did. He would have cared that Samantha spent all day with sushi all over her. In fact, she would have never had to wait for him, because he would have been there on time. I just couldn’t believe that Smith would ever act that way. He adored her!
Gala, I SO agree with you on the potty humor/fat jokes! I was so disappointed by that. It just felt so … wrong, you know? Ah well.
At least the Vivienne Westwood gown was HEAVEN.
It was weird. I went the biggest SATC fan and came home the least. All my friends found the movie funny but I didn’t think it was enough.
Considering they had two hours they didn’t get into many stories like they do in the show. Where was Samantha? I missed her in the film, she was barely there or in LA.
The outfits were to die for! (I’m waiting for the belt to come back in stock on ASOS, they have a cheap remake). I loved the Vivienne Westwood Gown and the Eiffel Tower bag and everything clothes wise.
I would have loved it if they didn’t just go around solving problems with money, that’s how I found some of it especially with the product placement.
I laughed but never liked I did at the series, it just wasn’t the same…
P.S I agree with Trisha, what happened with Smith?
Gala~
Women CAN be friends over many years. My group of girlfriends are wonderful and have been for a decade…but one of them I’ve known since 3rd grade and went to slumber parties with years ago and she is the reason I have the other 2 girlfriends….she is our Carrie and brought us all together. There are 4 of us and we all lean on one another for support in different ways but are always there with hugs, tears, love and friendship. Our significant others know that they are first but the girls are a VERY close 2nd. (See: www.flickr.com/photos/flutterb…)
SATC reminds me of us and our dynamics and that is why I have always followed and connected with the show….although the fashion has ALWAYS been a close second! I see the faults that everyone else did but the good out weighed the bad and in the end it reminded me to give my girls a squeeze and love that I have such a special friendship.
Yup, I really liked it, but mostly because I turned off my critical mind when I went in (which is actually somewhat rare for me). I wanted a good time, I wanted to see the girls again, and I wanted some eye candy. I got all that and more.
And actually the product placement didn’t bother me. I think I’m the only person in the world who usually doesn’t notice that. I mean, if someone was like, “I rented a bag”, I would ask, “Really, how?” and then the company name would be said. So to me, it’s actually how people talk…but I definitely do see how it could bother you.
The only thing I found odd was the label OBSESSION. I mean, the show always had labels (Manolo Blahniks, esp), but I felt like in the movie it was out of control, especially in the scene when Carrie’s trying on all the wedding dresses. I felt like I was watching some crazy sort of label worship thing. It was odd.
I loved the New Year’s scene. That version of Auld Lang Syne is gorgeous, and the whole scene was just so sad.
ANNNND, Jennifer Hudson wears a blue/green dress under a black belted coat at one part…I HAVE THAT DRESS! They sold it at Forever 21 last summer. I was kind of excited. It’ll probably be the only time I see any of my clothes on Sex and the City. :)
I totally agree! I had to see it as a matter of principle, but I had a gut feeling that I wasn’t going to like it. I was right, sadly. It was like “Sex and the City Lite,” fluffy, pretty and empty. Toilet humour, really? What happened to the wit? A big disappointment.
The product placement super-bothered me, too…the friend I went with hasn’t been exposed to the show very much and I keep having to tell him ‘It is NOT that bad in the show, I SWEAR.’
That was my overall reaction, really. I am worried that people who see this movie without having seen the show will never watch the show, based on how different the movie is. And they will miss so much!
I also bawled my eyes out at the bouquet smashing scene, especially Charlotte. The way she screamed at Big and then waddled ridiculously away in her gown – that sums up her character for me. She has so many deep feelings and strength and whatnot, but stupid people don’t see it because they only see her squealing or talking about happily ever after with that dreamy look. I love her soooo much, I wanted to hug her to pieces.
Also agree with Smith changing. WTF happened to him? Were we supposed to deduce that LA and stardom turned him into a dick? He was so great in the show!!! Argh!
I was angry at the stomach-pooch joke, too. The camera zoomed in on her stomach and I was like, ‘Okay, that’s a stomach.’ Then everyone started freaking out about the supposed ‘gut’ and I just didn’t understand. It looked like a perfectly good 50-year-old stomach to me. Hell, it looked like a good 30-year-old stomach. I guess it was out of place on Samantha, who’s so image-conscious, but I’ve never been that way so I was chafed.
I didn’t mind the poop joke, because honestly I like poop jokes. I think it really would take something that ridiculous to bring someone out of a funk like Carrie’s.
I liked that Stanford and Anthony are friends. It was one thing they could have done badly but didn’t – “stick the gay people together because they’re GAY!” They’re friends. Rather grudging friends, really. I think they just realized that if they are friends with the girls they are going to be together for a long time, so they might as well try to get along.
Moment that got the biggest squeal of glee from me: when Carrie came out of her closet wearing the pink dress she wore in the opening credits of the show :) It was ever so nostalgic.
Mostly, I actually loved it. However, there were things that bothered me:
- Miranda suddenly turning into a bitch; then miraculously transforming back to a normal person again towards the end… she was always my favourite in the show and I felt the portrayal the scriptwriters gave her was unfair (e.g: “I can’t go to Mexico! I have a job!” — series Miranda would SO have said “I have a child,” too!!) And the idea that Steve would cheat on her like that, just out of the blue? It didn’t ring true with me.
— Carrie did actually marry Big. Someone higher up this thread said they didn’t like that, and I didn’t either. Carrie was never the kind of woman to suffer fools gladly. I felt it showed a weakness in her character that was never there before – I would have much prefered her to forgive him and then have them go their separate ways. But then I’m one of those annoying people who thinks she should’ve stuck with Aidan all along, so…
— The weight gain thing really, really annoyed and rather insulted me (ps. I am not overweight!). Talk about alienating heaps of the women watching?!
— Product placement, definitely. The show was always about dropping clothes-label names, but there were Apple macs, branded trucks, unrelated company names everywhere.
— The fucking cushion-humping dog!! Am I the only one who was irritated by that? It seemed like a mick-take of Samantha’s character and it was a really tasteless one at that!
— Samantha breaking up with Smith. That relationship was so touchingly drawn towards the series finale and I was sad to see it collapse for, what I thought were, crap reasons!!!
However, I liked that it was ‘for the fans.’ I liked the fact that I could go “oh yeah, I saw the episode where that first came in.” I liked the fact that the whole audience was with me on that… when Carrie threw her iconic pink cellphone into the sea, a huge gasp went up- similarly when she dyed her hair brown! & the series-title-credits outfit in the trying-on-outfits scene was a lovely touch. Just things like that made me happy. I was glad that they hadn’t used the show as a premise to make a blockbuster that would appeal to everyone, even people who hadn’t seen the show – it sounds mean, but I liked the fact that non-series-watchers would have gone “what?!” at some parts!! Plus, heaps of people dressed up beautifully to see the movie – and dressing up to the cinema only usually happens with geeks and scifi movies! – and we weren’t disappointed on the clothes front!
Best bits: – The maxi dresses they wore when eating in the hotel restaurant. Carrie’s was amazing. – Carrie’s long tie-dye dress. WHERE CAN I GET THAT?! – Charlotte’s grey pinafore, when she announces to Carrie that she’s pregnant. – Brady. SO CUTE. SO, SO CUTE. – Charlotte’s delivery of her “I curse the day you were born!” line. – Samantha feeding Carrie porridge. I thought that was such a touching moment. – The soundtrack. I even liked that weird Fergie remix of the title music in a way. – Lily and Rose… I agree, Gala! Lovely, and very Charlotte. – Jennifer Hudson; she’s a sweetie. – Miranda’s blue bridesmaid’s dress. Miranda seemed to always get slightly dull outfits (in the series, but sometimes in the movie too)... this made up for it.
