Sex and the City (film)

Sex and the City

Promotional poster
Directed by Michael Patrick King
Produced by
Written by Michael Patrick King
Based on
Starring
Narrated by Sarah Jessica Parker
Music by Aaron Zigman
Cinematography John Thomas
Edited by Michael Berenbaum
Production
company
Distributed by
Release dates
  • May 12, 2008 (2008-05-12) (London premiere)
  • May 30, 2008 (2008-05-30) (United States)
Running time
 145 minutes[1]
Country United States
Language English
Budget $65 million
Box office $415.2 million

Sex and the City (advertised as Sex and the City: The Movie) is a 2008 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Michael Patrick King in his feature film directorial debut,[2] and a sequel to the 1998-2004 HBO comedy series of the same name (itself based on the book of the same name by Candace Bushnell) about four female friends: Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall), Charlotte York Goldenblatt (Kristin Davis), and Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon),[2] dealing with their lives as single women in New York City. The series often portrayed frank discussions about romance and sexuality.

The world premiere took place at Leicester Square, London, on May 15, 2008, and premiered on May 28, 2008, in the United Kingdom and May 30, 2008, in the United States. Despite mixed reviews from critics, calling the film an extended episode of the series, it was a commercial success, grossing over $415 million worldwide from a $65 million budget.

A sequel to the film, entitled Sex and the City 2,[3] was released in 2010 to similar commercial success but even larger critical failure.

Plot

Carrie walks through the streets of New York City thinking about events that have happened to her and her friends during Sex and the City. Charlotte is now happily married to Harry Goldenblatt, but she had a hard time getting pregnant - so they adopted a Chinese girl named Lily; Miranda has settled down in Brooklyn with Steve (David Eigenberg) to raise their son Brady together; and Samantha has relocated her business to Los Angeles to be close to Smith (Jason Lewis), who is now a superstar, although she misses her old life and takes every opportunity to fly East to be with Carrie, Miranda and Charlotte.

Carrie herself is now in a relationship with Big (Chris Noth), and they are viewing apartments with plans to move in together. Carrie falls in love with a penthouse far from their price range. Big immediately agrees to pay for it. Carrie offers to sell her own apartment, although she also voices her fear that she would have no legal rights to their home in case they separate, as they are not married. To quell her fears, Big suggests that they marry. Carrie announces the news to her friends. Charlotte and Miranda are happy at the news, but Samantha - as Carrie points out dryly - sounds more excited at the thought of Carrie "finally getting Botox". Charlotte suggests her longtime gay friend, Anthony Marantino, as the pushy wedding planner.

Miranda confesses to her friends that she has been so busy she hasn’t had sex with Steve in six months. When Steve confesses he has cheated on her, Miranda is devastated and immediately separates from him. At Carrie and Big's rehearsal dinner, Steve tries to reconcile with Miranda, but she rebuffs him. Still upset with Steve, she tells Big bluntly that marriage ruins everything.

On the wedding day, (partially due to Miranda's words at the rehearsal dinner) Big is too fearful to go through with the ceremony. Carrie, devastated, flees the wedding. Samantha stays behind to clear the guests. Big changes his mind and catches up with Carrie in an attempt to reconcile in the middle of a one-way street. Carrie furiously attacks him with her bouquet while he earns scathing looks from Miranda and Charlotte, as well as from the crowds of New Yorkers watching the scene unfold. To console Carrie (who is depressed, and at the beginning of the holiday doesn't eat anything for two days), the four women take the honeymoon that Carrie had booked to Mexico, where they de-stress and collect themselves.

Upon returning to New York, Carrie hires an assistant, Louise (Jennifer Hudson), to help her manage her life. Miranda eventually confesses to Carrie about what happened at the rehearsal dinner, and the two briefly fall out as Carrie storms out of a restaurant on Valentine's Day. After reflecting on the argument she had with Carrie, Miranda agrees to attend couples counseling with Steve, and they are eventually able to reconcile. Samantha finds her five-year-old relationship passionless, and begins over-eating to keep from cheating on Smith with a gorgeous neighbour, Dante. She eventually decides to say farewell to Smith and moves back to New York. Around the same time, Louise quits her job as Carrie's assistant to get married and move back permanently to her hometown of St Louis.

