There appears to be a great deal of pooh-poohing about the new Sex and the City movie by folks who don't seem to have ever watched the HBO show, let alone "got it".

Recent opinions from Mike Rosen and Bill O'Reilly left me disappointed in the boys. Come on, O'Reilly, if you're gonna do a segment on the movie, at least have one guest who loved the show and can explain it to you.

And Mike, these four gorgeous gals aren't reason enough to check it out? Both you boys ought to know that if there hadn't been a little more than fashion and sex, the bones of this show would have been far too anorexic to last so many seasons.

Same goes for the movie.

Since my kids were too fond of eating and going to college, I passed on the price of HBO premium programming long ago...but the lure of life according to Carrie eventually drew me to the DVDs.

My husband was an initially hesitant participant (but not for long!) in the Sex and the City-a-thon that ultimately encompassed every episode. However, I can say-proudly-that he thoroughly enjoyed the movie.

No, the guy can't even pronounce Manolo Blahnik correctly, and you know if I'm too cheap to get HBO I'd never spend that kind of money on the shoes, and yes, I'm sure he enjoyed the view when clothes were scarce and skin was sweaty. But does he get that the show-and movie-are about so much more?

Of course.

And really, anyone who's watched got it, too. Sure, they partied and shopped, drank and danced, loved and lost. But they also faced down the meaning of their lives, and the meaning of friendship.

These gals went through Samantha's cancer, Charlotte's struggle with fertility, Miranda's (the least maternal of the four) out-of-wedlock baby, and Carrie's love, loss and shame over her on-again, off-again affair with "Big". She was the moth that got burned over and over and over.

The night the Big Guy and I saw the movie, attendance was female in the majority. Still, several husbands/boyfriends/significant others tagged along, and everyone had a great time-in spite of all the gratuitous fashion.

Lots of laughter, maybe some tears, and even a few gasps of surprise-especially during a pivotal scene during which a cell phone floats to the ground.

I think it's safe to say that everyone had a great time and it wasn't just because of the clothes, shoes and sex...well, not entirely. There was character growth-physical as well as emotional-and a satisfying plot that faced some issues (love, betrayal, loyalty, forgiveness, the big 5-0, and sushi!), and resolved them in ways that made sense and were true to the characters involved.

So Mike, Bill, and anyone else who's writing this movie off as a chick flick-okay, so it is, but it's so much more. Just enjoy, why don't you, and pass the Whoppers!