A Kiss is not a Contract
Hello, Lover.
....Just kidding. I went through a rough time tonight trying to come up with a clever name for this blog post, in which I finally review the Sex and the City feature film. Or, that's what I was doing during the last half hour or so of the movie. I shouldn't have expected so much. And really, I wasn't expecting so much. Did the movie let me down? Yes and no....Let's take a look.
***************SPOILER ALERT!!!!***********************************
I feel like this movie took all the silly elements that made the show popular and tried to smash as much of that into 2 plus hours as it could. There were moments of real sincerity and faithfulness to a show which, I believe, is smart and funny. At least that's how I felt about the first four seasons. When they turned it into a drama, downplaying the comedy aspects and focusing instead on actual plot lines and dramatic character development, I lost interest. Or, slightly so. The movie tried too hard to get these long convoluted plot points into a feature film and left out the comedy. Some things that stuck out as being NOT funny and NOT something you would have seen in the show:
1. Dog humping things as a running joke. Really? Ok, we get it. Samantha likes sex. Naturally, her dog likes sex, too. But...come on. This isn't Larry the Cable Guy or whatever.
2. Charlotte pooping in her pants. A poop joke????? This is worse that the stupid one-liners.
3. Stupid one-liners. These were worse than the poop jokes.
4. Charlotte wouldn't eat anything in Mexico. Come on. She's prissy but she's not stupid. This felt like an overly forced quirk.
5. The ridiculous recap of the last six seasons of the show at the beginning of the movie, Ray style. At first I thought maybe this would just be a clip show. After having seen the movie, however, I really wanted to run home and watch the episodes those clips were taken from, just to remind myself that it wasn't always so bad.
6. Plot wise I was also let down. I'm disappointed that Big stood her up at the alter. It was too predictable a Big move. I thought he was supposed to have changed at this point in our story. I was angry from the uncertain phone call he made to Carrie the night before the wedding until he wanted her to just look at him as some sort of weird test that he should go through with it. Come on, Big. Haven't you let her down enough? So what if she went overboard...let her have her day! I'm similarly angry with Carrie's response to Miranda's confession that she told Big he was crazy to get married the night of the rehearsal dinner. It was NOT Miranda who ruined your marriage, Carrie. If that was all it took to send Big over the edge, he wasn't ready in the first place.
7. Jennifer Hudson's character didn't make a whole lot of sense to me...and why, when she got engaged, did she have to quit her job and move back to St. Louis? Couldn't he have moved to NY? The whole "love conquers all" thing was just sort of tiring (I know, I'm a cynic. I'm such a Miranda.)
ADDENDUM: I completely forgot to mention (because I am tired, because the movie actually made me crave a cocktail, so I ended up staying out late drinking my woes about the film away) that Big and Carrie do end up married in the end. He says he's sorry, and gets down on one knee, an proposes with a shoe. They end up married in a civil ceremony, just like BIG (not Carried) wanted in the first place. So, he's forgiven and even gets the wedding he wants. Good for you, Mr. Big. And this was supposed to be a love conquers all happy ending from the way it played out.
Now, perhaps I'm being far too harsh. The movie wasn't all bad. In fact, I was pretty entertained until the last half hour, at which point I was just ready for it to be over.
Some Pros:
1. It was pretty to look at. The scenery and the clothes were fantastic. Loved that on the big screen.
2. These were still characters whom I wanted to know about. Because I was into the series, I was happy to see what was happening in the characters' lives since last I saw them. So, I was absorbed in the movie in that way.
3. I'm happy with Miranda and Charlottes' wrap-ups. Steve cheated on Miranda, which I didn't see coming...but I'm kind of glad that they had some real conflict, rather than something that seemed so overly cinematic as "I can't marry you unless you turn and look at me right now so I know that it's just me and you!" And I'm thrilled that Charlotte got pregnant. Good for her. I always kinda felt like that was missing from the end of the series, in my I want things to wrap up now so I can go to bed happy sort of way.
4. I'm glad that they admitted the ladies were older and that much of the story (sort of) revolved around the idea of getting older and what that entails. It seemed much less superficial than other themes of the movie. I was always kinda angry that in the show Samantha didn't want people to know how old she was, and Carrie complained when she hit 35, so...this was refreshing.
Overall, I suppose the movie was about what I expected, maybe a little worse. I hoped that it would be a bad episode of the series, which are still pretty entertaining. This was probably worse than a bad episode, mainly because the writing and characters didn't seem true to their former selves. But, I likes pretty movies, and I likes me some Vogue, and I don't regret having seen it. However, I won't be rushing out to see it again. I'll stick with the series on DVD when I need that kind of fix.
This entry was posted by Brigitte, on
Thursday, June 05, 2008.
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I'm confused. You say the "love conquers all" theme is tiring, which I agree with, yet you wish Big didn't stand her up at the altar? Explain.
