I need to backtrack, back to 1998 (that was 10 freaking years ago shit). I was dating a jerk and wasting a lot of time on him and HE'S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU wasn't out and I ignored all my friends who told me to drop him.

Then came this show that was just awesome, it was sexy and real and empowering and somehow made me feel normal. Yeah try being single in New York. "At least I had a boyfriend" I told myself! As if somehow dating the lowest common denominator was enough. Carrie had a boyfriend or quazi boyfriend (like mine) who she was hung up on. "It was ok for me to be hung up on a guy too" I told myself!

Well time went on and I became addicted and somewhere after September 11th and a few seasons of my addiction I decided it was time to drop him. By then Carrie had dropped her BIG problem too. The show got more real, I was out in the big bad world dating and I could really relate. The undercurrent of being single in the city minus the Manolos which I couldn't afford then and drinks at Asia de Cuba was was also off limits then, the rest was pretty surreal and tres real for me.

I fell in love. With Carrie and Miranda and Samantha and Charlotte. There was a little of all of them in me and I could relate to all of them. I dated a Aiden but he didn't do it for me despite being such a nice guy, I knew a Berger who was just a total jackass and never came to terms with his own insecurities and then there was also a Richard in my life. Sigh. I related to the ups and downs of finding love.

But then the show came to an end and I cried of course knowing it was coming to an end. The horrid romance with the Russian, ugh. I hoped and prayed it would go bust and it did. But I also secretly admired and loved Carrie for trying to remove herself from the obvious traps that she pulled herself into and throwing caution to the wind. But then the BIG problem came back and saved the day and I was pissed. I was pissed with the finale. I had gotten rid of my BIG problem and there she was welcoming it back again.

YOU AREN'T SUPPOSED TO TAKE BOYFRIENDS WHO WERE ASSHOLES TO YOU BACK!!

Now fast forward to present day. Like everyone else I was excited about the movie. I was curious to find them 4 years past the point they left. When I got to the theater I was shocked to see that there were ALL kinds of women there. It's funny because the show was about 4 white women with just a handful of non white characters on it and it was really nice to see such a diverse group of women there to see it because they could all relate. To my horror there were a few women who had brought kids with them. WTF is wrong with people. It's a R rated movie with nudity, cursing and nevermind a very adult theme. Why would you bring kids?

Anyway moving along. I'll state what I loved about it first...

1. The fashion doh...I work up the street from Bryant Park and for years I worked across the street, actually during the time the show was being filmed in NYC I worked right there and often caught them filming around the area. I've attended shows in the tent for years and I've worked in the industry for a long time and while the glitz and glamour factor can get a little boring and trite after a while, the way it was captured in the movie was fantastic. It made New York City seem so sexy and glamorous as it actually is. I loved the Bridal photo shoot and the shoes and the clothes. And other than The Devil Wear's Prada this was only the second movie in years that has caught the fashion scene in NYC to the T.

2. Jennifer Hudson. She was sweet, precious and quite the refeshing touch in the movie. I really loved her character. And it's funny because she reminded me of my girlfriend Cara. Well Cara is neither Black nor from St. Louis but she did moved here from Minneapolis after a heartbreak, found love, got married and moved back.

3. The humor. It was nice to see the girls being able to laugh at themselves. The episode with Charlotte and pudding from Poughkeepsie and Samantha getting splattered with red paint (it happened to me years ago and it wasn't even real fur and unlike Samantha who was rather casual about it, I nearly decked the woman).

4. I semi enjoyed the storyline with Miranda. I liked it because it was the most real. Charlotte having gotten her "cinderella" story she went the surreal way, Carrie was still having dating problems she did 20 years ago and Samantha was well, acting her age?? I liked the infusion of reality in Miranda's marraige but found the "no way I could put up with it and dropping of the whole marraige immediately" a bit too unrealistic. That they came back together again and put the past behind them was brilliant, the best part of the movie but that she just dropped him without any emotions when he cheated on her was just not real. In real life it doesn't happen that way.

Now onto things I didn't like...

1. The BIG problem with the movie...

When the show ended BIG and Carrie put 6 years of drama behind them and were "together". But then the movie came along and 4 years later it's the same shit. They aren't exactly married but then when it comes down to it it's the same damn drama. This time he ditches her at the alter and ofcourse realizes it in 5 seconds. WHAT?  Give me something different!

Then Carrie goes on mourns for 6 months and then takes him back anyway and marries him. Lord. The only thing real is the place of numbness she ended up in. When I split with the jerky ex I was devastated. Even though it was the best decision I ever made I mourned that loss and felt sorry for myself for a long long long time.

But you know I moved on, put myself out there, met other men, then finally learnt to enjoy being single and living for me and not focusing on finding a man and voila just like that I found a perfect guy and married him. THAT is what I wanted for Carrie. A happy ending with the BIG problem. How disappointing. 10 years later and it's the same fre akingdrama.

You know what bugged me is that so many women were hysterical and happy that they "finally" ended up together. What? He was a total jackass to her, put her thru a wringer for years, nevermind the 2nd wife, and she still married him. Maybe these women have BIGGER jerks in their lives that are dicking them around and they think somehow their life will turn out perfect.

TRUST ME THIS IS A MOVIE, in real life this does NOT happen! Drop him and move on. There are better men out there.

2. Samantha. Sigh. I loved the sex pot Samantha before. I loved that this older woman had hot sex and made no excuses for enjoying it. I wanted to be her. But then she chose monogamy and monogamy made her this boring? Oh yeah and she had a hot and younger man in LA who was monogomous to her! Right. On what planet?

She was just blah and she was such a firecracker character on the show. I was so disappointed in what she'd turned out to be. When we were walking out of the theater someone mentioned that there might be a sequel. WHY? So I can see a 60 year old Samantha and one of her sexcapades? No thank you. She's hot and gorgeous but jesus can't you give that character more depth? 

3. I suppose I'll admit the movie was too hyped up perhaps in my own head. I had all these expectations from it and it was really just another "season" of the show except with a more expensive budget. There was nothing surprising about it. It felt drab and predictable and followed a story line we've already seen.

And so with this I'd say if you are a Sex and the City fan go see it. I enjoyed it overall but was very angry about the Carrie Big storyline. Real life doesn't work that way.