“Sex and the City”

Starring: Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon, Kristin Davis, Kim… “Sex and the City”

Starring: Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon, Kristin Davis, Kim Cattrall

Directed by Michael Patrick King

Darren Star Production

Rating: A-

After four long years of anticipation, HBO’s fan favorite “Sex and the City” has finally made the jump from television to film. The four ladies of the series reunite on the big screen this summer for the eagerly awaited movie version of the esteemed show.

The girls are back – along with their men, Manolos and, of course, Manhattan. Although the story is clearly centered around the lives of the four leading ladies, it is the addition of these three things – their boyfriends and husbands, their exquisite designer outfits and shoes and their adored city – that add flavor to the lives of the women by fueling feuds, controversy, excitement and pleasure.

Although the ending proves to be more-or-less predictable, it’s the tumultuous journey that each woman endures that cinches the film’s success by simultaneously stimulating emotional highs and lows with its charm and honesty.

The film places considerable importance on the fact that each woman has matured individually since their last on-screen escapades.

The show’s main gal and voice-over narrator, Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), is still happily with Mr. Big (Chris Noth). The twosome decide to take the leap into shared real estate as Big surprises his lady with a penthouse suite – complete with an enormous custom-made walk-in closet, perfect for her colossal collection of outfits and stilettos.

As Carrie and Big prepare to become roommates, they also contemplate the next step in their relationship – ultimately agreeing, with a rather unconventional proposal, on marriage. However, the simple proposal soon escalates to full-blown drama as wedding plans become extravagant and uncertainties grow.

As faithful fans rode co-pilot with Carrie through her roller coaster of trials and tribulations on the show – through hook-ups and break-ups, extreme highs and lows – the movie captures the audience’s attention right away, shedding light on the happiness surrounding Carrie and Big. But it wouldn’t be a true journey with Carrie and the girls without some hardships, and the film definitely dishes out obstacles to overcome – perhaps more heartbreaking and emotional than any they had to endure before.

But without the hard times, there are no lessons to be learned, and as fans know, no episode was complete until at least one of the girls – usually all of them – resolved an issue or overcame a plateau. The film loyally follows in the show’s footsteps as each woman eventually learns something and acknowledges that life doesn’t always go exactly as planned, but with compromise comes enlightenment.

Although the sub-plots following Carrie and Miranda are particularly devastating, Samantha’s is more of a self-discovery, and Charlotte’s is one of long-awaited fulfillment, showing that persistence, determination and, above all else, optimism will eventually lead to happiness.

The film successfully shows that with age comes maturity and allows each woman to not only form lasting relationships with the fellows in their lives, but, most importantly, with one another and themselves, staying true to the overall tone of the series – paying close attention to the evolving roles of women in society, never downplaying the necessity of setting high goals and never compromising one’s beliefs.

For devout fans, the film might fall short of the hard-to-exceed expectations secured by the series during its six-season run on television.

Throughout its run, there was never a dry spell of wit, surprise, humor and drama from week to week – the show always performed with great satisfaction. Each episode intoxicated viewers with 30 minutes packed full of adventures – sometimes unbelievably hilarious and always endearing.

The transfer to the big screen for this guilty pleasure affords loyal fans one last glimpse into the lives of the fierce foursome, and although it might not reach the peak that it did on air, it successfully transports viewers back into the escapades of their favorite ladies.

The movie is captivating, and although it is lengthy at two hours and 20 minutes, it holds interest throughout. Each event introduces something new, and loose ends are left untied until the very end. The length works because the resolution finally affords closure to the lives of each character, and for this reason, never becomes overbearing.

It will make you laugh, it will make you cry, but most importantly, it will make you feel good. The enchantment of the show makes a seamless transition to film by filling in all the blanks from where the series left off while adding new developments as well.

Reuniting with the ladies turns out to be quite bittersweet – catching up with them is indeed wonderful, but tainted with sadness, knowing this is finally the end of the road, and we will always want more “Sex and the City.”