Charlotte learns she is pregnant, and for most of her pregnancy is fearful that something might happen to her baby, so she stops her regular running around Central Park. Carrie puts her fear to rest by telling her that, since she already soiled herself in Mexico, her bad luck is finished. Later, Charlotte has a surprise encounter with Big that leaves her so outraged that her water breaks. Big takes her to the hospital and waits until baby Rose is born, hoping to see Carrie. Harry passes on the message that Big would like her to call him, and that he has written to her frequently, but never received a reply. Carrie searches her correspondence and finds in Louise's personal assistant file that he has sent her dozens of letters copied from the book she read him before their wedding, culminating with one of his own where he apologizes for screwing up and promises to love her forever.

Carrie travels to the exquisite penthouse Big had bought for them to collect a pair of brand new Manolo Blahnik shoes (that later become one of the icons of the movie) that she had left there. She finds Big in the walk-in closet he had built for her, and the moment she sees him, her anger at his betrayal dissipates. They share a passionate kiss, and Big proposes to Carrie properly, using one of her diamond-encrusted shoes in place of a ring. They later marry alone, in a simple wedding in New York City Hall, with Carrie wearing the simple suit that she had intended to wear before being enticed away by the Vivienne Westwood dress that she had modelled in the bridal issue of Vogue. Miranda, Samantha, and Charlotte turn up to surprise Carrie, having been called by Big. The film ends with the four women sipping cosmopolitans, celebrating Samantha's fiftieth birthday, with Carrie making a toast to the next fifty.

Cast

Main

Supporting

Production

Development

At the end of Sex and the City's run in February 2004, there were indications of a movie being considered following the series. HBO announced that Michael Patrick King was working on a possible script for the movie which he would direct.[4] Later that year, Kim Cattrall declined to work on the project citing reasons that the script and the start date were overly prolonged and she decided to take other offers at hand.[5] As a result, the immediate follow-up idea for the movie were dropped.

It was in mid-2007 that the plans for making the movie were announced again. This reportedly resulted after Cattrall's conditions being accepted along with a future HBO series.[6] In May 2007 the project was halted after HBO decided it was no longer in a position to finance the movie on its own. The project was pitched within the Time Warner family (owners of HBO) and was picked by sister concern New Line Cinema.

In February 2009 it was officially announced that a sequel would be made including all four actresses and writer-director Michael Patrick King.[7]

Filming

The film was prominently shot in New York between September–December 2007.[8][9] The locations included a number of places around Manhattan and a certain portion was shot in Steiner Studios and Silvercup Studios. The shooting was continually interrupted by paparazzi and onlookers with the security and police authorities employed in order to control the crowd.[10] Efforts were taken to keep the film's plot secret, including the shooting of multiple endings.[11] As a defense strategy, scenes shot in public or in presence of number of extras were termed by Ryan Jonathan Healy and the main cast as "dream sequences."[12]

Costumes

As in the TV series, fashion played a significant role in plot and production of the movie. Over 300 ensembles were used over the course of entire film.[13] Patricia Field, who created costume designs for the series, also undertook the job in the film.[14] Field has stated that she initially was ambivalent to do the film, for monetary and creative reasons.[15] Field rose to fame particularly after designing for the series from 1998 to 2004, wherein she popularized the concept of using designer clothes with day-to-day fashion.

While dressing the characters for the film, Field decided to stay clear from the latest fashion trends defining the characters and instead focused on the evolution of individual character and the actor portraying it, over the last four years.[15] While Samantha's dressing was influenced by American TV soap opera Dynasty (see Nolan Miller), Jackie Kennedy was the inspiration for Charlotte's clothes. Miranda, according to Field, has evolved the most from the series in terms of fashion. This was influenced significantly by development in actress Cynthia Nixon in past years.[15][16]

Music

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was released May 27, 2008, by New Line Records. The soundtrack includes new songs by Fergie and Jennifer Hudson (who plays Carrie's assistant in the film).

The film's soundtrack debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200, the highest debut for a multi-artist theatrical film soundtrack since 2005's Get Rich or Die Tryin',[19] and debuting at #6 on the UK Albums Chart, selling to date more than 55,000 copies.

