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Matinee Melee: 'Sex and the City' has great shoes, but does it have legs?

By: Holly Leber
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By: Casey Phillips
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Casey Phillips: “Sex and the City” is definitely not a movie for (most) guys, and I’m more than a little hesitant recommending it to self-respecting women. Like the TV series, the film focuses on drinking cocktails, having copious amounts of sex and twittering about whose shoes are the most expensive. Ostensibly, there’s also something in there about love and the power of friendship, but it just seems like window dressing for a carnival of flesh and fashion. In the end, I thought it made women look like little more than vapid, bi-pedal bank accounts.

Holly Leber: Well, I’m a self-respecting woman, and I liked the show. About 90 percent of the movie, however, made me feel like I needed a shower. The phrase “delightful in small doses” definitely applies to “Sex and the City.” There were small aspects of the film that were decent — the loyalty among the four women, which I appreciated in the show, was still there, but it was basically the current that flowed around the huge foot crushing boulders that were the various plot elements dealing with each of the characters love/domestic lives. Some of the real estate was also very attractive. In terms of love — yeah, there was a lot in there about it, but they tried to throw in so many different thoughts and ideas about love that watching the movie was sort of akin to listening to a cheesy mix tape from a 7th grade boyfriend, a series of airy platitudes that ultimately don’t make any real impact.

Casey: I’ve enjoyed the TV show as well, but at 2 1 /2 hours, the movie is like watching seven episodes straight without bathroom breaks. It’s like gorging on a half-dozen 100-calorie snack packs when a piece of pie with the same amount of calories would be more consistent (and delicious). One scene of crying and hugging — or screaming and crying, or hugging and screaming — per episode is tolerable, but a half dozen wears thin pretty quick. Also, as predictable as the plot is for anyone with even a passing interest in the show, don’t expect to comprehend much if you haven’t followed the intertwining relationships of Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), her on-again-off-again lover Mr. Big (Chris Noth) and her three friends Miranda (Cynthia Nixon), Samantha (Kim Cattrall) and Charlotte (Kristin Davis).

Holly: Way too long. Way, way, way too long. The thing is, I didn’t see the necessity for a “Sex and the City” movie in the first place. I never thought anything was lacking in the ending of the show. I wasn’t dying to find out what would happen next. And the show doesn’t lend itself to the kitschy, camp movie version 20 years later like a “Brady Bunch,” a “Speed Racer” or a “Get Smart.” I do, however, think it’s important to comment on the cultural phenomenon this movie has birthed.

Friday night in downtown Chattanooga was teeming with women dressed to the nines, going in large groups to see “Sex and the City.” I even saw a limo. My sister told me Manhattan was the same way. And since I live near the Bijou, I co-hosted a ladies night with a friend and had the, shall we say, interesting experience of seeing the movie twice. The second time I watched the audience instead of the screen, and with respect to my fellow women, their reactions were as predictable as the plot. The laughs, groans, claps and “awwws” came at the exact moments they were supposed to — there might as well have been chyrons on the screen reading “laughter” and “applause.”

Casey: Once was more than enough for me. The last straw for me was the applause at the credit roll. This was only the second time in my career as a film nut that an audience clapped at the end of a movie. The first was when I was 8 years old at a showing of “Rookie of the Year.” It was more appropriate then. Still, if you liked the show, you’ll see (or have seen) the movie, so maybe what I think doesn’t matter.

Holly: I know a lot of people are excited about this movie, and I don’t want to put a complete damper on their plans, so I’ll end on this positive note: “Sex and the City” is not nearly as bad as “Love Story.”