Last night, one of my most darling friends from high school convinced me to see a 12:01 am showing of Sex & the City in the (GASP!!!) suburbs. Even though I have this alleged real person job and schedule, I agreed pretty enthusiastically and bunked into Mini Cooper for the drive to Framingham. Like every reasonable girl, I do absolutely adore SATC. I have been looking forward to this movie since it came out.
And - guess what - like most things that warrant such HUGE anticipation, it fell short. I didn't quite hate it, but I didn't love it either. For a show that was always smart, witty, bittersweet, and self-indulgent, this movie did nothing to pay the TV version justice. The most fatal flaws of all of the characters came out roaring in full, utterly unflattering force. Carrie is self-centered and incapable, Miranda is ever the bitter career woman, Charlotte is the perpetual wide-eyed optimist, and Samantha is still the resident tarty whore. The men of the show (Mr. Big, Steve, Harry, Anthony, and Stanford) are nothing more than talking heads without any substance or development. One of the best features of the so-called "permanent" men on the show was that they DID have substance and they were more than just pretty faces/bodies. In the film, they just felt like another necessary accessory in the life-cycle of the New York woman. Charlotte's adorable adopted Asian baby, Lily, now 3 years old, appears with the ladies throughout the movie...and she doesn't say a word (well, to be fair, she says maybe 2-3 words). Again, she just feels like another little accessory to go along with the rest of the ride. Speaking of accessories, the product placement in this movie was absolutely over the top. If I had to see one more ugly Louis Vuitton handbag, I was going to vomit into my little ostrich patent Jil Sander clutch (HA! No sarcastic product placement of my own intended)!
What is most interesting to me is comparing the K who loved the TV show to the K who went to see the movie last night. The arc of SATC followed me through high school and college, struggling to figure out who or what I wanted to be. Four fabulous single best friends living a designer urban lifestyle seemed like a pretty decent aspirational goal for a 17 year-old girl in Palm Beach County and for a 20 year-old college student in Chicago. It seemed unattainable and respectable, and the best features of the characters seemed like a pretty good target for the future. Now that I myself am an urban single girl with a career and misadventures in love, the SATC ladies no longer seem like someone I want to be. The escape from reality used to be redeeming and fun, but for a movie that highlights the worst characteristics of the women for over 2 hours, it's downright painful. Like L, I have discovered that I do sort of despise Carrie, and that she is not my dream. SATC used to be a welcome weekly escape from the reality of everyday life. The movie just feels like a giant ode to consumerism and narcissism, which is fun on a small scale, and much less tolerable for 2.5 hours.
At the end of the day, the real thing to consider is this: did the movie fall apart or did I just grow up?
xoxo,
KK
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