A second soundtrack, Sex and the City: Volume 2, was released on September 23, 2008, coinciding with the film's DVD release, featuring the British singers Estelle, Craig David, Mutya Buena and Amy Winehouse. It also featured Janet Jackson, Ciara, and Elijah Kelley.

Score

In December 2008, the orchestral score for the film was released, Sex And The City - The Score, containing 18 tracks of original score composed, co-orchestrated, and conducted by Aaron Zigman. Whilst the order of the tracks does not correspond directly to the order that the score is heard in the film, the score soundtrack contains almost every single piece of score that is present in the film.

Release

Premiere

The film's international premiere took place on Monday, May 12, 2008, at Odeon West End in London's Leicester Square to the audience of 1700.[20] It was next premiered at Sony Center at Potsdamer Platz in Berlin on May 15.[21] The film had its New York City premiere at Radio City Music Hall on Tuesday, May 27, 2008.[22]

Reception

Box office

The film was a commercial success. Opening in 3,285 theaters, the film made $26.93 million in the US and Canada on its first day. The three-day opening weekend total was $57,038,404, aggregating $17,363 per theater.[23] The film recorded the biggest opening ever for an R-rated comedy and for a romantic comedy,[24] and also for a film starring all women.[25] As of March 2010, the film had grossed $152,647,258 at the US and Canadian box office, and $262,605,528 in other markets, bringing the worldwide total gross revenue to $415,252,786, making it the highest-grossing romantic comedy of 2008.[23]

Critical response

Sex and the City received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 49%, based on 176 reviews, with the site's critical consensus reading, "Sex and the City loses steam in the transition to the big screen, but will still thrill fans of the show."[26] Metacritic gave the film a normalized average score of 53 out of 100, based on 38 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[27]

Brian Lowry of Variety said the film "...feels a trifle half-hearted",[28] while Carina Chocano of the Los Angeles Times stated "the film tackles weighty issues with grace but is still very funny". She praised Michael Patrick King's work saying very few movies "are willing to go to such dark places while remaining a comedy in the Shakespearean sense".[29] Colin Bertram of the New York Daily News dubbed the film a "great reunion", and was happy with the return of "The 'Oh, my God, they did not just do that!' moments, the nudity, the swearing, the unabashed love of human frailty and downright wackiness".[30] The Chicago Tribune's Jessica Reeves described it as "Witty, effervescent and unexpectedly thoughtful."[31] Michael Rechtshaffen at The Hollywood Reporter praised the performances of the four leading ladies and said the film kept the essence of the series, but resembled a super-sized episode.[32]

Manohla Dargis of The New York Times found the film "a vulgar, shrill, deeply shallow — and, at 2 hours and 22 turgid minutes, overlong — addendum to a show",[33] while The Daily Telegraph's Sukhdev Sandhu panned the film saying "the ladies have become frozen, Spice Girls-style types - angsty, neurotic, predatory, princess - rather than individuals who might evolve or surprise us".[34] Rick Groen of The Globe and Mail slammed the film commenting on lack of script and adding that the characters "don't perform so much as parade, fixed in their roles as semi-animated clothes hangers on a cinematic runway". He gave the film zero stars out of four.[35] Anthony Lane, a film critic for The New Yorker, called the film a "superannuated fantasy posing as a slice of modern life"; he noted that "almost sixty years after All About Eve, which also featured four major female roles, there is a deep sadness in the sight of Carrie and friends defining themselves not as Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, Celeste Holm, and Thelma Ritter did—by their talents, their hats, and the swordplay of their wits—but purely by their ability to snare and keep a man....All the film lacks is a subtitle: "The Lying, the Bitch, and the Wardrobe."[36]

Ramin Setoodeh of Newsweek speculated that some of the criticism for the film is derived possibly from sexism: "when you listen to men talk about it (and this is coming from the perspective of a male writer), a strange thing happens. The talk turns hateful. Angry. Vengeful. Annoyed...Is this just poor sportsmanship? I can't help but wonder—cue the Carrie Bradshaw voiceover here—if it's not a case of 'Sexism in the City.' Men hated the movie before it even opened...Movie critics, an overwhelmingly male demographic, gave it such a nasty tongue lashing you would have thought they were talking about an ex-girlfriend...The movie might not be Citizen Kane—which, for the record, is a dude flick—but it's incredibly sweet and touching."[25]