Pajiba has a very well-balanced review of the movie, pointing out that the one and only empowering point of the original show (women's sexual freedom and openness) was completely overshadowed by the usual, plus worse (the things you mentioned) just like it had in the later seasons of the show.
I'll still never watch the show or the movie, but just saying, the phenomenon is vaguely interesting.
Also, I don't believe your whole review is a Spoiler, just a couple of the items, yes?
Wow Chris, could you love Pajiba any more than you do? If you love Pajiba so much, why don't you go marry it?
A kiss IS a contract!
Okay, I'll read the actual post now...
I think Brigitte was referring to two different things with the Big vs. "Love conquers all" -- in the show, which you admitted you've never seen, at the end of the show, Big had supposedly changed -- vs. Jennifer Hudson's character came straight out of a "typical" chick flick. Big and Carrie's characters were more nuanced in the show than the characters in the movie.
Of course, I haven't seen the movie...Brigitte? Eh eh eh?
I like that the number one pro seems to be attributed more to the screen itself than the movie projected onto it.
Regardless of what happened throughout the series, if they had gotten married and had a happy ending (rather than what it sounds like actually happened: it turns out you can't change a man who's a jerkface and he left her at the altar), it would have reinforced the "love conquers all (all = dudes being jerks who seem like they can't be changed but of course all they need is a woman to save them)" theme that has been stuffed down throats throughout history, no?
wow, thanks for tearing apart my review chris.
big ends up saying he's sorry and they get together at the end. they have a small civil ceremony.
i thought the whole thing was a spoiler for anyone who actually wanted to see/be surprised by anything in the movie. It was already predictable enough so i didn't want to take away any small joys.
Please see my addendum to my review--i left out a big plot point.
My pleasure. Sorry if it seemed like I was being only negative. I really looked forward to the review and the different aspects of the movie were very nicely laid out for us non-SATC people. Was just trying to generate discussion!
Civil ceremony, huh? Yeah that sounds uber-lame. The double psych-out. Probably even more infuriating than just a generic "all is well" happy big wedding ending. Probably another reason why the movie was 2 hours and 15 freaking minutes?
yeah, it was ridiculous. i was totally checked out of the movie for the last half hour or so. and, doktor, it's true that the best aspects of the film were not really contained within the film itself (what?)
I had a whole reasoned argument about how I respectfully disagree with Brigitte's assessment of the merits of the movie, but I'm too tired to write it all out. I will also respectfully disagree with Chris about the Pajiba review--I don't think it was very well-balanced, and I think berating women for wanting what they want, whatever it is (people need to get over it: lots of people want to fall in love and get married and have babies and live in a nice house), is pretty anti-feminist, SO THANK YOU DUSTIN ROWLES.
My expectations for the Sex and the City movie were pretty simple--take characters that I care about, put them in cute clothes, and tell me a story with a happy ending. I think they managed that quite well, and although I will agree that I didn't like Charlotte's gastrointestinal debacle any more than Brigitte did, I don't think it was wildly uncharacteristic of the show because they were never above bodily function jokes in the past.
I liked the credits sequence a lot, actually, but OH MY GOD Jennifer Hudson's character was A.) totally unnecessary and B.) completely ridiculous. Also, turns out that Jennifer Hudson? Isn't a very good actress. I was a little surprised, although I never saw Dreamgirls so I had no basis for comparison.
I didn't really think that the theme of the movie was "love conquers all"; I think it was pretty obvious that our neuroses and flaws conquer love all the time, and that you really have to work and compromise in relationships and also not lose sight of what really matters to us in our lives. Remember how Carrie at first wanted to have a small wedding, but then Anthony and the dress went to her head? So in the end Carrie figured out that being with Big is more important to her than the over-the-top ridiculousness of her previously planned wedding, which isn't really appropriate when you're in your forties, anyway. So she gets married in her little nobody suit at the courthouse and has brunch with her friends and their families, because she's stopped performing for everybody and taking advantage of her opportunities for living while she has them.
What I didn't see in this critique, but which really bothered me, was the blatant materialism that used to be a quirk of mostly Carrie and Samantha's personalities (I get the feeling that when Charlotte spends money, she does it carefully, with a lot of thought put into the quality and longevity of the things she's buying, not to be trendy or as an act of ravenous consumerism) that has become such an iconic element of the show, kind of undeservedly so, that it was magnified to disgusting proportions in the movie. "Labels and love"? Please. First of all, if you come to New York to look for love you are stupid, especially if you are a woman, and second of all, Carrie used to look at fashion like art--what happened to that, Michael Patrick King?
Anyway. I liked the movie a lot. Sure, it had its flaws, and maybe this is an example of my love for the show conquering all, but it was fun and escapist and sweet and surprisingly affecting. That's all I wanted. I feel satisfied.
