Fans of the trend-setting HBO television series, rejoice!

The film version of Sex And The City unwraps almost two and a half hours of fabulous couture, sassy girl talk, toned naked men, breathtaking New York City locations and enough relationship woes to give your waterproof mascara a stern test.

If, however, you're not au fait with the vacillations of author Carrie Bradshaw (Parker) and her pals Samantha (Cattrall), Charlotte (Davis) and Miranda (Nixon), then Michael Patrick King's film will be as appealing as horizontal stripes on a beer gut.

A slick, fast-paced opening credits montage condenses 94 episodes of tears, tiaras and tantrums into five minutes of soundbites and one-liners. Carrie and her paramour, Mr Big (Noth), are poised to take the next step in their relationship: moving into a swanky penthouse apartment together. Samantha has relocated to Los Angeles with her lover and model/actor client Smith Jerrod (Lewis), while Charlotte paints a picture of domestic bliss with her dependable husband Harry (Handler) and adopted daughter Lily.

Miranda continues to pursue work commitments ahead of home life in Brooklyn with her husband Steve (Eigenberg), son Brady and nanny Magda (Cohen). When fate sends Carrie into a whirl, she hastily interviews for a personal assistant.

"Why'd you come to New York," the writer asks young and inexperienced applicant Louise (Hudson).

"To fall in love," she gushes, clutching a rented, Louis Vuitton patchwork handbag. Kindred spirits.

Sex And The City knows its audience and panders to them with swathes of gorgeous fashion and saucy banter like a hilarious euphemistic conversation about sex in front of three-year-old Lily.

"Well, I can't colour enough. I could colour all day, every day if I had my way. I would use every crayon in my box!" purrs Samantha.

Old friends such as event planner Anthony Marentino (Cantone), Vogue magazine editor Enid Frick (Bergen) and confidant Stanford Blatch (Garson) enjoy supporting roles, although sadly Aidan doesn't make a surprise appearance.

Indeed, there are few surprises here and nothing to warrant the transition to the big screen: this is essentially five episodes of the TV show sandwiched together. Writer-director King presumes the audience has intimate knowledge of the women and their back-stories.

The blur of designer labels is ridiculous as ever, while Miranda and Steve's subplot relies on one of them acting out of character for dramatic effect.

Hudson equips herself well as the newcomer to the fray, proving that genuine style doesn't come in a size zero.

Comedy/Romance. Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon, Jennifer Hudson, Chris Noth, Jason Lewis, Evan Handler, David Eigenberg, Mario Cantone, Lynn Cohen, Willie Garson, Candice Bergen. Director: Michael Patrick King.