Sex and the City Review

It was fabulous. It was so fabulous. I'll agree with critics who say it could have lost 1/2 hour to advertising, but nevertheless, it captured everything a SATC fan and occasional viewer alike would hope to get. For the reviewers out there who said this movie was all over the place....ok. But SATC is about four women whose lives don't necesssarily effect each other but they always come together in a time of need.

For all the 'labels' the movie needed to impress upon us, I could deal with. The heart of the movie was there and for those of us who know these four girls well, we got all the life's moments a gal could ask for.

Carrie and Big are not only the heart of the series but are a metaphor for the heart of NYC. There is a true love that one has with New York for all its vibrancy and tolerance for the people in it. The movie allows us to walk with them down a path that a lot of women today deal with. For many of us the question is always lurking: do I have to get married? Do I have to have kids? Do I have to be conventional? What if I'm not? Is that weird or is something wrong with me? (ALERT: I'm about to get into the plot here. Don't read further if you don't want to know!) When Big tells Carrie he can't go through with the wedding because of the glitz and 'circus' like plans she falls into a deep depression. SJP's portrayal of this type of pitfall was moving and genuine. I appreciate the films real attempt to say "hey, this is how it really is." There was no easy answer within 24 hours. There was no revenge. She just sat with the emotion for months trying to understand what it was that tore them apart. And in the end it was just convention. It was the idea of what they were supposed to be. Her choice to go back to him and their choice to marry in a way that was comfortable, well it just felt right to all of us. And who hasn't been in that situation where you just need to know that your not making your choices based on what everyone is thinking of you.

Charlotte and Miranda's battles in the movie were just as moving. Two women who believe strongly in doing the right thing, find themselves in surprise situations that we can identify with to the core. And to the SATC critics out there who say this show is regressive because all the women focus their lives around men, eat your heart out with Miranda's plot.

Life just happens and how you deal with it is only something that you can feel. It's not always about logic or what has been done by millions of women in years past. I think SATC the series is so successful because it focuses women on the issue of following your instincts and not allowing yourself be consumed with anger or sadness or anything that leads you away from what you need the most-love. If it means loving yourself or loving someone else the answer is always to do what makes the most sense to your gut. Sometimes that leads us down nontraditional roles and other times it keeps us right where we are at. Sometimes things were always fine the way they were.

Of course, it's all up to interpretation. But if you ask me, I'd tell you that these girls aren't strangers to me. Each of their personalities tap into a part of myself and I think that's why so many of us just can't get enough of the SATC honesty and emotion. Oh yeah, and I'm a Carrie all the way. What are you?