---
title: "Sex and the City"
year: 2008
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/sex-and-the-city"
fi1m_id: "sex-and-the-city"
imdb_id: "tt1000774"
tmdb_id: 4564
wikidata_id: "Q381751"
fi1m_score: 54
critics_score: 49
critics_reviews: 14
published: "2026-10-05T05:37:17.629251+00:00"
updated: "2026-10-05T05:37:18.245401+00:00"
region: "CO"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Sex and the City (2008)

Directed by Michael Patrick King · 2h 26m · Comedy, Drama, Romance

## Identity

Sex and the City

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/sex-and-the-city
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** sex-and-the-city
- **IMDb ID:** tt1000774
- **TMDB ID:** 4564
- **Wikidata ID:** Q381751
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1000774/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/4564, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q381751

**Fi1m score: 54** · Critics 49 from 14 reviews

*In a sentence:* Four friends, several wardrobes and rather too much time to admire the wardrobes

> The women remain good company, especially when Cynthia Nixon gets room to be unhappy. But *Sex and the City* stretches their reunion beyond its story, with clothes and sentiment occupying too much of the running time.

## Synopsis

Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) shares her life with friends Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall), Charlotte York (Kristin Davis) and Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon). Their conversations turn to men, clothes and the demands of staying close while each has a romantic life of her own. Carrie takes much of their attention, but Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda have their own concerns about love and independence. Romance draws them towards the men in their lives, while disappointment brings their friendships into focus. The women look to one another for company, reassurance and advice.

## Review

*Sex and the City* has agreeable company and a serious problem knowing when to stop. At 146 minutes, this uneven comedy lets its fondness for the characters excuse long stretches without much story. Director Michael Patrick King gives particular attention to Carrie Bradshaw, leaving the other women competing for space. We would rather spend more of that time with the friends together, where the performances make their long acquaintance believable.

Sarah Jessica Parker keeps Carrie engaging even when the film’s concentration on her becomes tiresome. She makes the character’s whimsy inviting, then allows unhappiness to disturb that familiar charm. Cynthia Nixon is stronger still as Miranda Hobbes, bringing weight to emotional scenes that the surrounding fuss rarely earns. We were moved by Miranda’s unhappiness because Nixon makes it recognisably difficult to bear, rather than merely a cue for sympathy. That matters in a film so ready to distract us with clothes: for a while, the person wearing them holds our attention.

Kim Cattrall supplies the most dependable comic pleasure as Samantha Jones, whose bluntness usefully interrupts the sentiment. Kristin Davis gives Charlotte York’s loyalty some bite, and makes her concern for her friends convincing. Cattrall and Davis also give the scenes a welcome difference in pace, so the four friends do not simply become a chorus agreeing with Carrie. Neither performance needs the screenplay to keep insisting how important the friendship is. When these women share a scene, there is already enough warmth and friction to make that clear, and their ease together is the film’s strongest reason for existing.

The costumes credited to Patricia Field, Danny Santiago and Molly Rogers are a substantial part of the entertainment, and enjoying them is hardly a moral failing. The trouble is how readily the film seems to accept expensive possessions as evidence of a satisfying life. John Thomas’s photography encourages us to enjoy looking at the clothes, while Jeremy Conway’s production design sustains the attention to possessions. The combined effect becomes repetitive, particularly when the women themselves receive less scrutiny than what surrounds them.

Michael Berenbaum’s editing does not give the separate strands enough urgency to sustain the length. Scenes can be pleasant individually while making the wait for the next development feel longer, and the emphasis on Carrie becomes wearing. Aaron Zigman’s music does little to restrain the sentiment, although the performances are often expressive enough without encouragement. A shorter film would have made the jokes more welcome; here they are too often required to revive our interest after another slow passage.

Romantic comedy can survive a thin story if the people involved remain interesting to one another. The romantic partners need enough personality for us to understand the attraction, particularly when so much of the drama depends on disappointment in them. Here Michael Patrick King’s screenplay is much more attentive to the women as friends than to the men as people worth understanding. That weakens the love story it spends so much time asking us to care about. The smaller exchanges between the women repeatedly suggest a better film, one willing to give each of them something substantial to do without returning quite so promptly to Carrie.