OK, all of it. Rocking the boat here, but — I mostly loved it, like, 85 – 90% loved it. Not counting the product placement. Apart from that, they really did a decent job, I think!
& SJP’s acting was really fantastic.
I don’t really have much to say that hasn’t been said already but I just wanted to comment on what you wrote about people dressing up for the movie.
I work at the Angelika in Houston and ever since SATC opened our customers seem to have gotten a lot more…fabulous.
Women who would usually just wear sweats now come in cocktail dresses and as close as they can get to Christian Louboutin heels (even if they can’t always walk in them…)
It’s really interesting to see the difference between the women going to see other movies and those seeing SATC and it makes me feel a bit shlumpy in my black uniform.
Oh! One last thing that bothered me…
Lily! I’m sorry, but I sort of have a thing against kids in movies anyway. If they’re good, they’re great…but if they’re bad…oh man. And she was bad. What 3 year old is perfectly content to sit still ALL the time, hardly utter a word, and color while having four grown women gossip around her. None I know. That really, really bothered me.
And one more thing about the product placement, the more I think about it, the more I think it was part of the show. It was just spread out so not as many people noticed it.
The Birkin episode
The episode where Carrie’s computer “Sad-Macs” (actually the whole series could be an Apple commercial…but that’s ok with me as I sit here typing on my bed on my little white ibook. :) )
The Jackrabbit
Smith being the ABSOLUT hunk (That’s a huuuuge one)
There are tons more, including all those restaurants and bars and cupcake shops…
I just googled this, and a NY Mag article came up. They were in the movie a lot, so the reporter asked the company if they had paid. No, the magazine hadn’t. The set designers used it since people in NY actually use the paper a lot. It’s to make the movie more realistic.
So yes, again the product placement didn’t bug me (I didn’t even think about it until now), and I can still see how it would get under your skin…but it’s been in the show the whole time! And no matter what, in general I’d rather have characters drink from a Pepsi bottle on a tv show rather than some made up brand. I live in a world with Pepsi, and it makes more sense for characters to live in that world too.
I liked the movie as a whole, but the over the top labels left a bad taste in my mouth… As people mentioned labels were always a part of the series, but the movie just had way too much emphasis on it.
I actually liked the end of the movie better than the end of the series – I was quite disappointed when everyone was in a happy relationship at the end of the series. I much preferred Samantha being single at the end of the movie.
Okay, so there are probably a lot of SATC fans here but I’m going to just dive right in as someone who knows nothing of the show! I had no intention of seeing the film because I’ve never seen any of the series and I prefer to see things from the beginning to the end.
From my perspective, the film wasn’t memorable. The characters didn’t seem like a group of friends and from the comments here, I grasp that, in the series, they seemed closer. The styling was good but I agree that the product placement was a little aggressive. I thought the fur/paint escapade was a little bit silly but not because they essentially ruined some fur coats, but because it seemed to portray the anti-fur campaigners as less fashionable/a little beneath the SATC women. I dunno, I guess I just like to be able to think that we don’t have to wear fur to be fashionable!
The humour was lacking slightly I felt, there were one or two funny quips but it could definitely have been more amusing. Some parts were blindly obvious (like the password for the emails being ‘love’) which I didn’t like but clearly, I have no comparator! Overall, I didn’t think it needed to be as long as it was and I came out thinking ‘where did my afternoon go?’, which is not what you want to be thinking after a film! I would probably say, as someone who hasn’t seen the series, that the film actually puts me off somewhat. I guess because they came off as shallow & not very friendly. I know it was a film for the fans, but I think the biggest shame is that it wasn’t able to persuade people to become fans.
thanks gala for this post!!I have loads of things to say!!I was disappointed by:
-mostly lame humour (the charlotte ‘accident’!)
-the dialogues which were not even half as intelligent and witty as the ones in the series
-above all: carrie took back big!ok, call me cynical and negative (my girlfriends actually did!like Fallon Hester, I seemed to be the only one in my group to have a problem with this), but one of the reasons why I loved SATC is that the bottom line seemed to be how you could be as wonderful as carrie breadshaw even when the most horrible (and, sadly, real) stuff was happening to you! that you don’t need a fairy-tale happy ending to be happy, and that you didn’t have to settle down for anything but what makes you happy. so when big did what he did I was somehow glad that the movie wasn’t going down the obvious happy ending route but showing something bad that could happen in real life (ok perhaps it was a bit excessive…but some men are indeed like that!) and i was curious to see how carrie would have reacted this time. so it totally disappointed me!i mean, he screwed up big time, and she ends up marrying him?!that ruined the ‘SATC moral’ completely for me:(
-the (absent) samantha plot.
I liked:
-the miranda&steve happy ending, maybe because i’ve always been totally biased for taht couple —see, i’m not totally against happy endings:)
-the friendships: it’s true, they didn’t manage to make them look like they were this bunch of sister-like friends they are in the series, but there were a few touching moments which i liked, e.g. the one when samantha feeds carrie in bed & also when carrie runs to miranda’s place just a few secs before new year..totally expected, ok, but still touching for me:)
-the fashion!
-the face charlotte does while screaming ‘no!!!’,right after carrie smashes the buquet in big’s face. the face you’d do if your best friend was hurt, & you feel as if they did it to you.
phew!done.
PS but the evening was not badly spent after all: we dressed up all glam, with heels & minidresses, then went for drinks after the movies & watched the effect we made on cute guys!quite impressive!;)
my favorite part was when carrie confronted mr. big and hit him with the flowers shouting, “ i know youre gonna do this….” and when charlotte hugged her friend looking so fierce at big..i cried twice at that scene. my eyes feasted on their outfits.true that there are questionable parts on the film- but hey its sometimes sad that one always would try to check whats wrong with the movie that one watch that one forgets to have a good time.
I just hope SJP can still make movies with Carrie characters. . .
i have never liked SATC so i never bothered seeing the movie. all the reasons gala listed for disliking the movie are the exact reasons why i dislike the show. i think the show is just god awful & a disgrace. it pretends to be about empowering women but really it’s the some old degrading crap (shoes, weight, men, chocolate). i say stick with the golden girls (the original & way better SATC).
erin lynne — Hahaha, the Golden Girls! I named my dog Blanche for a reason… :D But I don’t think SATC pretends to be about empowering women. I don’t feel like it’s a very “deep” show, it’s entertainment after all, but I think mostly it revolves around the friendships between the women, & about growing & discovering who you are. If you watch it the whole way through, that becomes very clear — but of course if you dislike it from the offset then you’re never going to make it that far!
SATC-
inspired thoughts…
whats a NYC Gala without a cute assistant.
I am a native New Yorker- Manhattanite :)
I have lots of free time.
and i was wondering or hoping more like it, that: You would be in want of an intern.
I dont know how busy you are or arent-
but (very boldly for me) wanted to be the (i doubt im the first but here goes:) the first to submit an application-
Im a fashion school drop out with an INSANE “fashion” work history.
Anyway- im also the biggest believer in the law of attraction, i want to be better human being, im healthy, im kind! im creative and super loyal and very much in wanting of an opportunity to offer my skills and knowledge to something “good” and fair and fun and just getting to be around an amazing person who is doing her thing- in NYC, even if im just jotting down her todo list and reminding her of her appointments and ensuring NO DOUBLE bookings…i mean, an assistant, and one that treasures the opportunity, it could work.. PLUS i love biggie smalls and…you cant beat that.
-rebecca (more than just a blip on the radar)
who knows.
