Females trilled as male hacks looked pained at the press screening of Sex and the City, writes Louise Eastin London
UNLESS YOU possess Samantha Jones's organisational skills or Carrie Bradshaw's media connections, you may find it nearly impossible to buy a ticket for today's cinema preview of Sex and the City.
Across the country, screenings are sold out, with many cinemas reporting unprecedented interest. UCI cinemas are predicting the film will score 2008's highest opening average. They expect to sell 25,000 tickets for their preview screenings today and tomorrow.
At yesterday's press screening in the Apollo Cinema, London, security was tight. These journalist-only screenings are usually male-dominated and blase, but this was 95 per cent female and excited. Writer Tony Parsons, there for BBC's Late Review, looked pained.
Two hours and 40 minutes later, and Parsons looked more pained still. Sex and the Cityis not a film for heterosexual males, nor does it attempt to be. Characters wear hats the size of the Red Cow roundabout and men prove their love by creating custom-built walk-in wardrobes for their women.
Sex and the Citywas last seen on our screens in 2004 when the HBO television series ended after six years and 96 episodes. Since then, the popularity of the series has not waned, thanks to near-constant repeats.
The film rejoins kooky Carrie, cynical Miranda, earnest Charlotte and foxy Samantha several years on. As usual, everyone except Samantha keeps their underwear on while having sex and, as usual, there are more costume changes than in Brown Thomas on the first day of the sales.
What has changed is the length and, at two hours 40 minutes, the film sometimes struggles not to appear like television wearing mummy's high heels.
Plot-wise, the film suffers from a few too many fashion breaks and the humour (unlike the four actresses) has grown a little broad. Do we really need five gags based on a miniature dog humping a cushion? Where the film does trump the television series is in its willingness to allow if not dark moments, then certainly this season's tawny-grey.
If the television series was all about finding love, then the movie deals with what happens once you've found it. And although it ain't always pretty, the film offers friendship as Botox-for-the-soul to make it all OK.
Female friendship has always been the key to Sex and the City's success and it is what will ensure the film's success. Cinemas are reporting a high level of group bookings, reflecting the film's appeal as a "mate movie", rather than a date movie.
The Eye Cinema in Galway has been receiving inquiries about the film since December as it is the only cinema in Galway showing the film. Despite offering seven shows a day, across two screens, they are sold out every evening this week.
At the Gate Multiplex in Cork, tonight's and tomorrow night's screenings have been sold out for several weeks while yesterday in Cavan's Storm Cinema, extra staff were called in.
Several of the country's hotels and shopping centres are offering Sex and the Citypackages offering everything from cup-cakes to cosmopolitan cocktails.
Jody Cronin of the Flynn Hotels group reports strong bookings for their "Get Carried Away" deal in Cork, Ennis and Dungarvan.
"It's all women with their girlfriends in twos and threes. No men are involved at all." At the CHQ in Dublin's Docklands, a competition to win a Sex and the Citymakeover attracted more than 2,000 entries.