Viewers already attached to these characters have a reason to forgive the indulgence. The cast can still make familiar company feel welcome, and the emotional passages are not all spoiled by the fuss around them. We cannot recommend spending nearly two and a half hours here simply for those intermittent pleasures. Come for the reunion if it matters to you; do not expect it to make a convert.

*Fi1m score 54, published 5 October 2026.*

## What the critics say

The reviews are mixed to negative, with praise clustering around the familiar friendships and the pleasures of seeing the cast together again. Several critics find the women’s shared scenes more convincing than the central romance, and Sarah Jessica Parker and Cynthia Nixon receive particular praise for their emotional work. Even some less enthusiastic reviews acknowledge the reunion’s appeal to established fans, alongside moments of humour and enjoyment in the costumes.

The recurring complaints concern length, thin storytelling and the sense of a television episode stretched beyond its natural size. Critics also question the emphasis on shopping and men, though the disagreement is unusually wide: the Los Angeles Times finds a mature, funny portrayal of complicated middle-aged women, while The Guardian dismisses the writing and performances as crude and mechanical. Fashion itself divides opinion, supplying visual pleasure for some and evidence of dispiriting materialism for others.

## Straight answers

**Is Sex and the City worth watching?**

*Sex and the City* offers intermittent pleasures for existing fans, but we score it 54/100 and cannot recommend its 146 minutes to newcomers. The four leads make the friendship convincing, especially Cynthia Nixon in Miranda’s unhappy moments, but the thin story, excessive attention to Carrie and prolonged admiration of clothes make the reunion drag.

**How long is Sex and the City, and what is it rated?**

*Sex and the City* runs 2h 26m. It is a comedy and drama film.

**Where can I watch Sex and the City in Colombia?**

*Sex and the City* is streaming on HBO Max and Amazon Prime Video in Colombia, and it is also available to rent from Amazon Prime Video from CO$7900.00. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is Sex and the City, and is it suitable for children?**

*Sex and the City* has a UK 15 certificate, so it is unsuitable for children under 15. The certificate indicates material intended for older teenagers and adults; we cannot give a specific warning about violence or frightening scenes from the details available, which describe romantic disappointment and emotional unhappiness rather than the film’s classified content.

**How does Sex and the City compare to Cléo from 5 to 7?**

*Sex and the City* is the weaker choice beside [*Cléo from 5 to 7*](https://film.one/film/cleo-from-5-to-7), which we recommend for its closer attention to a woman’s inner life. Both give fashion a place, but the reunion comedy lingers over possessions, while Agnès Varda follows a Paris singer waiting for a medical result; Cléo’s difficult early company rewards patience more than Carrie’s prolonged reunion.

