By Lexi Muir
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For years, “Sex and the City” has dominated TV screens in millions of Americans’ homes, and now, for the first time, it has hit the big screen. As a devout fan of the series, I had high expectations for the movie, and it definitely did not disappoint. The message of the show and the magic of the four friends, however, seemed to be compromised in the movie. With the four girls much older and wiser than they were four years ago, much has changed, but even more has remained the same.

“Sex and the City: The Movie” picked up right where “Sex and the City” (the series) left off. The four girls, Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha, still have the same love for the city and for each other. They still spend countless hours eating out while spilling juicy details about their love lives, and they all stay the same at heart. With the girls finally settling down, however, the crazy single lives of these four fabulous New York girls is ending, and a serious future is about to begin.

Sarah Jessica Parker plays Carrie and is the main character in the movie. Now a successful New York writer with three books published and one on the way, she decides to marry the love of her life, Mr. Big, played by Chris Noth, whom she has been with for ten years in an on-again off-again relationship. This decision, which is so un-Carrie-like, will cause many problems to arise, creating high-drama and many tears along the way.

Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) is still the same workaholic lawyer who is trying to raise her son Brady with her husband Steve. With her marriage falling apart, Miranda leans on Carrie and the other girls for support through one of the toughest times in her life. Charlotte (Kristin Davis), the hopeless romantic who always roots for love, is still happily married to Harry and raising their adopted daughter Lily. Samantha, possibly the most changed of them all, has moved to Los Angeles to be with her boyfriend Smith. Putting her boyfriend before herself (or even having a boyfriend at all) is unlike Samantha, and she starts to realize that being in L.A. away from her friends is not the life she wants to lead.

Louise, the assistant that Carrie hires, is played by Jennifer Hudson. She represents who the girls used to be, young and looking for love. Now, however, Carrie claims that she has found love, Miranda has found it and is struggling to keep it alive, Charlotte has more love than they can all imagine and Samantha is looking for what it means, or should mean, to her.

Full of comical lines and great times, “Sex and the City: The Movie” did not disappoint. Throughout the movie, however, I couldn’t help but hope for the same four young and crazy girls that I came to know and love during the series. It was hard to watch Carrie say goodbye to her apartment and to see Samantha so far away from her friends. I felt almost like some of the magic of the series was compromised, and the message of the series (and Carrie’s column) could no longer represent the girls. The message that living single is fabulous and that the only date you’ll ever need is the city seemed to fade away, latching onto a new set of younger women while saying goodbye to a few old friends.

The theme of the movie is that friendship will always be there when you need it, and even when you don’t. No other TV series or movie displays this better than “Sex and the City.” Through thick and thin, love, and lack thereof, and pretty much everything else, the four infamous girls of the series have stuck together and always been there for each other. Definitely a chick flick, this is a great movie to see with girlfriends on a girls’ night out, but men will also find that they enjoy it as well. If you love the series, or if you’re just hopping right into the movie, “Sex and the City: The Movie” will leave you with a smile on your face. It will keep you laughing long after the music of New York City ends and the four friends that put the sex into the city leave the screen.

Grade: A