Like so many husbands, I was subjected to watching the new movie version of Sex and the City with my wife. I actually watched a few episodes of the show on HBO and found it mildly entertaining, so I figured the movie would at least be tolerable. In all fairness, it was pretty tolerable, but I think the show was much stronger in terms of story and comedy.

After I finished watching this movie, I had to laugh at myself a little. The way I see it, we guys have had movies like the Porky’s or Revenge of the Nerds series for decades where a bunch of horny guys chase women and do silly stuff. Sex and the City fits right into that genre, only it’s women chasing men. Once I realized this, it explains why this series has been such a huge hit. The four women in this movie are living the ultimate female fantasy in a world full of handsome wealthy men, tons of drama, fashion out the wazoo, and the glitzy backdrop of New York City. In short – I get it.

One of the many ongoing storylines from the series involved Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) and her off and on romance with the mysterious Mr. Big (Chris Noth). The two wound up together in the show’s finale, much to the appreciation of fans who had been wondering about them for years. When this movie starts out, Carrie and Big are apartment shopping and end up buying a ridiculous penthouse. Pretty soon after that, they are making wedding plans.

When things in life and love don’t go as planned, the four women in this show bond together more than ever before. There’s a lot of character development going on in this movie. It’s the kind that usually would spend a whole season to develop, but advances are made in the 2+ hour running time of the film. Each of the women gets their own subplot, but it all ties into the stormy relationship between Carrie and Big. I thought Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) got more screen time than the others, though a lot was also given to Samantha (Kim Cattrall). Charlotte (Kristin Davis) was there for comic relief more than the others, and in one part she gave Mr. Big the ultimate stink eye.

If you never liked the HBO series, then you probably won’t like this movie, because it’s more of the same. There’s lots of sex, some nudity including a brief bit of ‘man part’, and a good bit of profanity. All of the guys in it are either perfect or perfectly flawed, but you have to keep in mind that this plays into the whole female fantasy thing. At first, I found the portrayal of some of the guys to be somewhat emasculating, but then I realized how they weren’t behaving all that different from a lot of guys I know. Maybe even myself included, but I’m pleading the fifth on that one.

There were two things about this movie that I didn’t like so much. First off, it’s too damn long. The whole thing is nearly 2.5 hours long, and that’s just too much. It’s not fair to the guys who get drug into the theaters to see it, because most of the bad action/horror movies we make our wives go see are almost always less than two hours long. Ladies, you owe us two movies for this one. Second, it just wasn’t that funny. I always appreciated the humor from the series and the way it blended the jokes and the drama, but this movie stays a little too far on the serious side for too long.

In the end, Sex and the City wasn’t such a bad movie. I see the appeal and am sure the diehard fans will love it. Now I’m going to watch The Scorpion King 2, followed by American Gangster, but only because my wife is out of town this weekend.