sex and the city (2008)

You've come a long way, baby.

-Virginia Slims ad

Critics lambast Sex and the City (SATC) as, “it is not real life”. Of course it’s not real life - who can afford Manolo Blahniks on a column writer’s salary and still maintain one’s own place in Manhattan, brainstorming in cafes, and living on cosmopolitans in the evenings? And trust me, I have been wearing heels since I was 10years old and there is no way you can wear those 3-inch pumps to a picnic. But all these are beside the point. As beside the point as Mr. Big’s real name.

I first heard of SATC from a former colleague some years back who said I should watch this series (I had a feeling he was staring at my red stilettos while saying this). I looked up briefly from the monitor to say “sex wha-at?”

I watched the first three episodes and I was hooked. Yep, it was about sex and whole lots more. Lots more shoes, clothes, bags, friendships, real estate, women’s dilemmas, diamond rings, and have I said shoes?

It used to be that there were few choices available to women. They would either become wives/mothers, whores, or end up in the convent. SATC explores these choices, asks if this is all there is to it, and raises questions which we have feared at some point to give voice to: What if I divorce this someone who I thought was the perfect man of my life? What if I decide not to get married? What if I choose my career over marriage? What if I choose marriage over my career? To what extent should I compromise? Should I break off an engagement because of my fear of marriage and the possibility of marital unromanticization/stagnation? Is it evil to leave somebody who stood by me when I was at my lowest point? How will I know if he is the One? Will I ever know if he is the One? Will I still recognize myself tomorrow after I have packed my bags, my books, and my life, to go join who I think is the One to some far off country? How far can I change for somebody? Should I get a nanny? Should I adopt a baby? Can I borrow money from friends? How would it look if I borrow money from an ex-boyfriend? How much of our boyfriends’ past do we need to know? What if my prospective mother-in-law is the evil stepmother reincarnate?

SATC the movie picks up the lives of the four friends Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), Charlotte York (Kristin Davis), Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall), and Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon), five years after Season 6 (no one gained weight, and all four look as fabulous as ever). Similar to the series, the movie version continues to explore dilemmas faced by 21st century women. Is there forgiveness after infidelity? How much advice should we take from friends? Should we think about escape clauses even before we say our marriage vows? What about the kids if we decide to get a divorce? Should I stop doing the things that I love for the baby? Should I stop doing things I love for the man in my life? What is the perfect wedding gown? What is the wedding really all about? What if my family life starts falling at the seams because of my job? Is there such thing as a perfect life or a perfect choice?

SATC is a fantastic movie date for girlfriends especially those facing crossroads in their lives. Husbands, boyfriends, and fiancés, be forewarned, and stay out of this amazon jungle that is the theatre showing SATC. Be sure to have a very important business meeting if she asks you to watch the movie with her.

One more thing. This is a movie shot in New York and about women living in Manhattan who feel passionately about brands and their cosmopolitans and who rarely cook. If you cannot forget for 2 hours and a half about certain countries in Africa where the average lifespan of women is approximately 35 years old, please do not watch this movie. Your heart will bleed. And it will not be due to Mr. Big’s (Chris North’s) inability to muster anything more than a lopsided grin the entire movie or Jerry “Smith” Jerrod’s (Jason Lewis’s) bland blond presence.