The movie featured on worst of 2008 lists including that of The Times,[37] Mark Kermode, The New York Observer,[38] The Tart[39] and The Daily Telegraph.[40]

Media releases

New Line Home Entertainment released a DVD and Blu-ray release of Sex and the City: The Movie on September 23, 2008.[41] There are two versions of the film released in the US on home video. There is a standard, single disc theatrical cut (the version seen in theaters) which comes in fullscreen or widescreen (in separate editions). Both discs are the same, except for the movie presentation. The only features are an audio commentary, deleted scenes, and a digital copy of the film. Also released on the same day as the standard edition is the two-disc special edition, which adds six minutes of footage to the film, along with the commentary from the standard edition DVD and a second disc that contains bonus features, as well as a digital copy of the widescreen theatrical version of the film. The only version of the film released on Blu-Ray is the two-disc extended cut, which is identical to the DVD version of the extended cut.

On December 9, 2008, New Line Home Entertainment released a third edition of Sex and the City: The Movie. This edition is a 4-disc set entitled Sex and the City: The Movie (The Wedding Collection). The 4-disc set features the previously released extended cut of the film on the first disc, the second disc has the bonus features from the extended cut and three additional featurettes, the third disc holds even more special features, and the fourth is a music CD with songs inspired by the movie, including the alternative mix of Fergie's "Labels or Love" from the beginning of the film. The set also comes with an exclusive hardcover book, featuring photos and quotes from the movie, and a numbered certificate of authenticity in a pink padded box.

A fourth edition was also released in Australia. This set contained the two discs from the Sex and the City: The Movie Special Edition and a bonus 'Sex and the City Inspired' Clutch Bag. This clutch being black in color in a tile or snake skin material.

The DVD has reached the #1 on the UK DVD Top Chart and is the fastest selling DVD release of 2008 in the UK, selling over 920,000 copies in one week. It is way ahead of the 700,000 copies sold for Ratatouille which was, prior to Sex and the City's release, the best selling DVD of 2008 in the UK. Although the record has since been beaten by Mamma Mia!

Sequel

Main article: Sex and the City 2

Sex and the City 2 was released in cinemas on May 27, 2010, in the United States and May 28, 2010, in the United Kingdom. It was co-written, produced and directed by Michael Patrick King. The DVD was available for purchase in the United Kingdom on November 29, 2010. The film stars Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon, and Chris Noth, who reprised their roles from the previous film and television series. It also features cameos from Liza Minnelli, Miley Cyrus, Tim Gunn, Ron White, Omid Djalili, and Penélope Cruz, as well as Broadway actors Norm Lewis, Kelli O'Hara, and Ryan Silverman.

Awards and nominations

MTV Movie Awards
Teen Choice Awards
Satellite Awards
People's Choice Awards
National Movie Awards
Golden Trailer Awards
Costume Designers Guild Awards
BET Award

