Talk about fashionably late: "Sex and the City" returns bigger and better with more relationship issues, cosmopolitans, fancy dining, frivolous shopping and of course, sex.

"Sex and the City" is definitely one of the most highly anticipated and most-hyped chick flicks of this year, and fans will be thrilled to be reunited with their four fashionista friends.

The film picks up where the dramatic TV season finale left off four years ago. For "Sex and the City" virgins, there is an orgasmic opening sequence that recaps all six seasons of the hit series in a mere three minutes and also establishes the Fab Four.

Since time has marched on, Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) is now a bestselling author with three books under her belt. She is also still happily attached to the sexy Mr Big (Chris Noth). On the other hand, Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon) is juggling multiple stressful roles - busy lawyer, lowly sex-driven wife and dedicated mother.

Charlotte York-Goldenblatt (Kristin Davis) leads a perfectly charmed life with her loving husband and her adopted Chinese daughter with almost zero problems. Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall) hasn't changed her sexually insatiable appetite for the opposite sex, living in a swanky LA beach house with her delicious toy-boy of five years, Jerry ‘Smith’ Jerrod (Jason Lewis).

As girlfriends do not kiss and tell, we are keeping the plot hush-hush so that we do not spoil the fun and constant surprises. Well... there is this amazing Vivienne Westwood wedding gown and the funniest laughs are poop jokes.

Credit to writer-director, Michael Patrick King for taking the Fab Four to the next stage of their lives while preserving the undeniably wonderful chemistry between the characters. It’s clear that as the foursome hit their 40s and 50s, they face new obstacles and make important life decisions. So the characters grow up before your eyes in their Manolos.

Academy Award winner, Jennifer Hudson joins the ensemble as Carrie’s new assistant, Louise, and is possibly the only character in her 20s.

Louise’s relationship with Carrie explores their different perspective in life and love in their 20s and 40s. Their age gap brings a fresh dimension to "Sex and the City" that should appeal to those in their 20s.

In her role, Hudson makes Louise genuinely real in finding true love in New York, plus she carries a rented Louis Vuitton from "Bag Borrow or Steal" to Carrie’s amusement!

The queen of style, Patricia Field made Parker a fashion icon. This time, Field pushes the right fashion buttons to create fashionista excitement with the fashion-forward wardrobe. Women will be left wide-eyed by the range of designer labels positioned in the film from Manolo Blahnik stilettos to Louis Vuitton bags.

Not to add, "Sex and the City" has another latest fashion accessory that would put Paris Hilton to shame: a female dog with an impeccable sexual urge.

Don’t expect much ‘sex’ on big screen version except for a surprising glimpse that the M18 rating and some adult Singaporeans can tolerate.

The two hours and 22 minutes running time can be painful for non-fans and fans with a short attention span, like yours truly. I caught myself peeking at my watch from time to time, and asked "Why can’t King shorten it like he did with the opening sequence?"

Still, "Sex and the City" is a joy, as the film explores themes such as falling in love, breaking up, growing up, sexual issues, and most importantly, forgiveness. The film also celebrates friendship between girlfriends and being there for one another.

Take my advice: Leave the man behind. Put on your favourite dress and strap on your stilettos for a girl’s movie night to laugh, cry and fall in love again with this high-estrogen romantic comedy.

- CNA