Sex and the City

New York City, 2008–there’s a recession, gas prices are skyrocketing, cranes are falling in the streets, real estate costs are rising… This is the real New York City.

In the 2008 New York City of Sex and The City, however, skirts are still short, the hot label to own is Prada, and people live in penthouse apartments in the sky with closets the size of small football fields.

Four years after hanging up its designer duds, the ladies and the city are back in their big screen edition, and everyone and everything looks great.

The gang is pretty much where we left them: Miranda and Steve are still married and living with their five-year-old son Brady in Brooklyn; Charlotte and Harry are still married and living with their three dogs and their adorable adopted daughter Lily; Samantha is living the high life in Los Angeles with her favorite boy-toy, the now successful actor Smith; and finally, Carrie is in the throes of planning her wedding with Mr. Big.

Yes, the glitz, the glam, the gang are all here. There’s just one little thing missing: a plot.

This is not to say there isn’t drama. Drama comes in the form of Steve telling Miranda he’s had an indiscretion. Drama comes in the form of Samantha questioning her relationship with Smith. Drama comes in the form of Charlotte deciding to give up jogging. Drama comes in the form of Carrie planning her “big” wedding.

You get the idea–too much glitz and not enough schmaltz. Somehow, what looked so great and groundbreaking on TV now looks like a bunch of episodes just strung together, which doesn’t really make for great movie viewing. This long-awaited reunion could have easily been done as a two-hour special on HBO, rather than a somewhat (close your eyes, ladies) bloated 2 ½-hour movie.

But there are some highlights to be enjoyed: there are laughs courtesy of a sex-crazed dog who’s adopted by none other than Samantha, and there’s a scene with Kristin Davis as the prim and proper Charlotte York Goldenblatt that is so hysterical, it’s actually worth the price of admission.

Jennifer Hudson was great in her role as Louise, Carrie’s personal assistant, yet there was a feeling that her part was just tacked on. It’s also interesting to note that Hudson is the first non-white character to be involved in the SATC mix, and her character does occasionally come off as the all-knowing African American friend who’s only there to teach her white friend a life lesson.

But SATC would be nothing without the clothes and shoes, shoes, shoes, and here the film does not disappoint! There’s more than enough of these items to please any fashionphile! It’s been said that there were almost 300 costume changes for the four ladies, and designers were almost killing each other trying to get their designs in the movie. The outfits that did make it into the film were absolutely stunning, and some were even works of art. In a sort of wink and nod to her role as fashion icon, Carrie did a sort of mini fashion show for her three gal pals in her tiny Upper East Side apartment, modeling some of her more outrageous outfits from years past . There was also a fashion montage of sorts with Carrie modeling wedding gowns for a photo session with Vogue magazine.

So is the film awful and to be avoided at all costs? No, but it is a lot like a $5,000 Louis Vuitton bikini swimsuit–it’s got style and flash, but not a whole lot of material.