I thought the timeline of the plot didn’t flow smoothly at all. For example, Charlotte’s water broke and Big offered her a ride to the hospital.. in the next shot, Carrie walks into the hospital room to see Charlotte and her baby, and Harry tells her how Big stayed during the whole thing in hopes of seeing Carrie. I was really surprised that none of this was shown in the film, since it was obviously so important. It didn’t bother me so much that they omitted her going into labor and having the baby, but I think it would have been really effective to SEE Big waiting at the hospital with Charlotte. I even would have been okay with a cheesy scene in which Big and Carrie just miss each other at the hospital!
There were other parts that threw me off, like when Miranda says to Brady “What do you say at midnight?!” and hands him off to Steve. Oh, it’s suddenly New Years Eve? Okay…
I don’t buy others’ excuses about how they had to squeeze so much time into a 148 minute movie. Come on, it’s just poor screenwriting! It’s not impossible (or very hard!) to fit 1+ years into a two hour film. The transitions between different time periods were just poorly done, in my opinion.
p.s. I agree with those who listed awkward/undeveloped aspects of the movie, such as Stanford & Anthony suddenly being friends (this intrigued me- I was really curious about how they came to have a good relationship!) and Miranda having to move into a dingy apartment (sure she has to support her kid, but of course she has help from Steve, and it seems that she’s still really busy with her high-paying job that previously afforded her with a fantastic apartment AND housekeeper-turned-nanny!).
Most of the things about the movie has probably already been mentioned but I wanted to add (I didn’t notice it at least in the comments above) one thing about the product placement. The show with the bridal gowns really bothered me. It was like watching a bridal gown catalogue or something. I mean, it’s okay to show a few designers but there were like 10 or something… and it took quite some time. Also with the fashion show… It didn’t really seem that relevant to the story. Fashion shows are great and all but it took a little too long time for my taste, especially since the movie was kinda long. They could have added some juiciness to the storyline instead.
And as some others who commented I really didn’t like that Carrie went back to Big just like that. I mean, he really did humiliate her. And how angry she was and all the time she was depressed… It just seemed kind of stupid that she just went back to him because of a few e-mails, which weren’t even his own creation.
In general it was quite amusing to watch, but way more shallow than the shows.
The humour was soo different than from the show. They had to have Charlotte poop her pants to get laughs instead of having intelligent dialogue.
There seemed to be a loooott of fluff and then when the drama happened it was the same thing we’ve seen before with big.
The drama between Miranda and Steven was okay because he was the last person that I would expect to cheat but still.
In hindsight I wish they hadn’t done the movie because it just left a bittersweet taste in my mouth and I hightly doubt I’ll buy or watch this movie again.
The show will always be amazing to me though.
The ending SUCKED. Oh. My. God. I just could not believe it, no wonder Big is so smug all the time. He doesn’t have to do ANYTHING to win her back. Just type up someone else’s love letters and spend some money on her. UGH.
The fashion rocked.
And Miranda looked gorgeous.
And I did actually like the brown hair on Carrie – very Tamara Mellon. Interesting.
But I won’t be buying the dvd by a long shot.
And I LOVED the series, so this was kinda sad….
It’s so interesting to hear everyone’s perspectives! My mother saw it last night & adored it, so it just goes to show we’re all different!
I loved it, believe it or not! It was visually stunning, and delivered the message I needed, as SatC always does – that you need to keep believing. I also really identified with what Carrie went through when Big stood her up at the wedding. It was a real stage of grief, and I thought it was pretty bold of them to show her as a complete mess in such a graphic style.
I never really liked Big, and was kind of disgusted by his childish escape… but then again, I know that we often fall in love with guys who are just the same. I also agree he should have written his own love letters.
Ya know, I really liked how Carrie ended up with Big. I think they did it well so that I believed it and I thought it was a good idea.
For instance, after the scene where they meet in the street in the wedding garb, it really helps that he started to say something like, ‘I change my mind! Let’s go back there! Let’s get married!’ Of course, it was too late, but he was trying to change his mind. Imagine if he would of come out still wanting not to get married. Then I would have been dead-set against them getting back together in the end.
I know that Big was terrible for most of the show, but they really showed toward the end of the series that he had changed. The old Big wouldn’t have sent her love letters in emails. Not even one. The old big wouldn’t have kept pining. The old big wouldn’t have gone to the gals in the last episode of the series to ask their permission. And the gals wouldn’t have given it to him if they didn’t believe.
I guess I feel strongly about this. Everyone is allowed to make a mistake and be forgiven. Just look at Steve and Miranda. After Big showed that he changed, all the mistakes he made in the past were washed away, and they started anew.
Gosh, I’m a romantic.
Trisha — I actually liked that they ended up together too, but then I have always been a Big gal. (Oh, well, you know what I mean!) I mean, yes, he acted like a dick. & what he did was pretty unforgivable. But I don’t think he is a bad guy & come on, being married 3 times before or whatever is sure to leave you a little jaded. I don’t see why they had to get married at all, to be honest. Marriage isn’t an institution I have a lot of interest in ;D But it would have been weird for them not to have gotten together at the end.
For those of you who don’t like Big & never did, how did you feel about the season finale on TV? Did that make you happy or sad or what?
Hi Gala, (and all!!)
I watched it tonight with my friend Claire.
I thought it was really good.
I loved the outfits, they all looked amazing, including the men. :D
In my opinion, it went on for too long. Although seen as it was SATC, it had to I s’posse. :)
A bunch of girls kept giggling row opposite us, constantly. Even when Carrie was lying depressed on the bed, with the blinds shut, they still laughed for some reason..
My favourite part was when Charlotte had the back door trot due to those yoghurts! Hehe.
And when Samantha had Sushi on herself. :)
And that dog of hers!
I really liked Louise, I thought she was lovely.
Who did your mum go and see it with, Gala? I saw alot of older women with their husbands/partners. I’ve spoken to a few blokes, and they’ve been complaining because they’re having to take their other halves to see it. But I think all men should see this film, regardless of whether they dislike the actresses; or the whole idea of a ‘chick flick.’
It was a nice film nonetheless. A definite must-see if you have not yet!
x Lucy
yep, I was dissapointed. It would be hard to live up to the hype. The line I nearly threw up over was “and you gave me Louise Vuitton” WTF? how? totally cheesy. I also don’t think Big would do that, I would rather have seen him going to go through with it and have Carrie pull the pin when she saw what it was doing to him. That would have empowered her which is a better message. Oh well, let’s just pretend the movie never happened and watch the end of the series instead :-) Thanks for sharing Gala and everyone!
I LOVED LOVED LOVED it.
I felt that it tied up everything perfectly, but I feel that they made it out of money, not wanting a happy ending.
The things I hated about it
-Carrie re-decorating her apartment. To me, it felt like that it was no longer Carrie’s apartment
-Carrie not having her black mac :(
-Big. To me he was a plank of wood with hair. He didn’t even say Abso-fucking-lutley!
-Carries first wedding ‘suit’. What. The. F***
-Smith and Samantha breaking up. I feel like Samantha did not have a proper ending.
-Louise. It felt like she was just chucked in, well I don’t know why, but I hated her.
I loved Charlottes “I curse the day you were born.”
To me this movie is not the Ending. My ending is “An American girl in Paris Part Une and Part Deux”
The moving felt like the optional sequel, and although I loved it, it just felt like an epilogue, nothing much more.
Still I LOVED it.
I know that I’m probably the last person you expected to comment on this, of all threads :)
To me, it was a disjointed collection of wish-fulfillment fantasies. The plot felt like an afterthought, a framework upon which to hang the fashion and the fantasies – not the focus of the movie.
I’m hardly a fan of the series – I think I’ve seen maybe 5 episodes in total – but I’m sure the acting was better in the TV show as well.
I wasn’t bored, I didn’t regret the time spent (especially since I had god reasons for spending it), but it really gets a “should heve tried harder” response, from me.
