Can't Wait!!!

The long awaited movie sequel to the 'Sex And The City' series is almost on our screens. I have quite a large(ish) cohort of friends who are keen to catch the showing on premiere night, Thursday 5th June. Sure, it's not a 'real' premiere, not before the movie opens to the public, no red carpet and all that, but I'm afraid that's as close to a debut as I'm going to get. On the other hand, there will be champagne involved, and probably dressing up in something foofy with spiky high heels, so what's not to get excited about?

I'm dying to find out what happened to Carrie and Big. Apparently the story is picked up four years down the track, and Charlotte's adopted baby is no longer toddling. But there will obviously be more to the story than just checking in with the characters after a few years have gone by. The mere act of reprising the story means introducing conflict to the central characters' lives. That will inevitably mean trouble in their love-lives, and I guess that's what will bring audiences flocking. At the end of the series, Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha were in secure, loving relationships with their respective partners. These men weren't just 'added' in to give a satisfactory ending to the series. They were wonderful, supportive, sometimes heroic, loving partners and passionate lovers. Above all, the writers (and actors) had succeeded magnificently in portraying these men as intensely lovable. Introducing a new chapter, or epilogue, is risky business. Delivering a successful movie sequel to the series would have meant fiddling with - and potentially upsetting - the delicate balance of the status quo. A writer's minefield. For a series that was near flawless (okay, flawless in my opinion, at least), a bad sequel would be like taking a paint roller to a Van Gogh. A positive is that some of the writing team have come on board for the movie, and are headed by the show's leading writer/producer, Michael Patrick King, who is also directing.

So it's with more than a little trepidation that I approach the movie's opening. The series ended so well, all loose ends tied, everyone happy and in love. Most importantly, central character Carrie and Mr Big were at last united. Though it was a wrench seeing the series end, there was some satisfaction to the final credits rolling up for it gave us S&TC fans the finality we needed. There wouldn't be another episode in which Carrie and Big could break up. With the movie looming, the possibility of that is now almost a certainty. Only one questions remains: How will they patch it up? or worse... will there be an operatic ending with unavoidable tragedy and tears? Samantha had a health crisis at the end of the series. Her lover, Smith, was instrumental in her recovery, but will there be a relapse? Will the NY gals still be a foursome by the end of the movie? As a romance writer, I am obliged to subscribe to the old cliche, 'Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all'. Sex And The City gals, I'm with you all the way, sink or swim.