Friday, April 10, 2009
Sex and the City, The Movie
- Who's watched: M & G
- Mentions: *1*
- Commentary: My reaction to this movie is complicated.
- I'm sure you've heard the following: "If you love the series, you'll love the movie." Not so. I agree that in order to become involved in the movie one has to be familiar with the series, but I love the series and the movie was a disappointment. I can see how my mother liked the movie. Aside from her reaction noted above, it was so colorful and splashed so broadly on such a huge canvas that it was kind of like watching a cartoon. That having been said,
- I was deeply affected, after my mother's death, by the scenes involving Carrie's mourning of what she assumed to be the definitive death of her relationship with Mr. Big. These scenes tugged mercilessly at my heart. At one point, the week after the first group of visitors left, I would watch the series of scenes, from her phone dropping at the wedding site when she hears that John has decided not to come to the wedding, straight through to her finally arising from an emotionally drugged three day sleeping binge in Mexico and joining the rest of her friends, endlessly. I would weep uncontrollably throughout...then continue my own mourning, which while it didn't include constant sleep, did include loss of appetite, drawing all drapes, extinguishing all sources of light and a strict isolation from everything that implies the continuation of life. That part of the movie continues to tug at my heart. On bad days, I make it a point to watch that series of scenes, yet again.
- I was completely disappointed in something about the movie, but I couldn't place my finger on what until MCS and MCNC came to visit in early spring and we watched the movie (they hadn't seen it). When MCS pronounced it, after having watched about a half hour of it, "a bunch of privileged women buying things", I realized what bothered me about the movie: the hard-driven focus on fashion, which is so relentless that the story lines get lost in the shuffle. Although the series has a pronounced fashion thrust, it isn't relentless; nor does it obscure story lines and ideas. The movie, unfortunately, took the fashion/money thrust to the limit and, in doing so, limited the ability of the story lines to come through.
In honor of my sister's thoughts, though, I am linking to an excellent article with which she would probably agree, if she watched more of the series. Or well, maybe she doesn't actually have to watch any of the series to agree. The writer of this article is not a fan and my sister will quickly pick up on that.
Update 8/2/21: The proverbial "they" did come out with a second SATC movie. I watched it. I think I checked it out of the library. I was not impressed. It was, in fact, an effort to watch it to the end. I did not add it to my collection.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Sarah Jessica Parker Carrie Bradshaw Kim Catrall Samantha Jones Kristin Davis Charlotte York Goldenblatt Cynthia Nixon Miranda Hobbes Chris Noth John James Preston Jennifer Hudson Louise David Eigenberg Steve Brady Jason Lewis Smith Jerrod Evan Handler Harry Goldenblatt Willie Garson Stanford Blatch Mario Cantone Anthony Marentino Lynn Cohen Magda Candice Bergen Enid Frick Gilles Marini Dante Julie Halston Bitsy Von Muffling Bridget Everett Drunk Party Girl
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 2008
Directed by Michael Patrick King.
Labels: 21st-century-chick-flicks, buddy, candice-bergen, cynthia-nixon, dramedy1, romance2, women's-movie1
