SEX AND THE CITY

The much anticipated Sex and the City movie has finally arrived and is on course to achieve summer blockbuster status. Here’s the short review. It is a movie only to the extent that it is shown in a movie theatre and projected on a screen. It is little more than an elongated episode of the beloved HBO television series. Fans of the show should love it, but I wouldn’t expect it to win converts from its detractors.

I fall into the latter category. In the four years since the popular series ended, our heroines, Charlotte, Miranda, Samantha and Carrie have not matured one iota. They continue to live shallow, decadent lives, not so much in their sexuality (as the title might well imply) but in their absolute self-absorption, and disconnect with adult responsibilities. They want for nothing and so invent problems to sabotage their otherwise enchanted lives. In their world, love is expressed through shoes, or jewelry or closets. Authentic affection is interpreted as presumptuous control. Bikini waxing is not merely a grooming option, but a sacrament of obligation. The characters are in an arrested state of adolescence and by film's end nothing has changed. Expect sequels as competent writers can tease out endless variations using the established formula.

I’ve been accused of being a curmudgeon and told that Sex and the City is meant to be light hearted adult fare, nothing more. I don’t see it that way. While there is a hint of farce, there is no irony and there is no satire. Furthermore, the movie, like the television show, attempts profundity through the musings of Carrie Bradshaw. Like everything else in the movie, Ms. Bradshaw’s brand of wisdom is as childish as it is facile and offers no authentic insight into anything.

I could respect it if it was infused with wicked satire in the spirit of Desperate Housewives. I could respect it if it was peppered with Shavian irony (read George Bernard Shaw’s play Heartbreak House. . . no seriously read it. . .I’ll wait. . .). There is the occasional laugh, but it is mostly shallow and pretentious. Bah!

For all my bluster I admit that I watched the HBO show from time to time, and for the most shallow reason: Kim Catrall might be in various stages of undress. But at least my shallowness is transparent. I am a shallow man, but I own it!!!!!!!

I will give the producers this much credit: The actors turn in fine performances and the writing, as always, is finely crafted. They did a superb job of transferring this tv show to the big screen with well-defined, consistent characters and dynamic plotting. Maybe that’s what irritates me most of all; that so much talent produced something so flimsy and hollow.

As I said, if you liked the television show, there’s no reason why you won’t love this movie, but is this movie appropriate for your Brownie daughters? Well unless you want your daughters to embrace the values of the idle, the childish, and the self-absorbed you might want to skip this one. You should also be aware that there is a fair amount of sex in this movie. There is explicit nudity, bodies engaged in all manners of physical love, threesomes, dog masturbation, pregnancy, sushi, potty talk and lesbianism. Now I’m good with all that for me, but I’m a shallow man. On the other hand, this is probably highly inappropriate for your Brownie daughters regardless of the presentation at your school's mandatory "Family Health Night."

Sex and the City

I give it 1 Samoa!

Browny Dad