Hmmmm well reading all these posts put a dampner on my happiness. I walked out of the film totally high on life and Love and Sex and The City. I loved it.
I didnt notice the product placement because thats what SATC is about! Fashion. The only thing that rubbed me the wrong way was the whole Samantha being ‘fat’. I was like ‘Um am I blind? What gut!?’ That was ‘shallow & bitter & one-dimensional’ and offensive to the majority of our population!
Samantha She was definitely the star of the show. She wasnt my favourite before the movie (Miranda was) but she is now! She lookked brilliant, she was real, inspiring, sexy and 50!! and she definitely drew me in. I loved that she left Smith. He is a great guy and all, but Samantha is an ‘I love me more’ kinda girl! She always will be and she was the only one who stayed true to herself.
Miranda I love Miranda (fellow redhead and bitch). She was objective, strong and career and family driven. She looked much better than she did at the end of the series. I loved that she left Steve and made him work to forgive him. She was inspiring. I loved that Steve cheated on her. They hadn’t had sex for 6 months!! There had to be problems.
Charlotte She is a princess and I adored her daughter Lily. She got everything she deserved! Good for her. I loved her confrontation with Big! It was classic. I loved loved that she got pregnant. But I didnt like the toilet humour.
Carrie Carrie…. Hmmm Carrie… She was never my favourite. In ALL her other relationships, she was inspiringly strong. I loved she ended up with Big because I love him. But it definitely made her character seem a little weak. I thought it would have been good if the movie ended and she was single and happy. Her clothes were amazing and her shoes! dont even get me started. But she was sickly skinny. Everyone in the theatre was yelling Eat Something! haha.
Overall, I didnt go into the theatre with any expectations, apart from extreme excitement. I looked forward to that 2 and a half hours for over 6 months. And I loved every second. I will buy the movie and I am SO happy with the ending, regardless. They are my girls! xx
I liked the movie a lot, but I am not too picky. I did notice the product placement and it was obnoxious, and I wish they had developed Jennifer Hudson’s character more. I really was bothered by Samantha’s “weight gain” though, because she still looked so fit-normal to me!
Wow, I wasn’t all that keen on seeing the movie BEFORE, but after reading all these comments, I’m not sure I will at all. I loved the series, I knew it was totally shallow and materialistic but underneath it, there was a great friendship between those four women. I loved that. It sounds as if in the movie they took all that away, though. Oh well, I shall just have to enjoy Twilight in all its cheesy vampire glory instead!
Gala, I WAS rooting for Big throughout the entire series…more or less. To be quite honest I wasn’t too impressed with any of Carrie’s boyfriends, but out of all of them, I thought that Big complemented her the most. If only they could keep up the witty banter and camaraderie they had when they were friends! For some reason, when they get into a relationship Carrie gets screwed up and overanalyzes everything, which I think is a big part of what makes her relationships fail.
I’m so sad that Smith and Samantha broke up, though! He was my favorite. That scene where he shaves his hair for her had me dancing around in fangirlish glee.
I saw it yesterday and LOVED it!
The only things that got to me were: Candice Bergman’s outfit (YUCK!) and the product placement was pathetic (Smart Water, Sky Vodka…the fashion stuff was to be expected and loved!) and completely unneeded because they knew they were going to rake in the cash regardless!
But I’m going against the grain and giving it lots and lots of praise & love. I’m now looking forward to NYC in December :)
Not as thought provoking as the show. I didn’t have any “wow, I totally agree with that!” moments, sadly.
Carrie’s wardrobe was the clincher for me. Def a plus.
When I went, the theater was full of middle aged women (even a few elderly couples.) I feel like the movie was for the older demographic, hence the clapping and cheering over poopy pants silliness. Oh well. There’s always the DVDs.
Oh Gala, it’s so dissapointing to hear! but I can see how easily this would have happened. I’m off to see it this afternoon with a few friends and I’m really bracing myself for it.
I didn’t love the show to begin with, i thought it was just about self indulgent women who are okay about screwing around, but I gave it a go and really came around to liking it!I ended up buying the whole series!
As you mentioned the relationship between the characters was evident in the series, they genuinely got along and it brought so much to their roles!
Remember when they first announced that they would be investing in a movie?
There was so much controversy about pay disputes and who was going to be the focus etc that it turned into this real downer before they even started filming.
uhg so sad!
I’m hoping it wont be so bad :P
Personally, I enjoyed the movies, but there were only a few things that felt “off” to me or irritated me about the film.
The product placement didn’t bother me at all, I’ve always kinda associated SATC with having lots of product placement going on. I loved the scene with Carrie cleaning out her closet, that was great!
Introducing an assistant for Carrie was kind of weird to me too, especially since Carrie and Louise got so close so quickly. But I don’t know, maybe they felt like they needed to have a black person in the movie so they wouldn’t be like Friends where everyone is white.
That was another thing, I thought the pace was too quick. Almost a year passes by within the two hours, it just seemed to extreme to me.
I really thought Carrie and everyone else overreacted when Big didn’t show up at the wedding. I was really mad for a bit when Carrie had just decided to break up over something so trivial like that, when they weren’t even going to make a big deal about the wedding in the first place, and they were so close that they could’ve just gone back in and gotten it over with! It just felt so stupid to me, they were doing so good and Big just got cold feet due to what Miranda had said. But it did feel kind of weird that they finally got an official happy ending.
Charlotte, I was very happy for, everything went pretty well for her and that was fine. Her accident was kind of odd to me, but I still thought it was hilarious, being that it happened to Charlotte, of all people.
Steve cheating on Miranda surprised me a bit, and I was really really hoping that someone would tell her to forgive him and get back together, so I was really happy when Carrie told her. I was kind of annoyed that they wrote in something else to make their relationship on-and-off again, but I’m glad they fixed that.
I loved Samantha in the movie, all of her lines were hilarious. The dog humping scenes were a little much at times, but otherwise it was alright. I was glad they didn’t make Samantha cheat on Smith, but I was a little unhappy with her just deciding that she can’t work through their relationship anymore. Especially when he even did make the effort to think about her, like when he brought home the chocolates, but didn’t give them to her because she ran off! I just felt that she didn’t need to break up with him. She could’ve still made time for herself or sex.
I totally agree with you Gala. I wasn’t really expecting it to be good, but I wasn’t expecting it to be as bad as it was. I knew 30 seconds into it that I was going to hate it.
Totally agree about the product placement – when she was modeling the different wedding dresses…wow. I know they were high-end names and all, but just wow. I don’t think I’ve had so many designer names shoved in my face in so short a time. I was stunned.
Another thing that really bothered me was Charlotte being pregnant at the end and being SO excited about it. Never mind the fact that it totally sends the message that being pregnant/having a child is the only thing worthwhile in a woman’s life….what about the adopted kid? Was she just a stepping stone to a “real” child? Ugh. Why couldn’t she just be satisfied with her adopted daughter? And the fact that they named them Lily and Rose – nauseating.
Once thing I noticed was that in general, the characters were totally two dimensional and just blah. I know it’s hard to let characters really come out in a short time, but they were just so flat.
It was one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen, and it totally cheapened the show for me.
I found the way they made Miranda into this totaly villian was rediculos!
I also was a little disgusted by the fact that it was PORN!!!!!! I’ve watched all of the full version show but this came no where near the level of nudity and gratuitis sex there was in this movie! I walked out of the theater outraged by the rating of this movie!! it should be an X not 18A!
all in all I felt the only story line that actully progressed was Miranda and steve. all the other characters were exactly where we left them, Samantha maybe not so happy with Smith, Charlette with the baby, and Carrie with Big, it was a complete waste of my time if theyre just going to spoon feed me the exact same stuff i just watched 1000 time’s!!! i wasn’t as pissed about it as my sister whom i went with, she sat there the WHOLE time after big left carrie at the alter and pouted. I’m going to have to go see it again just so It’s not ruined by pouty mcpouterson!
but alas i do not think i will change my opinion. it was disapointing!
