Movie Review: First ‘Sex and the City’ movie carries the premise along

As feature-film spinoffs of television series go, “Sex and the City” is a textbook example of giving people what they want.

The popularity of the frank comedy about four female New York friends made it a game-changer for HBO, which presents the first movie (released in 2008) Tuesday, Feb. 20. The company had to know that going the film route with the franchise would be a smart business decision ... particularly after the original show ended, since its devotees likely would leap at more adventures of Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte (played again by Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis).

And leap they did, though returning writer-director Michael Patrick King was also wise enough to make allowances for those unfamiliar with the series, largely accomplishing that through an opening-credit voiceover by Parker that quickly brings the stories of all four women up to date (for that time, anyway). Those involve the men in their lives, with Chris Noth, Jason Lewis, David Eigenberg and Evan Handler also reprising their TV roles.

Remaining first among equals is the story of Carrie (Parker) and her wealthy beau known as “Mr. Big” (Noth). True love did not run smooth for them in the original version, nor does it here, even as they’re headed for the altar. A case of cold feet is a major factor in what happens, resulting in a great display of what always has been a principal theme of “Sex and the City”: sisterhood.

With the way the other women rally around Carrie, it’s no surprise that fans took this movie to heart as they did. The fact that the actresses knew the characters and their relationships so well by then added an extra layer of authenticity that was everything in terms of this story, making the picture a smash hit — even at a length of 2-1/2 hours, which still wasn’t enough for many people.