Playdar: Holy Manolo, ‘Sex and the City: The Movie’ Turns 5 This Year

Celebrate the anniversary of the ultimate gay/chick flick with this roundup of tunes from the film's sizzling soundtrack.

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I was strumming through my music collection the other day when I came across one of my all-time favorite soundtracks: Sex and the City: The Movie. It was then that I realized, holy Manolo!, it has already been five years since Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda took their sex and style from TV to the big screen. Today, I wanted to highlight some fierce music from the film, while taking a walk down the memory runway of that ultimate gay/chick flick.

On May 30, 2008, after what seemed like an eternity of anticipation and promotion, the film finally opened. Upon it’s release, a new girls night out was born, complete with plenty of kiki-ing and Cosmos. On the film’s opening weekend it took in an impressive $57 million — a record for an R rated comedy at the time (and, ahem, $30 mil more than Will Smith’s After Earth) — and it showed its long and sexy legs through the summer, ending up with a fabulous $157 million domestic finish. The release of the film was indeed bigger than Mr. Big.

There were many critics who bashed the movie — mostly straight men who just don’t get it like we do — but it was everything we could want from a big-screen adaption of the show. The fashion was fiercer than ever, and New York never looked more gorgeous. And who could forget its most memorable moments: Carrie and Big’s almost-wedding at the New York public library; Charlotte’s drinking-water incident in Mexico; Ms. Jennifer Hudson’s turn as Louise, Carrie’s assistant from St. Louis; and a, uh, that scene with Gilles Marini in the shower didn’t hurt, either. Despite what any critic said, it became — and always will be — an instant classic on our gay-movie lists.

The accompanying soundtrack was the glue that held together all the film’s fierceness. I fell in love with Ciara’s “Click Flash,” which played while Carrie did her last single-girl Vogue shoot. Fergie’s opening track, “Labels Or Love,” helped me realize that, indeed, Prada dresses have never broken my heart. And the powerhouse “Dressed Up In Love,” by JHud, was the perfect way to end the fairy tale. Just like the movie, the soundtrack has plenty of heart, soul, diva and, of course, lots of sex. It’s hard to believe that it has been five years since the film was released. I guess time flies when you’re looking and feeling fabulous. Carrie on, girls!

1. “Labels of Love” by Fergie

2. “The Look of Love” by Nina Simone

3. “Dressed Up in Love” by Jennifer Hudson

4. “Click Flash” by Ciara

5. “2nite” by Janet Jackson

6. “The Heart of the Matter” by India.Arie