Happy-Go-Lucky

Flash of Genius

Eagle Eye

Ghost Town

The Duchess

Hounddog

Burn After Reading

Hamlet 2

The House Bunny

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Elegy

Bottle Shock

For the many guys who get dragged along to the new Sex and the City movie, one caveat: It clocks in at an unconscionable almost two-and-a-half hours and feels pretty much like watching an entire season of the cable juggernaut in one sitting. Based on the HBO series that became a certified cultural event during its run from 1998 to 2004, Sex and the City picks up four years after it left off with the four designer label-obsessed Manhattan women talking as much about Louis Vuitton, Manolo Blahnik and Vera Wang as they do about men. Carrie's (Sarah Jessica Parker) impending wedding to Big (Chris Noth) is spiraling into material excess and emotional insanity. Samantha (Kim Cattrall) is living on the West Coast and growing bored with her young actor boy toy. Charlotte (Kristin Davis) is happily married, while Miranda (Cynthia Nixon), not so much. The new face is that of Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson as Carrie's assistant Louise who gets her own story arc (Heartbreak! Redemption!) but seems like an interloper. It helps if you watched the show during its run or checked it out on DVD, but, really, it doesn't matter because the movie kicks off with a rundown of all four women and, even if you come in late, it's very easy to get a line on their stories. They're deeply superficial, picky and randy.

So what's the bottom line? New York looks great. All four women look glowing and energized and they work their famous clockwork chemistry and camaraderie in ways that can be irresistible. They say some very witty and funny things; in fact, when it comes to talking about and dealing with men, they're every bit as superficial, judgmental and scathing as most guys are about women. Fans of the series should love it, even if some might wish that their four beloved heroines had been given new things to say and do. For the uninitiated, though, Sex and the City, written and directed by series stalwart Michael Patrick King, feels like one long, desperate slog -- a product-placement orgy for our skin-deep era.

by Stephen Rebello

Credits: Craig Blankenhorn/New Line Cinema

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