'Sex and the City' feels as familiar as a favorite shoe

It's an unabashed guilty pleasure that goes down as smoothly as a chilled cosmo. Fans of the HBO series are sure to enjoy the reunion of the fab four in Sex and the City: The Movie (*** out of four), who remain glamorous and guy-obsessed.

Even more than on the TV series, the movie is more about style than substance. The film feels exceedingly familiar — so much so that most of the plot turns can be guessed well before they happen. The movie's nearly 2½ hours are padded with wardrobe change montages that could test the nerves of even the most die-hard fashionista. Most disappointing is the paucity of clever quips, though the film is written and directed by series veteran Michael Patrick King.
Still, there is something undeniably satisfying about the effort, which ties up all the loose ends more decisively than the series finale.

The bonds of friendship are celebrated above all — as is the fact that these women are well into middle age, have been through the romance wars and are stronger for it.

Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), Samantha (Kim Cattrall), Charlotte (Kristin Davis) and Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) remain fashionably turned out, stylishly coiffed and each faces a major dilemma. When the film opens, Carrie is no longer a columnist but a contributor to Vogue. She and Mr. Big (Chris Noth) have been happily together for the past four years and are contemplating moving into a gorgeous new apartment.

Samantha is managing the career of her hunky younger beau Smith Jerrod (Jason Lewis) and living in Los Angeles. Charlotte has found happiness with husband Harry (Evan Handler) and Miranda is living in Brooklyn and juggling being a mom and a lawyer while married to Steve (David Eigenberg).

Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls) has a sizable but lackluster part as Carrie's new assistant, and Candice Bergen's talents are wasted in a cameo as a Vogue editor.
But, the movie, like the series, is all about the emotional ups and downs of the central quartet of sartorially resplendent women. Sex will polarize the sexes. Women will be entranced by the soap opera while men will wonder what all the fuss is about.
Amid the style, sass and sexiness is plenty of sentimentality, especially at the satisfying conclusion.

As indulgences go, this one is easier on the waistline than downing a tub of Ben & Jerry's and won't deplete the wallet like a Louis Vuitton handbag. (Running time: 2 hours, 22 minutes. Rated R for strong sexual content, graphic nudity and language. Opens tonight in select theaters and Friday nationwide.)
Source: Claudia Puig, USA TODAY