I appreciate the in-depth report from Anna, and find it refreshing to hear about the fashion-as-art aspect that used to be in the show when it was "good," according to most fans. A couple things still, of course:
1) There's a difference between telling WOMEN there's something wrong with what they want and critiquing a CAST OF FICTIONAL WOMEN for representing totally anti-feminist values for a world of females watching them. Yes, I'm a Pajiba advertisement in human form, but if there's one thing that Dustin's not, it's anti-feminist.
2) Jennifer Hudson won an Oscar for singing, definitely not for acting. Hopefully she'll go away from movies now that everyone's realizing this.
3) I guess I don't understand why people like getting exactly what they expect. Thus is why TV shows turned into movies usually never resonate with me, though I'm still sooo psyched for I Want to Believe.
Though I haven't seen the movie, I would be willing to bet that the reason there was an increase in materialism in the movie was blatant product placement / consumerism that helped finance the project itself. It is the biggest beef I have with any "Hey, remember us?" kind of movie, like Indiana Jones 4 before it -- making a movie like Indy 4, or a Sex and the City movie when the series already had a satisfactory conclusion, screams of a crass attempt to make money, not art.
People like getting what they expect because there's comfort in the familiar, and because indelible fictional characters, arguably anti-feminist or not, live on in the minds and imaginations of the people who identify with and love them. Fans have their own ideas about what happened to these women, but it's so much more gratifying to see it on screen with a catchy song in the background. That's all. There's really nothing wrong with that.
Yes, some people take this show too seriously. It's a comedy, and in its best moments it's a satire, not a documentary. Yes, it's hard not to scream in frustration when you hear about women flooding the streets of New York from places like Alabama, tottering around in stilettos, slurping pink cocktails and arguing about who has to be the Miranda. Those women probs need to get a GRIP, because the franchise doesn't take itself too seriously AT ALL (you only have to hear ten minutes of Michael Patrick King's commentary on some episodes of the last three or four seasons to gather that). The women began as archetypes who, over six years, were fleshed out and deepened; they're never going to be as fully human as Iago or Emma Woodhouse, but they aren't cardboard cutouts, either. They're not part of an anti-feminist agenda. But so much of the criticism in that review is predicated on a misapprehension of what the show was about.
"Sure, the series seemed to suggest, an empowered woman could be perfectly content fucking her ever-living brains out and gorging herself on Cosmopolitans and cock, but they'd never find true happiness until they were in a stable relationship with a man who could afford to buy them shoes." I understand that Pajiba reviews are often tongue-in-cheek and use exaggeration for comedic effect, but that statement is incredibly offensive to the women who watched and loved that show--not to mention the ones who wrote it! The show's primary concern was always, "How do you make the decisions that will make you happy? How do you know what will make you happy?" Sex is a significant factor in that concern because it's a significant factor in all of our lives, but even the most cursory look into the world of Sex and the City will show you that what the women were looking for were relationships--and not just with men. Their friendships were very important to them, and some of the show's best moments come when the women are fighting with each other about things that matter to them. "Them bitches sold out to Manola Blahniks and the happily-ever-after myth"? Please. It's Manolo Blahnik, and what's the use of discouraging men from calling them whores when an apparent "feminist" male like Dustin Rowles is just going to go ahead and call them bitches no matter what they do.
Touche about the "bitches" remark. Replace the word with "women" and spell the designer's name correctly and the statement is valid, though.
Also, the show is called Sex and the City. Not Friends and the City.
I understand the familiarity thing too, and I do buy that they're complex characters, and the way that you explain the reasoning behind the ending is a solid counterargument. However, bottom line, Big (the man) got his way, Carrie (the woman) submits and is happy and in love in the end.
My question to make this not so Carrie-centric, because obviously there are other characters - did any of the characters end up single and okay with it in the end?
Also, kind of completely unrelated, Miranda is the only woman on the show I find remotely attractive. Is that weird?
It's called Sex and the City because that's the name of the column Carrie writes. She's a sex columnist. But we learn in the series (very early on) that it's not all about sex. You see, sometimes writers decide to use provocative titles like that in order to draw in viewers--not necessarily because that's what the show is all about.
and to answer your question--yes. Samantha ends up single in the end, and she's more than OK with that. She chooses it. The Carrie/Big plot line made me angry, but that can't be extended to all the characters--neither Miranda nor Samantha would ever let the man get what he wanted at the expense of her own happiness. In fact that's what Samantha's storyline revolved around--loving a man, but loving herself more, and refusing to be unhappy in a relationship.
And yes, you're weird. Charlotte is clearly the most attractive of the four.
Nobody comments at the end of the day, so I'll steal the final word:
Sux.
So glad to hear that Big & Carrie DO end up together. I couldn't bear the idea of seeing the movie, if they weren't going to be together. There really IS such a thing as true Chemistry & a Soul Mate. Once you meet that person, you can't just "settle" for someone else, (like an Aidan) no matter how nice that person may be.
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