Catching up with the gals from 'Sex and the City'

To many women — some who can name the episode from a single frame or line and some who just know the main characters and important relationships — the "Sex and the City" series was company, comfort or inspiration. And to see it hit the big screen is the single-girl equivalent of a child graduating from college.

"I am so excited about it. It's like a countdown," said Sarah Spence, who lives in Cape Girardeau and loves "Sex and the City." "They made it fashionable to be single."

For most of the series Carrie, Miranda, Samantha and Charlotte were the ultimate single girls. In the final episode everyone ended up their own version of a relationship, but there were six seasons of the women meeting men, loving men and losing men, all while still clinging to their own sense of self and, of course, one another.

Women around Cape Girardeau said they have plans for cocktails and the movie or a road trip to join friends and see the movie — and their old friends.

"Carrie is my favorite, definitely," said Michelle Schneider, another Cape Girardeau resident. "I'm just in love with all of them actually." Everybody needs a best friend. Four of them are even better.

And just what have these four long-lost pals been doing the last four years? Here's the scoop from the women who brought them to live — Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon, Kim Cattrall and Kristin Davis.

CARRIE BRADSHAW

The stiletto-clad epicenter of the now decade-long "Sex and the City" story. A sex columnist who dated her way across Manhattan (well, there was also that night in Staten Island) and then mused about her findings on love and lust to her friends, and of course to us.

Where We Left Her: At the end of the series, Carrie had just been rescued, fairy-tale style, from a grim relationship with that narcissistic Russian artist in Paris. Her knight in shining armor: Mr. Big, her once commitment-phobic boyfriend who appears to have seen the light, in the City of Light. "Carrie, you're the one" he says, and whisks her back to New York.

Where We Find Her Now: Cozy and happy, in a long-term relationship with Big. And older, of course: "This movie is in many ways about being an adult," Sarah Jessica Parker said of her alter-ego. And richer, too, thanks to a succession of best-selling books. Now a contributing editor for Vogue, Carrie's still in her one-bedroom apartment. And still a buddy to Miranda, Samantha and Charlotte.

MIRANDA HOBBES

Fortyish lawyer, hard-driving, career-focused. Lots of romantic adventures, too. Has a hard time relaxing.

Where We Left Her: The one character to have made the foray to an outer borough — in this case Brooklyn — Miranda was living there contentedly, to her great surprise, with her down-to-earth bartender husband, Steve, and their baby son, Brady.

Where We Find Her Now: Contentment has gone out the window. "She's at a real low point," said actresss Cyntia Nixon, 42. "She's just stretched way too thin between her work and her home life, trying to do it all and feeling like she's failing miserably in each of these realms. She's very angry when the film starts. Well, Miranda is frequently angry."

SAMANTHA JONES

PR executive, late (very late) 40s, with a healthy sexual appetite to say the least. Willing to try anything and anyone, in that area, including wealthy seniors, delivery men, some guy in a yoga class, and, once, a woman. Not a believer in monogamy, or even spending the whole night.

Where We Left Her: In a somber turn for her character, Samantha had undergone treatment for breast cancer, which entailed losing her hair, and, for a while, her sex drive. But hunky actor Smith Jerrod stayed by her side and the sex drive returned at the very end.

Where We Find Her Now: "Living monogamy," according to actress Kim Cattrall. "As they say, 'Good luck with that!'" Samantha has left her beloved New York to move to California with Smith, her first real settled relationship. "She has no safety net," the actress said. "She packs up, leaves, closes down her office. That's how much she wants to make this work."

CHARLOTTE YORK

Park Avenue socialite, formerly worked in an art gallery, pretty and a little prim, a believer in true love. Had one bad marriage (first her husband couldn't perform, then they couldn't conceive). On the bright side, she did get the apartment.

Where We Left Her: How's this for convenient? Charlotte ended up with her divorce lawyer, the devoted Harry, for whom she converted to Judaism. After a thwarted attempt to adopt, they learned they'd be getting a baby girl from China.

Where We Find Her Now: "She's got her daughter. She's in a much more settled place," portrayer Kristen Davis said. "She's been dealing with infertility and adoption. Her house is no longer all white! It's real love with Harry. They have three dogs, a little brood. She's the most settled of her friends, in a good way. And she's there for her friends more than she was ever before."