Trisha — I thought that her boyfriend who wrote “short stories” & had “the Tom Cruise of families” was the hottest by far. Justin Theroux, YUM! flickr.com/photos/38009065 !!! But you know, his personality was pretty lacking ;D
I LOVED that Carrie tried on the tutu dress from the opening credits. Everyone in the cinema sighed when they saw it!
I HATED when Samantha & Smith were having sex, that there was a bed sheet sort of in-between them so that she wasn’t as exposed in the movie. It was so unnatural for Samantha to have such an insecure moment. It felt wrong.
I quite liked when Stanford and Anthony got together. I found it cute and thought it made sense because there was so much (competitive) tension between them. They looked like an odd couple but that made it even sweeter.
The product placement didn’t bother me that much. It probably would if I were to watch it a second time though.
I’m not satisfied with Samantha’s ending. It would have made perfect sense if she’d been with anyone other than Smith. In the series, he was the type of man who’s character isn’t easily influenced by money or career. He was still sweet, but they changed his core values which didn’t make sense. Yeah, money can sometimes change people – I get that. But surely not the Smith I knew from the series! It didn’t sit right with me at all.
All in all, I really enjoyed it. Probably because I went in expecting to hate it!
p.s. i LOVED that they gave big a name!!! and used it!!! LOTS!!!!
and i firmly think that they just made smith and samantha break because of all the woman who, when the show ended, were upset that samantha who started as the independent-sex-pot-sleeep-with-whom-ever-she-pleases ended in a really vanilla relationship. so they appesed those people in the very end by making her single again…. i unno the whole neighbour thing was pretty gay
Gala – Did you know that Justin Theroux played Carrie’s love interest not once, but TWICE! He played “Vaughn” (the short story writer with the awesome family) in the episode “Shortcomings” from season two &, prior to that, played “Jared” (the guy that hits on Carrie during his “fifteen minutes of fame”) in the episode “The Monogamists” from season one! I always thought that was SO weird they would cast the same actor!
Felicity — YES! I think it’s so funny! I wonder how many people noticed… probably not many. Only the hardcore. Raises hand!
Gala – It astounds me that anyone wouldn’t notice! But yes, perhaps it’s one of those things only the diehard fans pick up on. ;D
I can completely understand where you’re coming from, gala, in regards to the things you disliked about the movie.
I thought the blatant advertisement for the bag rental company [whose name i wont mention out of respect for your “home”] and the toilet humor [which i absolutely never find funny in any forum] were over the top and unnecessary.
However, I don’t agree with you in regards to the womanly bond. I felt that the way they portrayed friendship in a more REAL light, captured my heart. I could see myself in all of those situations:
From having my “Charlotte” scream @ my “Mr. Big” after leaving me at the alter; to my “Miranda” pissing me off and not speaking to her for having a lack of common sense. I don’t think all friendships are glitter and shoe shopping; though we’d all wish they were. so I respected their choice to make those decisions with the script.
Bothersome to me, was that I found that while Jennifer Hudson’s character was charming and likable, her acting was anything but. Though it may have earned her an award for Dreamgirls, I wouldn’t get my hopes up again if I were her. It seemed like she came into SATC thinking she was playing the same role all over again.
And lastly, her choice to get back with Will & SJP’s choice to get back with Big after all was said & done burned me to the core.
It’s like…
1) Buy Shoes
2) Go out to eat & drink with friends
3) & compromise your dignity for a man…
The third one just rubs me wrong — until I remember it’s just a movie.
xox,
Dec
I remember that guy! Was that when Carrie thought to herself, I used to get a secret thrill whenever guys like this would hit on me, while he hit on her in a bar? Right after she caught Big on a date with another woman, right?!
Trisha – You got it lady! :D
Danielle — Oh, it wasn’t the on-screen relationships that bothered me. I could tell that the actresses weren’t close anymore — that was the thing that made me sad. (That & I watched an Oprah special where Cynthia Nixon talked about coming out & about her girlfriend & the other women [SJP, Kim & Kristin] said they found out about it through the newspaper or something…)
This is kinda unrelated, but I know the feeling of looking forward to something for ages and then it not living up to your expectations. When the Spice Girls called off the Australian leg of their tour, I wanted to punch them in the face!
It’s always so much worse when you’ve been eagerly antipicating something, because the disappointment then has a decidedly cruel edge!
Oh yah I love Oprah & saw that also… Now I understand what you mean and can completely agree on that.
& I wanted to add that I loved the movie also because this past new year I happened to do the exact same thing with my friend, that Carrie did for Miranda. So despite being a die hard robot, I found myself crying quite a bit during the film. Good therapy! haha..
I totally agree with you, Gala. It felt like they took a season’s worth of ideas and cobbled them together without really thinking it through. I was especially disappointed in the relationships; Carrie took Big back for no clearly defined reason except nostalgia, Samantha spent most of the film acting totally out of character and then broke up with Smith in the least engaging trite scene ever, and Miranda (who has always sort of take Steve for granted) went from ignoring him to hating him to deciding he is her one true love.
Also, Carrie’s assistant pissed me off because I felt the character was unnecessary. I saw the writer talking about wanting to give the 20-something girls someone to relate to, but seriously, she was just a plot device to move things along and take up time and it showed. If they want to add characters at this point they should be characters that go with the rest of the vibe, not someone that just emphasizes that the ladies are aging and being replaced by other ‘it’ girls.
Don’t even get me started on Big. He’s usually so charismatic, which is why we can accept Carrie loving him despite it all, but he seemed like he was in a coma for most of the film. Yawn.
Two scenes redeemed the movie for me though. Carrie hitting Big with the flowers and running to be with Miranda through the snow were just so well filmed and emotionally real that it was like a window into the series.
The biggest thing that bothered me about the film was that after ten years Carrie didn’t even get a heartfelt love letter from Big. The best he could do was copy VIA EMAIL! other men’s love letters. They left the window wide open with the two envelopes of mail from the PO box in the cupboard and I was thinking that the tables would turn and he would be the writer for once. No, the best he could muster of his own words was a sentence or two? Pathetic. If the creators spent a little more time on memorable dialogue and less on product placement, the movie would have shined a little brighter in my eyes.
Also, Smith and Samantha..I thought a cute way to show he was still in her life in some capacity and reminisce about how they met would have been for him to deliver her 50th b-day cake outfitted in waiter’s garb in the final scene.
Gala — I found your site via NIM and think you’re the bees knees.
I’ve been avoiding any reviews and spoilers until I watched the film just last night. I’m really surprised at all the different reactions to the film. I suppose SATC has holds a spot in many a girl’s heart and there’s always an element of fantasy and wanting to hold on to a certain picture or feeling.
I watched it with my two best girlfriends, we’ve been looking forward to it for ages and we got dressed up like fools for the event :). I really really enjoyed the movie, felt like the 2.5 hours went by too quickly. The fashion was fabulous!!!! It really makes me want to work harder to be able to afford such beautiful designer items (yes I’m that shallow!). I was surprised how much emotion the movie brought out of me, I laughed, I cried. I expected the movie would just be a happy wedding type movie – it was anything but.
Maybe it was the atmosphere of going with my girlfriends or maybe my expectations were different to what the movie turned out to be but I thoroughly enjoyed myself and can’t wait till it comes out on DVD so I can shamelessly analyse and ahem copy the outfits.
But I did hate that Big didn’t try hard enough to say sorry. Emails, hello! She said love LETTER.
