Unless you have spent the past decade confined to a cave in the Gobi Desert, you are probably aware of the television show “Sex and the City.”
Like many guys, what I know about the HBO series was gleaned from a certain other member of my household, who was — ahem — something of a fan.
From what I could gather over the years, the show involved a Manhattan columnist named Carrie Bradshaw and her three gal pals. Plots invariably tracked their cosmo-fueled adventures with men, who were dished on with appalling candor, and shoes, which seemed to cost more per pair than my first two cars combined.
Hollywood, always quick to spot a cash cow when it goes “moolah,” now gives us the movie version of “Sex and the City,” launched with enough hype to sink a Great Lakes coal barge.
That’s what brought me to the Denver Pavilions movie theater downtown on Saturday night. At 7:30 p.m., the line for the 8 p.m. showing of “Sex and the City” had 300 people in it, all flush with the fervor of true believers.
You wouldn’t see a line that long if Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt set up his-and-hers kissing booths at the Weld County Fair.
Sara Rosenau showed up with red high heels and girlfriends in tow, fresh from a “Sex and the City” trivia party. “I can’t wait to see the movie,” she told me. “I really identified with the women in the show and was just thrilled when they announced the film.”
Then, just like Carrie and Co., Rosenau and her friends sashayed off to a nearby bar for a quick pre-show cosmo.
Most of the people in line were women. Like their counterparts in the show and movie, they were dressed to the nines: sleek dresses, styled hair and serious shoes.
People haven’t dressed up to go to movies in more than 40 years, but for these folks, “Sex and the City” was an event to be honored.
Not that everyone was sporting Manolo Blahniks, the high-end shoe popularized by the show.
Jordan Pock showed up with friends. As with many fans, the show for her is a bit of fantasy and fashion envy. “We’re all social workers,” she said of her group. “We can’t afford to dress like that, but it’s fun to look at.”
Given that Sarah Jessica Parker, the actress playing Carrie, sports 81 outfits in the movie, Pock was due for an eyeful of fashion, all due to be showing up soon at better malls everywhere, thanks to the film’s commercial tie-ins.
In the crowd milling outside the theater, guys were in the distinct minority.
Brandon Bunjes was waiting to buy tickets with Karrah Griffin. Bunjes was built like an Amana refrigerator and did not strike me as the kind of guy who followed the exploits of Carrie and Co.
“I was never into the show,” Bunjes admitted. Then he nodded at Griffin. “But if she wanted to see the movie, yeah, I’d go.”
Easy for him to say, given that the two were planning to see “The Strangers,” a slasher flick. I hoped his words would not come back to haunt him.
But Scott Whittal was a trouper. He was waiting to see “Sex and the City” with his wife, Ksenia. I asked him about the gender split.
“You know, we were just having a conversation about that,” he said. “It’s interesting. After living together for two years, I’m just as eager to see the film as her.”
Now that, as Carrie Bradshaw fans will tell you, is being Mr. Big.
William Porter writes Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Reach him at wporter@denverpost.com or 303-954-1977.
