Blu-ray Review: Sex and the City

Image from source, Wikipedia

I am not one for "chick flicks." Sure, the odd Steel Magnolias or Ghost might sneak into my video watching from time to time, but for the most part, I'm avoidy. I know that as a gay guy I'm supposed to be an unspoken segment of the target audience (you know how they say Lifetime is television for women and gay men?), but they're just not my thing. But I didn't see the Sex and the City movie as a chick flick per se.

I may be splitting hairs here. And to be honest, I wasn't even a fan of the HBO television show, really. I caught an episode here and there, and liked it. The Other Half caught more of them, and even got a season or two on DVD from the library. Because of this, I'd drift in and out of the room, and invariably be sucked in. Over time, I became interested enough in the characters to care what happened next. Not so much that I was in line at the theater, no. I bought The Other Half the Blu-ray disc for Christmas. There it sat until today, still in its shrink wrap and cardboard sleeve. After I watched Tropic Thunder earlier this afternoon, I went to the video library and mulled the choices. I picked Sex and the City mostly because THO keeps watching it on high-def cable.

It was OK. I mean, I still like the characters, particularly Samantha (Kim Cattrall). The banter is great, the writing is fine. But it really plays like an extended episode of the old show. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but meh. The Blu-ray-iness didn't even wow me, since we've gotten HDTV for a very long time, and in a show like this it just doesn't matter. The "will they or won't they" between Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) and Big (Christopher Noth) was never my favorite part of the program, so hinging the picture on that might be the reason for my blah reaction. This would have all played better as a six-or-eight episode "extra season" on HBO.

But whatever, you know? As I said, I'm not the target audience, and there are worse ways to spend an hour and a half 151 minutes. If you loved the show, you'll probably at least like the movie. But be prepared for at least two bathroom breaks. This movie is friggin' long.

Recommended for fans, women and (most) gay men.