More of a chick-flic than "Sex and the City"

Rating: 2/10 (1 August 2008)

My first thought upon leaving the movie was, "Can I get the last two hours of my life back?" Turns out, I can't - so I wrote this review instead to tell others what the movie's faults (and qualities) are so maybe you won't make the same mistake as I did.
The movie starts out like a teen summer romance with upbeat musical numbers, but quickly descends from there. The teen-aspect is almost immediately dominated by a group of 50's+ old women acting like bratty 15+ teenie-boppers, talking about how much sex they're having (or not having). Between the over-acting of Julie Walters and main character Amanda Seyfried (who does manage to be cute in the rare moments when she isn't straight up annoying) to the unconvincing acting of Meryl Streep, there just aren't any characters lovable enough to make the viewer care what happens next.
On the positive side, the movie did manage to be funny (twice, at least). Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to make up for the uninspired plot. The singing (which is ubiquitous) ranges from Pierce Brosnan and Meryl Streep's mediocre notes (which are flat almost as often as they're on pitch) to downright bad for much of the rest of the cast. And just where is this movie supposed to take place? At one point they suggest that Sophie is Greek, but the title and the location are given Italian names, and most of the cast is given Irish accents, with a few American and British accents thrown in. One is tempted to guess (for this and other reasons) that the director slept through most of this production.
So, the bottom line: should you see it? Maybe, if you're a fifty-something cougar of an old woman who wants to relive the 60's with other crones from that generation who refuse to act their age. But if you're a guy, make sure your cell phone has plenty of games on it before you let your girlfriend drag you to this one.