'Sex and The City" glitz hits Lakewood Ranch

Lakewood Ranch got a little sexy Thursday night.

Nearly 200 hundred fans of the hit HBO show and film “Sex and The City” turned up at Main Street’s Lakewood Ranch Cinemas for a screening and opening night party for “Sex and The City 2.”

A long line formed down the Main Street sidewalk just before the party started, with many moviegoers dressed to the nines for the event — just like the film’s famous New York characters Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda.

The fashionable crowd was more than co-manager John Ganas was expecting.

“I knew it was going to do good,” he said earlier Thursday of ticket sales to the party and film. “But I didn’t expect it to be this big.”

Lakewood Ranch resident Kaitlyn Miller, 21, and her group of friends were the first in line for the party, ready to partake in the food and music at the event. But Miller was more looking forward to the movie.

“There’s glamour, there’s beauty,” she said of why she loves the film series. “It’s a chick flick, what’s not to love.”

Inside the cinema’s lobby was belly dancing by dance troupe Entertainment by Tahja — to coincide with the Arabian feel of the new film’s plot.

The film features the four best friends taking a break from the city and visiting the Middle East for a glamorous girlfriend getaway of fashion and fun. That’s what brought Lakewood Ranch friends Linda Bastian and Sue Duffy out to the theater.

“I like the glamorous clothes,” said Duffy, 58. “And the good-looking men.”

“Sex and The City 2” stars Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon.

Other area theaters didn’t throw a bash for the film, though Royal Palm 20 hosted a celebration for “Prince of Persia.”

The Lakewood Ranch party was presented by the Sarasota Film Society.

Visit Bradenton.com/entertainment to read a movie review of the film.