In reviewing 'Sex and the City' I can't help but feel that in some ways, due mainly to the thoroughly unexciting script and the thoroughly unromantic ending, this film might have done more to put women off the lifestyle of Carrie and co. than it has done to encourage women into such a way of living. Unfortunately it may take said women some time to realise that; and in the mean time there will be much more stumbling and misery ahead.

At the heart of what is wrong with Sex and the City, is the implicit message that abstinence and love are mutually exclusive. That is to say the message that a couple cannot be in a proper loving relationship unless that relationship involves sex. So much so is this the message that when Miranda reveals that she has not had sex for six months, her girlfriends look at her as though she had revealed she has been diagnosed with leprosy - though without the compassion that friends should have even if that were the case. Similarly, later on in the film, when Carrie and 'Mr Big' get back together (I don't believe I've given away anything unpredictable in saying that), the first thing they are implied to have done is to have had sex. And that was straight after a lengthy and emotionally-draining break-up which was due in large part to a misunderstanding and failure in communication.

The thing is, though I've never really properly watched an episode of the TV series in my life, it is quite clear that these four women spend most of their time analysing their relationships and stumbling from one to the next after much emotional upheaval, all accompanied by much fornication (sex outside of marriage), and all, ultimately, in the pursuit of love - the only word mentioned in this film more than the 's' word! At no point is it suggested that the main reason they keep stumbling, the main reason they have to engage in such dreary analysis, and the main reason it has taken them so long in their lives to find true love, is their simple failure to abstain from the act of making love on account of the fact that they are not yet married - as was the norm in our culture for centuries upon centuries until the 'sexual revolution' of the 1960s.

And the characters in Sex and the City clearly acknowledge that marriage is important - and not just for a romantic day of dressing up and taking photos. Early on in the film 'Mr Big' tells Carrie "I want you - I could've gone down to City Hall". In this statement there is the implicit acknowledgement that (a) despite being in a long-term relationship, he still doesn't 'have' Carrie, and (b) in order to do so requires making some kind of official vow (though it should be pointed out that in God's eyes such a limited vow as that taken in a registration office may well mean that they are still not married in His eyes). The point to make here is that up until this time, if 'Mr Big' didn't have Carrie, if in fact she wasn't 'his', what was he doing engaging in such an intimate act as to have sexual intercourse with her? There is further acknowledgement of the importance of marriage and the unique status it confers on people when Miranda shouts at her husband Steve "You broke us! - what we had is broken". Again there is implicit acknowledgement that beforehand they were not broken - they were whole; they were one. This is exactly what Jesus tells us in Matthew Chapter 19: "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one" (NIV ©1973).

There are several other things worth mentioning about the 'Sex and the City' movie: (1) There was a scene in which Charlotte's three year old daughter (a child actress) had to say the word 'sex' into the phone, which was completely unethical - children are often heavily influenced by the smallest of things and to even have this young girl's imagination provoked at such an age is highly irresponsible. (2) It was very commendable that Carrie took the time to walk all the way over to Miranda's apartment to keep her company on New Year's Eve. (3) It was also very commendable (plot revelation ahead) that Miranda decided to forgive Steve and seek reparation in their marriage, even after his huge failing: this acknowledgment that people aren't perfect was good to hear. (4) The graphic sex scenes and nudity were completely unnecessary and immoral - they were quite simply pornography, and the fact that the BBFC only gave this a '15' certificate shows the extent of degradation in our society [and/or the corruption of an industry-led censorship body]. (5) Charlotte is very much treated as the fourth wheel of the group - that is to say that the woman who does have it all, and who is happy, is portrayed as being 'the other' woman - the woman that other women aspire to be, but will never actually be. This isn't true; God offers true happiness to all. (6) The movie at least acknowledges that love and sex are indeed very important, and with that I think all Christians will agree. (7) And finally, importantly, this film is as subtle at placing pressure on women to have successful and blossoming friendships, as it is explicit in promoting fornication and promiscuity. However the reality is that just as with romantic relationships, if God is not at the centre of platonic friendships, they too will suffer from many ups and downs, much emotional turmoil, and even failure. The good news is that with God's help, that does not have to be the case!