Reel Hub: Slow Going In The City

The film takes place four years after the ending of the series. Carrie and Big (aka John James Preston—we’ll stick with Big, thanks, even though Carrie doesn’t) are still together, and he’s still being typical Mr. Big—lots of talk and little action, with the exception of a certain looming question. Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) remains in Brooklyn with Steve and Brady, semi-successfully juggling work and family. Samantha (Kim Cattrall) has become a victim of monogamy in Los Angeles, where she’s managing her boyfriend Smith’s career and experiencing a bit of a mid-life crisis. Eternally optimistic Charlotte (Kristin Davis) lives her perfect Lilly Pulitzer-meets-Ralph Lauren life with hubby Harry and daughter Lily. Everything seems just ducky, right? But there are always a few storms that you must endure before you can enjoy your time in the sun.

We’ll spare you the gory details—the commercials for the movie and the constant media coverage have provided enough of those already. Perhaps our biggest problem with the film was the lack of lovable characters from the past in the movie. We wondered if Power Lad was still living at home with his mom, and pondered whether Skipper ever found that perfect girl after Miranda kicked him to the curb. Does Nina Katz still make that face whenever someone says "Carrie Bradshaw"? And what about Burger—or Aiden?

Instead, characters like Bitsy Von Muffling fill screen time, and Steve’s mom is merely mentioned in passing. Number One Gay, Stanford Blatch, served more as window dressing than anything else. Stoneham’s own Mario Cantone was underutilized as Anthony, but stole every scene he was in. And consider yourself warned—Candice Bergen pops on screen looking very UN-Vogue. Evidently she wasn’t lucky enough to get the trademark airbrush treatment the other ladies received.

The movie clocks in at 2 hours and 15 minutes, but it feels longer. As Samantha once learned, sometimes bigger isn’t always better. When the BBC comedy Absolutely Fabulous felt it was time for a movie, they made one--but they kept it on the smaller side, making sure it flowed like one of their episodes and kept you wanting more. We're okay with a little self-indulgence—how could we be fans of the show otherwise?—but the SATC film ultimately couldn't fill the show's Manolos. We'll be raiding our DVD collection of the series regularly, but we can't say we'd watch this film again anytime soon... or ever.