Sorry that so many others were disappointed – I suppose all we can do is watch reruns of the DVDs to console.
Ahhh! All those of you who’ve been put off seeing it by these comments — you should still go!!! Really! Make up your own minds… some of us loved it and you might well too! Don’t miss out!
I wasn’t disappointed with the movie. I wasn’t irritated with the product placements and cheesy lines either. I just watched it without being critical, and enjoyed my “me” time watching a movie of a show I’ve always loved. (It was literally “me” coz I watched it alone) I laughed, cried, marveled at the pretty eye candy and just took in the story.
gala,
i think you need to chill out! it’s just a movie. i’m a complete diehard fan of the TV series too.
But i could accept that the movie was going to have product placement (they do in the tv series, too). to go even further, the business of media is completely intergrated into advertisement too, so you cannot expect any less. there are commercials for trainers, cars, everything- before the movie. during the tv series there are commercial breaks. every element of the movie business is tied to advertisement.
anyway, with the love story with Big…. i guess you couldnt expect anything less! Big is a character with flaws and it would be against his character to suddenly turn around and make a massive apology to Carrie. The fact that he sent the love-letters via email shows two things- a) that the moment between the two of them when they read the love-letters book was a very special moment, and he picked up on that, and b) the method of email just shows he’s still a little flawed and still doesnt know how to do it right.
anyway, i just loved the film. the nature of cinema asks the viewer to suspend reality for 2 hours. that’s the beauty of it, so i guess you guys who didnt enjoy it were expecting the impossible!
oh! plus, someone earlier commented that the movie was advertising apple macs. infact, throughout the whole of the series, Carrie used an apple laptop.
Oh OK! I havent seen ANY SATC episodes or the movie.. however my friend has convinced me to watch the episodes during the uni winter holidays and then Im going to see the movie..
Want to ad a point, coming from the perspective of someone who hasnt seen any of either.
How I feel with TV series is they’re like a book.. you get to watch them over a long period of time. An hour each week for a period of weeks every year for s long.. with a movie theres 3 hours at the most usually.. 3 Hours to get it all in. Im not really a movie person, i don’t feel like I can get enough after 3 hours im still needing more answers.. “what happens next..” “where’d they all end up”. I have to remember that movies are mostly about fun!
Maybe thats why it was a little dissapointing..?
the product placement was SO CHEESY. could you please do a few more zoom ins on samantha’s iphone, please? i didn’t know what phone it was the first 5 times you cut to it. samantha, per usual, was the best part of the movie. i love her.
the bird on carrie’s head was fab and pat fields did an amazing job.
Hey I thought the film was ok, I wasn’t blown away.
And as for product placement- how else are they gunna make a film about shallow, fashion obsessed women without it? So I think it was understandable.
Shallow, sparkly fun times.
p.s I drove my friends crazy by predicting everything that happened prior to it happening! It was sooooo predicatable though huh?
Frost.x
Well… I must confess, I read all these comments BEFORE I went to see it tonight with my sister… so I went in expecting to hate it. But you know what? I didn’t! I loved it! Maybe because I went in with low expectations, it wasn’t so hard to exceed them… whereas, every one else went in with really high expectations and was disappointed! There was definitely WAY too much hype though… have to admit. It must have been a lot worse in NY than here in Melbourne though…
Anyway… in terms of the product placement, I agree with you… it was OTT. But… how else would they have conveyed the luxurious lifestyle without all the luxurious designer items?! To be fair… the series had a lot of product placement too, so it would only be realistic that the film would as well! I tried to just ignore it and enjoy the film for what it was. I suppose it would be hard to do that if you’re busy focussing on the advertisements though!
But hey, Pat Field wouldn’t have been able to do such a great job with the costumes if all those designer names weren’t in the picture! Reality is that ads are everywhere Gala, even right here on your website! And I still love your website! It’s a part of life these days… everything’s a business… but that doesn’t mean we should write it off completely, right?
I’m sad that you were disappointed in the film, cos I know how excited you were about it in the lead-up. Maybe after time, you will re-watch it and change your mind :)
xx
The two most important things in SatC: Script and the Relationships.
I believe too much emphasis was put on the labels (especially with the introduction of Love & Labels) and all the other superficial items. In the series, it was only until late season 6 I saw a huge influx of label-related items. There was always the quick mention, but no spurting out fashion names for wedding dresses. That section was cringe-worthy.
I believe it did insult those fans who appreciated the series – not because of the materialistic side of the show (that I don’t find prevalent in the series), but the ones who loved it because of it’s very clever script and it’s heartfelt relationships.
Not that I am the most avid Sex and the City follower, but it seemed like there was just as much product placement in the movie as on the show: it was just more noticeable because you got two hours of it instead of half an hour of it. Further, things like Starbucks, iPhones, Netflix – those come up in everyone’s everyday lives, constantly. I don’t think it’s product placement anymore when (sadly) they’re like cultural installations. A lot of the stuff that came up in the movie just seemed like crap that would come up if you’re a wealthy, high/semi-high profile New Yorker. There’s tons of websites that document places mentioned in SatC the show, and that Vanity Fair article was not off the mark in mentioning that SatC made things like Jimmy Choos household names. So to me, the show was always laiden with name dropping of the brand/hot spot variety, and I didn’t feel any more insulted in that respect during the movie than I do during the show. (For me, Sex and the City is a love/hate thing because I frequently feel both insulted and intrigued by the show.)
And as long as we’re on the subject of the movie, I was really really offended by their jabs at Samantha’s “weight gain.”
i LOVED Charlotte. she is SO freakin cute! i love how she does little babysteps all the time, adorable. she def looks the best too!
i thought the part at the wedding, when Carrie hits Big with the flowers and then flings herself into Charlotte’s arms was just amazing. it broke my heart and i thought it was so effective.
my friends and i all thought it was just a sad sad movie. there was none of the humor we were expecting (and craving) and it just seemed like everyone was so damn miserable the whole time, even Charlotte who had everything going for her felt guilty for being happy!
the ending made me happy though. it was v predictable, but i expected it to be that way!
oh, and the bridge scene was also super predictable and cheesy, but i loved it! i’ve always loved Steve :)
Meme — Yes, I LOVE Steve! Harry too.
I think that everyone is getting too worked up over product placement. I think the whole point of it is to inspire label envy, which it does nicely. I absolutely adored this movie, I even thought the toilet humor worked. I thought the scene with Charlotte having her “accident” was quite touching in an odd way, sometimes, when you are in your darkest space, it takes something as juvenile as someone crapping their pants to make you laugh. When I had my heart broken, nothing could make me laugh. So my best friend Sam got naked and ran across the garden for me. I laughed so hard I nearly died. And you know what? It was my turning point. That day I got out of bed and even went to a party.
Oh and the fashion….I almost cried at how amazing it was :)
im not a satc fan but i saw the movie. i hated it. i thought it was one of the worst movies i have seen in a long time. it was boring, unedited and cliche. as you mentioned i was surprised to see my girlfriends lapping this up. being fans themselves though i understand….other fans i have spoke to were disapointed. its awesome to hear your synopsis because after that movie i came away from it not quite believing why woman could like it so much and would not be interested in seeing the tv programme. but for other fans to pick up on this and basically be like “well that sucked, lets go watch my dvds” made me more open minded about it all.
for me the movie seemed lame and unbelievable, all of it very fantasy – but not in a way that i wanted to get wrapped up in it.it was not funny and i didnt feel a connection to the characters because they seemed so stupid. in fact i felt kinda more for the guys….haha. the only great thing was charlotte’s lil kid lilly – cutie! but yeah some of the outfits were to die for but i was surprised with a few things that were supposedly drool worthy and i felt were hideous.
