Even though Sex and the City's finale happened over four years ago, Miranda, Charlotte, Samantha and Carrie have never really left the airwaves. And no, I don't mean just in syndication on TBS, WGN or the CW, but in many series that have copied their formula (Lipstick Jungle, Cashmere Mafia, Noah's Arc, Girls Club, etc.) and haven't lived up to the original. Even now, networks are still trying to harness that lightning-in-a-bottle type momentum Sex and the City originally garnered. Seriously, how was a movie NOT in the works?

This movie, obviously, is for fans of the show. And honestly, that's how this review is biased. Normally, I try not to review a movie and give spoilers, but rather, I try to talk around the movie. It's not really possible here, for you'd have to have watched the show to get probably 60% of what's going on, from the girls' character quirks to why they drink Cosmopolitans. If you haven't seen the show, then you might want to check out a few episodes (Buzzsugar gives a good list), then come back and read this. Otherwise, the cat will be out of the bag. Or the Blahnik out of the box. Whatever works for you.

Ms. Bradshaw finally does it — she snags the elusive Mr. Big (aka John James Preston) and managed to tame him into marrying her. But if you think nearly two and a half hours of movietime goodness goes to just that event, you'd be mistaken. For the most part, the movie begins four years ahead of the finale with nearly all relationships still intact. Charlotte and Harry's adopted Chinese daughter, Lily, is a beautiful and precocious girl (even though she has all of four lines in the movie, it seems). Samantha and Smith are now living in LA — she manages his career while jetsetting back to NYC at the drop of a hat. Miranda, Steve and Brady are still in Brooklyn and well-settled into family life. Carrie and Big are getting hitched.

And then, there's a hitch, which honestly, is the crux point of the movie. It's at this point which separates the true fans from the casual observers. From here on in, there's a lot of hyperbole and drama which honestly, takes years to cultivate and understand, and won't be caught by someone who just came along to the theater as the boyfriend or token gay friend.

Speaking of gay…that's where I had a problem with the movie.

While all the girls' relationships are still intact from the series finale, Carrie's gay friend Stanford Blatch is suddenly single. When the series ended, Stanford had a "Broadway-caliber" dancer boyfriend Marcus Adent, they had a summer share in the Hamptons…hell, they even went to the gay prom! And now he's single? Later in the movie, he even shares a smooch with his gay rival, catty wedding coordinator Anthony Marantino (played by openly gay comedian Mario Cantone). In an age of pregnant men and gay marriage, I'm kinda surprised Darren Star and Michael Patrick King — the two openly gay men who produced and directed the series and the movie — didn't keep Marcus in — not even as a footnote so we would know what happened. He's even met all the girls! It's not like Sean Palmer's been doing a string of TV and movie appearances.

Oh, but that's right — the movie's all about Carrie and Co. And screaming. Nearly every time the four meet, there's screaming. I stopped counting at seven. Other things which are prevalent in the movie: double doors, monologues, one-liners and stereotypes…which brings me to my second problem with the movie.

Jennifer Hudson.

The soul singer/Oscar-winner/plot device/BBF is hired into the mix to get Carrie's affairs in order in Act 2. As quickly as she's ushered in, she leaves just as such…on a pun. She's organized, she's smart, she's tech savvy…yet she rents handbags from Bag Borrow or Steal.

…are you kidding me? Hudson's character just moved to the City, shares a one-bedroom apartment with three other girls, and has enough residual income to afford renting a fucking purse for over $100/week? I just thought this was a hot mess of a contradiction thrown in to show her as an even further departure from the thin, White female leads in the film, and I really didn't like it. On the other hand, people said Carrie's Manolo-buying, cab-taking, eating-out lifestyle obviously didn't match what a newspaper writer with a weekly column would make, so maybe this is a link to the past.

Single gays and sassy girls aside, the movie manages to trudge to a satisfying conclusion with enough momentum built to garner a sequel. But I feel that if they do a sequel, then they might as well bring the show back on the air. The movie allows all the main characters to be a bit extra than perhaps most fans would be used to (Charlotte steals most scenes easily), but the new beginnings created should at least warrant another season. For now though, the movie serves as an adequate transition point from the women in their 30's to the women in their 40's. What we're seeing here, is obviously a more mature cast. Fans will want more, certainly, but isn't delayed gratification the definition of maturity?

Grade: B+