*** AND THE CITY
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2008 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): ** 1/2
"Every year, twenty million people come to New York City in search of the
two 'l's -- labels and love," Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) tells
us in the voice-over introduction to *** AND THE CITY, which, of course,
is
based on the long-running HBO television series.
Although *** AND THE CITY is the ultimate chick flick -- our advanced
screening audience was referred to only as "ladies" by the sponsors in
their
introductions -- it is a film that will dichotomize potential viewers into
two camps, but not by gender. The two groups are those who have seen the
series and those who haven't. Fans of the series, of whatever ***, are
likely to adore the movie, as did our large and very enthusiastic
audience.
But, if you've never watched the series, as I had not, you are likely to
be
unmoved by its movie version. The film starts with a two to three minute
synopsis to catch everyone up on what has been happening to the characters
since the series ended on TV, but, unless you had been watching the
series,
this lightning fast introductory segment will just leave you dizzy and
confused. Too many characters; too little time.
At promo screenings of films like IRON MAN and STAR WARS, some people come
in costume. So it was with our screening of *** AND CITY, and more people
than I've ever seen came in costume. Here in the Silicon Valley, it's
pants
almost all of the time for the women but not for this movie. There were
more dresses and fancy shoes than I've seen in a long, long time. The
movie
featured lots of screams by the characters at each other, and our audience
screamed right along with them.
The big event -- or should I say the big potential event -- in the story
is
the marriage of Carrie to Mr. Big (Chris Noth), a happening which is
chronicled in Vogue, much to Carrie's initial chagrin, under the title of
"The Last Single Girl." Mr. Big has two failed marriages under his belt,
but, after dating Carrie for ten years and after breaking up with her many
times, he finally decides to pop the question.
"I wouldn't mind being married to you," Mr. Big says to Carrie in one of
the
most unromantic proposals in cinematic history. "Would you mind being
married to me?" Gosh, how could a woman turn down such a heartfelt
outpouring of affection?
Most of the movie, however, is not about Mr. Big. It's about Carrie and
her
three best friends: Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall), Charlotte York (Kristin
Davis) and Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon). All four of them have their
quirks, which are probably much funnier and more meaningful to followers
of
the series.
The movie has an uneven tone, alternating between boisterous silliness and
quiet seriousness. Filled with ***ual innuendo, the movie gave me several
smile-worthy moments, albeit no laugh-worthy ones. One of the best lines
occurs when Carrie explains her new hairdo to her assistant Louise
(Jennifer
Hudson), telling her, "My head is in the witness protection program."
The movie is filled with questions probably only the series fans will care
about. Will Carrie actually marry Mr. Big? How will Samantha survive
turning the big 5-0 and will she have *** with the ridiculously hot new
guy
next door? Will Charlotte finally get the gumption to eat something other
than prepackaged pudding while at a swank resort in Mexico? And will the
***less Miranda finally forgive her husband for his one-night stand?
I've got to be honest. The film did not give me enough reason to care.
But, I do suspect that, had I known the characters better, I could well
have
been hooting right along with the rest of the audience. The film is for
presold audiences only.
*** AND THE CITY runs a surprisingly long 2:25. It is rated R for "strong
***ual content, graphic ****ity and language" and would be acceptable for
older teenagers.
The film opens nationwide in the United States on Friday, May 30, 2008.
In
the Silicon Valley, it will be showing at the AMC theaters, the Century
theaters and the Camera Cinemas.
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