Some of you have mentioned that it was strange that Big didn’t even write her a love letter but used other people’s ones. I thought it fitted perfectly with Bigs character. I could not picture him writing a poem or a heartfelt letter, it would be completely out of character for him to do so! This does not mean he doesn’t feel any of those things, he just has a different way of expressing himself. I was happy with that aspect.
But like many of you, I was uneasy about the way Carrie took him back in such a strange manner!
One more thing, Carrie’s hands were freaking me out throughout the whole movie. I can’t help but see how old she’s gotten (not that it’s a bad thing I was just surprised! it’s like not seeing a good friend in ages and seeing they’ve aged, it’s not bad it’s just different!) I did however, thing that sex scenes and the scene of Carrie in her underwear were gratuitous. Especially the later, it looked kinda weird.
Other than that, I really enjoyed it. My favourite part was mexico, that seemed completely real :)
x
It hit me hard to have to see the movie do a not so good job on such a fantastic show. Ugh! I really had my hopes up especially with the Big and Carrie photoshoot you showed us a while back. It really had my hopes up to what a good movie it might turn out. Now my heart is torn.
Gala, I truly am ashamed.
How could you possibly become insulted by product placement and supposed weak chemistry on screen? I saw the movie yesterday and I honestly found it a fun and fantastic film.
The plot wasn’t predictable, and I found the girls flirty, fabulous and a wonderful example of how friendship remains through the years. It is wonderful to see the girls friendship mature and to see them developing into beautiful women.
The depth of emotion made me laugh and cry along with the girls, jennifer hudson did well, and I really was “carried away”!
SJP’s acting was amazing, and I thoroughly enjoyed each twist and turn.
SATC was love at first sight, and I would definitely see it again.
Gala, why is everyone analyzing the film in such detail? No one can just sit there and enjoy a film anymore, without criticizing and mocking certain parts.
Get a life, I say. I recommend this film to anyone looking for a fun night out, without the calories of a comso!
I agree with Hannah in ways, but not in such harsh terms.
It IS just a fun little movie; I didn’t go in expecting it to have depth and a secret meaning behind it. It’s not a movie meant to be analyzed, it was put out because it was wanted and because there was a fan base for it.
Now, I understand if you’re a big SATC fan and you went in and just didn’t like it. Maybe you didn’t like the way the characters acted or how they were portrayed, maybe you felt the story line was silly.
But to criticize it over product placement?! SATC has always been laden with product placement; I don’t even consider the fashion labels to be product placement just because SATC is a show focused around fashion a LOT (we all know that!) It’s not as if every time Carrie was wearing a cute little outfit she told us who each piece was by. The labels are there simply to give credit where credit is due; SATC has made plenty of labels household names WAY before there was a movie.
I (obviously) enjoyed the movie. It was cute. That’s all I wanted out of it; something that was cute and fulfilling. I had no huge expectations and I didn’t find it over-hyped because I avoided the hype as best as
We live in a world with advertisements everywhere and with a movie as big as SATC, it would be unrealistic to ask for no product placement. Perhaps they could have done less but there it is; take it or leave it. It’s easy to just ignore the product placement and remember that you are an intelligent being that isn’t affected by such silly things ;D
Gala! I feel your pain! Saw it Gold Class on Friday night with my boyfriend. I was utterly disappointed. Yes scenes made me laugh and some made me cry but it was predictable and I got sick of all the fashion talk and PRODUCT PLACEMENT!
ANOTHER THING THAT PISSED ME OFF SO BAD IS WHEN... (Sorry I am so enraged) they made connetations that Samantha got fat and really she hardly gained any weight, yeah she had a small podge BUT she’s 50!!!!!! I came out really a bit deflated! Too much buying into the Fad! The cinema even gave us Cosmopolitans. It was a nice touch but also a little daggy.
Gala your review of the movie summed it up so perfectly. That’s exactly how I feel about it. I was very disappointed. I also felt that you could tell that there was a lot of distance between the actresses who played the characters. You could tell that they just weren’t all that close and I think that affected their performances. It made me feel like there was this distance between the characters and not just between the people who played them.
I think that when your emotions and feelings towards someone are strong enough, no amount of talent can hide it.
I’ve never commented here before (I read all the time though! Love you Gala!), but I’m so glad I finally have somewhere to share my disappointment in this movie! Sorry, I’m a little late, but I have to share my opinion.
I’m truly surprised that I’m only the second one to cite this as the reason I didn’t like it (after Meme), but it was just so sad!! I cried like, 30 times throughout the movie and I walked out at the end with a heavy heart. The whole movie was just under this cloud of sadness. Poor Miranda got cheated on by the formerly most loyal man on the show. Samantha was constantly being let down by the formerly sweetest man on the show. Carrie was obviously the saddest of them all, and for good reason. For the record though, I found Big to be very much the same as the show, with the exception of the series finale. And then there was poor Charlotte completely deserved to be happy and WAS, but just couldn’t enjoy it at all cause everyone else was so goddamn miserable!!
It was all just so sad. And I know in the end, most everything ended up in the happy ending category, but there was like, a five second transition for Carrie between “I hate him and I’m never having any contact with him again” and “Yes, I’ll marry you.” I really appreciated the part where she realized how self-centred she was being about the wedding, but it was like, a minute long scene and then all of a sudden, everything was fine between them. I just found it incredibly unrealistic.
Even the parts that were supposed to be funny had this sadness to it. Never mind the lame crudity of the poop joke; The main point of the joke was to emphasize how ridiculous something had to be to bring Carrie out of her incredible depression for even just a moment.
I don’t know. I loved the show and I really wasn’t expecting a ton out of the movie, but I also wasn’t expecting it to bring on a minor depression into my life because I couldn’t stop thinking about how sad it all was. Disappointing…
Oh, and PS, I also REALLY hated how everyone was so shocked at how “fat” Samantha got. Are you kidding me?? What is she, 110 now instead of 105??
it seems as if we are all very opinionated on satc now aren’t we? hehe. it’s good to know that i’m not the only one who views these ladies as “real” people.
i really enjoyed the movie, but i was really pissed when carrie actually went back to Big in the end. after watching every single episode, i can’t believe its really over… i’m kinda sad
I really enjoyed the movie! Okay, so the product placement was, at times, a little much (namely the mention of the bag rental company – however, I agree with sarah frost that product placement has always been a big part of the show) and it broke my heart that Steve cheated on Miranda – but, as cheesy, corny and silly as it sounds, I think I was just so happy that I got that bit of closure – I loved the TV show so much, I completely agree and understand when others say that the characters felt real to them – they felt real to me, too, and I was just so happy that I got to spend another two and a half hours with them! It did disappoint me though when Big couldn’t go through with the initial wedding – I felt like Carrie and Big had gone through so many games, ups and downs and turmoil that they didn’t need to play anymore – it was heartbreaking when he left her there, and I don’t know, I just felt like he was a lot better than that! It was a really sad moment watching Carrie get out of the car in the middle of the street and tell him that she knew that he would do that to her! But still, all in all, I really enjoyed it – I absolutely LOVED the clothes, and I was so happy that Charlotte finally got pregnant, because it meant so much to her!
The fashion looked like it came from the eighties. Why do these women have so much disposable income? It’s just not real!