References

  1. ↑ "Sex and the City (15)". British Board of Film Classification. May 15, 2008. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Sex and the City". Turner Classic Movies. Atlanta: Turner Broadcasting System (Time Warner). Retrieved July 4, 2016.
  3. ↑ "Sex and the City 2". Turner Classic Movies. Atlanta: Turner Broadcasting System (Time Warner). Retrieved July 4, 2016.
  4. ↑ "'Sex and the City' May Get Big-Screen Treatment". Washington Post. 2004-02-19. Retrieved 2008-05-27.
  5. ↑ "Cattrall declines 'Sex and the City' film". USA Today. 2004-05-26. Retrieved 2008-05-27.
  6. ↑ ""Sex and the City" headed to movie theaters". Washington Post. 2007-07-05. Retrieved 2008-05-27.
  7. ↑ "Sex and the City" Sequel: SJP & Co. Make It Official!, E! Online, February 5, 2009.
  8. ↑ Huguenin, Patrick (2007-09-20). "Filming begins on 'Sex and the City' movie". New York: NY Daily News. Retrieved 2008-05-27.
  9. ↑ "Sex and The City movie ends filming". RTÉ. 2007-12-06. Retrieved 2008-05-27.
  10. ↑ Plum Sykes. "rebel romance". Vogue. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
  11. ↑ Will Lawrence (2008-05-19). "Sex and the City - The Movie: exclusive on-set report". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
  12. ↑ Missy Schwartz (2008-05-15). "'Sex and the City': Secrets from the Movie Set". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
  13. ↑ Wendy Donahue (2008-05-18). "'Sex and the City' fashions take a starring role in the movie". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 2008-06-09. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
  14. ↑ Andrea Vaucher (2007-10-05). "'Sex and the City' returns, with fashion to spare". International Herald Tribune. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
  15. 1 2 3 Robin Givhan (2008-05-25). "Sex, the City & Patricia Field". Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
  16. ↑ Liz Jones (2008-05-19). "The woman behind the clothes". London: Daily Mail. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
  17. ↑ "Vivienne Westwood Couldn't Sit Through 'Sex and the City'". The Cut. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  18. ↑ Nelson, Shannon (July 29, 2008). "Interview with Couture Designer Gilles Montezin". Pierce Mattie Public Relations, New York. Archived from the original on August 16, 2008. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
  19. ↑ Hasty, Katie (2008-06-04). "Usher Scores Second Best Sales Debut of '08". Billboard. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
  20. ↑ Singh, Anita (2008-05-12). "Sex And The City stars want London audience to keep plot secret". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
  21. ↑ "SEX AND THE CITY - Germany Premiere in Berlin". 2008-05-16. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
  22. ↑ "Photo Gallery: 'Sex and the City: The Movie' New York Premiere". WCBS Newsradio 880. 2008-05-28. Retrieved 2008-05-28.
  23. 1 2 "Sex and the City (2008)". Box Office Mojo. Amazon.com. Retrieved 2008-07-27.
  24. ↑ Friedman, Josh (2008-06-02). "'Sex and the City' is No. 1 at box office". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2008-06-28.
  25. 1 2 Ramin Setoodeh (2008-05-29). "Criticism of 'Sex and the City' Is Mostly Sexist". Newsweek. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
  26. ↑ "Sex and the City". Rotten Tomatoes. Amazon.com. Retrieved 2015-06-02.
  27. ↑ "Sex and the City: The Movie (2008): Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 2008-07-05.
  28. ↑ Lowry, Brian (2008-05-15). "Sex and the City Review". Variety. Archived from the original on May 24, 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
  29. ↑ Carina Chicano (2008-05-30). "Movie Review 'Sex and the City'". LA Times. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
  30. ↑ Colin Bertram (2008-05-05). "'Sex And The City: The Movie' proves that a great reunion is possible". New York: NY Daily News. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
  31. ↑ Jessica Reeves (2008-05-31). "'Sex and the City:' Better than ever". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
  32. ↑ Michael Rechtshaffen (2008-05-15). "Film Review: Sex and the City". THR. Archived from the original on 2008-05-19. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
  33. ↑ Manohla Dargis (2008-05-30). "The Girls Are Back in Town". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
  34. ↑ Sukhdev Sandhu (2008-05-28). "Sex and the City review: too many plugs and too few sparks". London: The Telegraph. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
  35. ↑ Rick Groen (2008-05-29). "In this case, ladies, bigger is far from better". Toronto: Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2008-05-31.
  36. ↑ Anthony Lane (2008-05-29). "Carrie: "Sex and the City"". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2008-07-05.
  37. ↑ Asthana, Anushka (2007-10-23). "The 100 Worst Movies of 2008". The Times. London. Retrieved 2008-12-26.
  38. ↑ Reed, Rex (2007-12-19). "The 10 Worst Films of 2008". The New York Observer. Retrieved 2008-12-26.
  39. ↑ Morgan, James (2007-12-22). "The Worst Movies of 2008 - Part 1". The Tart. Retrieved 2008-12-26.
  40. ↑ Sandhu, Sukhdev; Robey, Tim (2007-12-18). "Worst films of the year 2008". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 2008-12-26.
  41. ↑ "New Line Planning September Bow for 'Sex and the City' Blu-ray", High-Def Digest, July 9, 2008.
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