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Ever since the HBO series Sex and the City ended four years ago, its fans have been waiting for the announced movie. Now, it has finally arrived. Finally? Something has gotten lost on the way.

Two and a half hours of new stories, new clothes, and new love interests – heaven on earth for whole-hearted Sex and the City fans. The audience was buzzing with excitement and greeted the theme song with cheers. But the promise was left unfulfilled.

Witty and politically incorrect – only on TV

The series beared unexpected turns, witty remarks and wonderfully politically incorrect actions. All this has gotten lost in the transition to the cinema screen. In the place of explicit talks there is name-dropping to an almost unbearable level. When Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) does a photo shoot, minutes are spend just hearing designer names. It is true that fashion has always been a very important part of the series, but this is an overdose even for fans. It makes the whole movie seem like a two-hour-exodus to the home shopping channel, only thing missing is the blinking „order here“ button. This degrades the women who have been watching every episode addictively and have grown to love the characters to mere credit card holders.

The Shoes More Important Than The Story

The plot couldn’t keep up with the wardrobe. And, yes, this does contain a flaw in this case. The plot is so thin that you know it all just from watching the two-minute preview. The preview also gives away about one and a half hours of the movie’s time, and the little surprises that come up cannot make up for this. The storyline is so disrupted that one can hardly follow it. Location changes serve as a replacement for plot turns. This is not what the TV series deserved.

The characters and their actions remain superficial and sometimes incomprehensible. One has to remember, this movie is obviously made for those who know the series (otherwise you would have trouble following it). These women know the characters, and have followed them over years. In a way, the four ladies have become the „good friends who moved to the big city“ for their audience. Living a life more extravagant than them, but coming back to tell of it every Thursday night.

This deep understanding of the characters is violated in the movie. The character development is minimal, and where action occurs, it is left unexplained. How the writing team did not manage to come up with a more coherent plot remains a mystery – after all, they had more than enough time for it, as the movie has been in planning for years. This is extremely unfortunate and probably the biggest flaw of this film.

Back to Where it All Started

The second flaw is the ending. I do not want to give too much away here, but it is unfitting for a movie whose main character makes sure to state that fairy tales don’t happen in real life. It is also unfitting for its audience, which expected a more grown-up solution of the ever-ongoing story of Carrie and Mister Big. Suddenly, everything turns out along the lines of happily ever after.

I had read bad reviews before and blamed them on the reviewer being a man and not knowing about the fascination that is Sex and the City. But unfortuntaley, I have to agree. This movie will be a disappointment to those who have come to love the series. The characters are neglected in favor of big designer names. But in the end, even Manolo Blahnik stilettos cannot carry an entire movie alone.

By Jessica Binsch