Bel — To be fair, I don’t think it was ever meant to be realistic…
i think they spent so much time building up the hype and planning the outfits that when they realized that they needed a storyline they were stumped and grabbed at whatever they could get and stuck it together with gaffer tape.
i also hated the whole steve/miranda thing, waaaaaaay too sad :(
but who loved carrie’s assistant louise?!
my and my friends thought she was SO lovely :)
xoxo
i think they spent so much time building up the hype and planning the outfits that when they realized that they needed a storyline they were stumped and grabbed at whatever they could get and stuck it together with gaffer tape.
i also hated the whole steve/miranda thing, waaaaaaay too sad :(
but who loved carrie’s assistant louise?!
me and my friends thought she was SO lovely :)
xoxo
i love love lovedddddddddddd the movie!!! i cried twice blushes.
thou i wish the closet wasnt so high fashion, i preferred carries closet when it was more eccentric and well mixed with vintage.
overall, i wld see it again and again and again.
OK
i have been waiting for so long to see this film. i have to admit that while i found it very entertaining, it was missing something. i can’t really put my finger on it. it wasn’t even close to being as witty or as funny as the program was, and i think that many of the characters were no longer as true.
it seemed a little fake and sensationalized i guess. i got really cranky when they had Charlotte scream when Carrie announced her engagement. when Charlotte then stood up and made a speech, i just thought that it was so out of character. i think that the characters were a bit stereotypical for my liking.
but the clothes. oh the clothes. i nearly fainted with pleasure. it really was fantastic.
i was soooo dissapointed with what they did to Steve. he was always my favorite and i was really upset that they would degrade his relationship with Miranda.
Plus.. How the Hell did Stanford and Anthony wind up together? they hated each other. it just seemed for too neat and tidy for me.
overall, i thought that it was an entertaining film, but it didn’t have a patch on the show.
Oh, I’ve been resisting the urge to read this thread as I’ve waited to see the movie! Better late than never, but I saw the movie tonight and got rather teary in parts (thank goodness the theatre was dark) and thought Charlotte was superbly adorable and hilarious!
I genuinely had no expectations, and for me, the product placement didn’t bother me however, it was noticeable. I haven’t seen a movie in that long that I think it was just what I needed. I’m a big dreamer, so the combination of the big fabulous clothes and the fabulous New York apartment was just my cup of tea.
However, a few of the girls I went with said that it didn’t live up to the ‘hype’ and I heard some people say it was ‘crap’ when they walked out. Each to their own I say :)
I was disappointed for many of the same reasons noted above, and I felt the movie was overwritten. However, I have to say that I don’t think Carrie is a heroine or a strong “person”. Throughout the series she is a wreck, a mess. By the last season, I found her nearly intolerable.
I thought the movie was fun, but definetly not up to par with the shows.
I might be the only one… but did NOT like that Carrie took Big back after he did something that horrible to her! After 10 years, he must KNOW that things like this are important to her, and it was just plain embarassing for her that he stood her up. If you love someone, sometimes you have to do things you don’t want to do.
I guess they should have collaborated more on the wedding, but I suppose it was a whole whilrwind of events starting with Carrie’s photoshoot for Vogue.
I am a diehard fan of the series and unfortunately only one of my friends likes it, so I never get to talk about it! So reading all these messages has been so exciting for me to see others opinions!
Overall, I think the movie was completely unneccesary in a way. The series final wrapped everything up so beautifully and emotionally and didn’t really leave any questions, just left it to your imagination of their future lives. But the movie didn’t bring anything new to the table. Carrie started the movie with big, ended the movie with big. Miranda started the movie with steve, ended with steve. Charlotte stayed happily ever after. Only samantha left smith, but as everyone says that wasn’t really explored very well.
So I was unfortunately so disappointed. I just thought that it didn’t add anything extra, and like someone said early I think I’ll just pretend the movie was a dream or something, and that the series final was how things wrapped up.
Also, a few people said they didnt like that stanford and anthony got together, i dont think they were dating as such, just a sort of new years hook up. But when stan tapped anthony on shoulder and he turned around and said ‘thank god your here’...that was one of the best parts of the movie in my eyes. Yes they were bitchy in the series, but for no real reason just silly fake cattiness. So it was lovely to see they had grown up in the four years and were good friends. I thought it was beautiful.
A few people said that it was NOT like charlotte to say, “i always knew carrie and big would get married” but i think it definitly WAS like her. In one episode of the series she says ‘If carrie was going to end up with anyone it was big’ (over aiden) and in the finale, she is the one who calls big together to see all the girls. Shes the ultimate believer in true love, so i thought it made perfect sense that she said that in the movie.
I also hated that carrie changed her apartment. It was just not the real carrie room, and sort of defeated the purpose of her buying back that apartment. If she was going to re-dec she should have got another room.
I did like the movie, but also found it disappointing. I bawled (like a baby!) when carrie hit big with flowers and that face on char when she says ‘no’, oh it was so emotional! I love love love steve (and harry) and i hated that he cheated on her and thought it wasnt very intune with his character. I also think smith was very far removed from the series portayl of him.
Ok thats enough!!! xxx
I saw Sex and the City last night, and I have to agree with you. I was very disappointed, I guess with the hype going around it I expected it to be extraordinary. My friend and I were very surprised when they brought up bag rental and I felt it lacked a lot of the relationship the women had. It lacked depth to me.
Also I was horrified by the bad editting! The microphone was dangling from the top of the screen for a very long time and everyone was like .. errrr..
Firstly, I think after the hype created over this film, expectations in a lot of people were raised to insane and perhaps unreachable levels.
I couldn’t agree with you more about the toilet humour. I think I was the only one in the cinema not laughing when Charlotte had her little ‘accident’. I thought that was immature on a level that SATC wouldn’t usually stoop to.
Also I disliked how Charlotte got stuck with all the slapstick style scenes (the poop gag, the shuffling along stupidly in her fishtail dress after a very serious scene). It didn’t seem fair that the other characters maintained a lot more dignity than her.
I didn’t really understand why Smith’s reaction to Samantha breaking up with him was so calm, either, and I found that Samantha’s story didn’t really wrap up/ conclude like the other womens’ did.
Apart from that I rather enjoyed the film. The experience in general was lovely because the cinema was comfortable and spacious, and the audience seemed to all be there almost as a group of friends. It was nice :]
i was a little disapointed in Carrie )=
i am and always have been a fanatic sex and the city fan. but Carrie … seriously.
Big has fucked you around for YEARS, then he leaves you at the alter! wattah loser. Aiden so was the guy for you. commitment issues go away when someone is really inlove, big is really obviously just not the into Carrie.. why? i dunno he should be ;;;; cause she is fabulous (=
other then that___ i jaDORE it
I only JUST saw the movie! yes I know.. quite a bit delayed, especially for a fan like me! I dont live in the states so I had to wait for the fake DVD to come out haha. Well, the main thing that completely disappointed me was the reason Carrie forgave Big, was there a reason? That he typed up all the love letters other men had written and sent them to her? I mean, COME ON! They should of thought of something WAY more romantic. I was expecting something really heart wrenching, you know? :]
Thats all :] haha
Love you Gala!
x
i was really disappointed at the weight gain scene… and i’ve gotta say i was also really disappointed at the fuss that was made over charlotte stopping jogging because she was pregnant… hundreds of women stop jogging because they are pregnant… women are not advised to jog while pregnant… it seemed really selfish to me that she did jog (despite having previously had a miscarriage)... i also hated the way children were like handbags in the show… sitting in the sidelines never uttering a peep… honestly whose children behave like that?
What happened to Carrie phone?why was it brokenand how did it break? I donot recall the cell phone ever breaking in the series,can this be explained!
Can it be explained how Anthony and Stanford became so close in the serries they could stand to be in the same room together,and Anthony in the series went out of his way to hurt Stanford by showing Charlotte that magazine ad from HUNCHO about Stanford current love at the time in the series. The first time the two were introduced at the fashion show where Carrie was “Fashion Road Kill”,Anthony bolted out upon meeting Stanford.I just donot get these loose ends and how they leave the loyal fans dangling saying“What the hell is going on?”