### Reviews we read (14)

- **Los Angeles Times**, Carina Chocano (90/100, inferred): The critic finds the film emotionally realistic, mature, and consistently funny, praising its willingness to explore serious themes while remaining a comedy. She especially highlights its nuanced embrace of middle-aged women as funny, independent, complicated, and sexual. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-sex30-2008may30-story.html)
- **Empire**, William Thomas (70/100, inferred): The critic finds the film a satisfying, heartfelt continuation for fans, though its storytelling and treatment of male characters disappoint. They single out the cast’s intimacy, especially Parker and Nixon’s performances in the darker scenes. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/sex-city-movie-review/)
- **The AV Club**, Genevieve Koski (B-): Koski finds it an enjoyable, fan-focused continuation that feels more like an oversized TV episode than a fully realized film. She praises its snappy dialogue, good-natured humor, and visual fun, while criticizing its unwieldy pacing and focus on Carrie. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/sex-and-the-city-1798204366)
- **RogerEbert.com** (64/100, inferred): The page was blocked, so the critic’s verdict cannot be verified. No specific praise or complaint is available from the page content. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/sex-and-the-city-2008)
- **Radio Times**, Stella Papamichael (3/5): The review finds the friendships more resonant than the central love story, despite too much attention to fashion. It praises Sarah Jessica Parker’s infectious whimsy and the ups and downs between friends. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-agbajy/sex-and-the-city-the-movie/)
- **Time Out**, Joshua Rothkopf (3/5): The three-star rating suggests a mixed verdict. The visible description praises the original show’s improvement over time and appeal beyond gossip. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/sex-and-the-city-1)
- **Slant Magazine**, Ed Gonzalez (2/4): Gonzalez sharply criticizes the film’s materialism and its reductive portrayal of women. He praises Miranda’s more grounded storyline and the emotional work it gives Cynthia Nixon. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/sex-and-the-city/)
- **Total Film**, Total Film (2/5): The critic finds the film sentimental, overlong, and too insular to win over newcomers, though fans may enjoy revisiting the characters. They complain that it is short on laughs and has barely enough story for a feature-length film. [Read](https://www.gamesradar.com/sex-and-the-city-the-movie-review/)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, Michael Rechtshaffen (35/100, inferred): The critic finds the film overlong and less sharp than the series, unlikely to expand its audience beyond devoted fans. The four leads’ performances and the costumes are singled out as pleasures. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/sex-city-movie-review-125779/)
- **Variety**, Brian Lowry (35/100, inferred): Lowry finds the film half-hearted, overlong, and too much like an episode stretched to feature length, though the reunion offers pleasures for fans. He praises the smaller moments, especially the women’s scenes together and Charlotte standing up for a friend. [Read](https://variety.com/2008/film/reviews/sex-and-the-city-6-1200522435/)
- **The New Yorker**, Anthony Lane (10/100, inferred): Lane finds the film a joyless, insulting fantasy that reduces its characters to consumerism and the pursuit of men. He particularly condemns its lavish focus on designer clothes and possessions, alongside its dismissal of working motherhood. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/06/09/carrie)
- **The Guardian**, Mark Kermode (5/100, inferred): Kermode delivers a scathing verdict, arguing that the film is a cynical, lifeless cash-in. He particularly criticizes the crude script and the cast’s mechanical performances, saying the clothes do the acting. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/sep/21/dvdreviews.comedy)
- **Eye for Film**, Chris (55/100, inferred): The critic finds it an enjoyable, pleasant diversion but ultimately superficial and not a particularly good film. Jennifer Hudson’s charismatic performance is singled out for praise, while the characters’ dependence on men draws criticism. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/sex-and-the-city-film-review-by-chris)
- **/Film**, Zach Lawrence (50/100, inferred): Lawrence finds the film neither bad nor good, describing it as an overlong episode that leaves him unsure whether he liked it. He singles out Samantha as the funniest and most entertaining part. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/499418/sex-and-the-city-review-a-mans-perspective/)

## Details

- **Director:** Michael Patrick King
- **Director:** Michael Patrick King
- **Screenplay:** Michael Patrick King
- **Cinematography:** John Thomas
- **Editor:** Michael Berenbaum
- **Music:** Aaron Zigman
- **Production design:** Jeremy Conway
- **Costume design:** Patricia Field, Danny Santiago, Molly Rogers
- **Producer:** Michael Patrick King, Sarah Jessica Parker, John Melfi
- **Cast:** Sarah Jessica Parker as Carrie Bradshaw; Kim Cattrall as Samantha Jones; Kristin Davis as Charlotte York; Cynthia Nixon as Miranda Hobbes; Chris Noth as Mr. Big; Candice Bergen as Enid Frick; Jennifer Hudson as Louise; David Eigenberg as Steve Brady
- **Runtime:** 2h 26m
- **First release (Brazil):** 12 May 2008
- **Genres:** Comedy, Drama, Romance
- **Budget:** $65 million
- **Box office:** $419 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lofhd7Ubnk

## Where to watch in Colombia

- HBO Max: streaming
- Amazon Prime Video: add-on
- Amazon Prime Video: rent CO$7900.00, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy CO$24900.00, hd

*Checked 2026-10-05.*

Also available in: AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HR, IE, IN, IS, IT, LT, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## If you liked this

- *The Women* (1939): Friendship, gossip and expensive clothes, with sharper claws and less patience.
- *Walking and Talking* (1996): Female friendship gets room for petty jealousies and the awkward business of growing apart.
- *Enough Said* (2013): Adult romance made funny through embarrassment, hesitation and the things people leave unsaid.
- *Cléo from 5 to 7* (1962), Fi1m 88: Fashion and city streets give way to a woman’s uneasy scrutiny of herself. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/cleo-from-5-to-7.md)
- *Our Little Sister* (2015): Four sisters share a home, with ordinary routines doing the emotional work.

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/sex-and-the-city