Last night I made my lovely other half sit down and watch the B-day pressie he gave me.
He was not overly impressed with ‘Sex and the City: The Movie’
And in watching it again I could see why. Sure I loved being in these womens company again, but it all just seemed so muddled. Many people/critics complained it felt like a stretched out episode, and this is simply not true, it felt like a season 5 of the series……a bridge to something better.
The thing that made the show so strong was not the sex, the fashion or even the city. It was the friendships of these women. They all fought with each other and loved each other, and when you take away the fantastic outfits, accessories and fornication, you are left with a show about friendship and how good friends can often outlast good lovers.
The movie kind of lost track of this insight into friendship, although it was a lot of fun. I was thinking how could they do other movies/sequels? How could it work better?
Perhaps they should do three more movies. The first one was focused on Carrie, so why not focus on the other women, a movie for Charlotte, a movie for Samantha and a movie for Miranda. Let them be in the lead for a change and let SJP be a supporting character.
I know Sex and the City is about Carrie mainly, but I think these three women deserve a story all their own. Tagging on Miranda and Steve’s marriage problems did kind of muddle things up a little, the constant focus shifts were not needed.
Charlotte has always been the Park Avenue Pollyanna. And hers has usually been a one note joke, that is until season 4. When faced with having to convey the sorrow of a failed marriage, the heart ache of not being able to have a child, and the pain of knowing you are mainly at fault in the failure of a relationship, Kristen Davis stepped up and showed great depth and range. This was all the more apparent in the film when she is both trying to comfort Carrie and let Big know just how she feels (that ‘NO’ she screams at him shook me!). In that one scene she showed such a range. The heartache for a heart broken friend, the anger at a person mixed with the disappointment in them. Her face curls with both fury and sadness. It really made me want to see more of this Charlotte.
In her movie I would have her face the excitement of getting pregnant again, but I would have her loose her baby ( a boy) and not only have to deal with her heart break, but Harry’s despair at loosing a son. This would allow us to see the strength of Charlotte, that was only hinted at in the film.
Added to this I would add the challenge of when Lily realises she is adopted and racially different from her ‘normal’ sister (Rose).
Miranda would of course be the person to comfort Charlotte the best and it would give a chance to really explore how these two very different women are friends. I would have Samantha be the one to comfort Harry and bring him out of his grief. As a subplot, it would be interesting to have Carrie care for Lily and Rose whilst Charlotte and Harry spend some time grieving so she and Big have to come to terms with the fact that they may not have children.
Cynthia Nixon was arguable the best actor in the show. She was one of those actresses that you make you crack up with a sharp line delivery one minute, and break your heart with their vulnerability the next. Miranda’s story would be the toughest to do as her character has already been through a lot.
I would love to have her facing the decision of how to balance her life.
The easiest way to do this is to have Magda die. She has been a mother figure to Miranda, even though she has fought against it. Plus Magda is the reason Miranda can remain partner at the firm and keep some of her independence.
What would she do? Care for Brady and cut back work, or hire another nanny?
This was always something that I found so interesting in the series, the fact that she was always a lawyer first and mother second. Even when she finally put her relationship with Brady at the top of the pile, she still worked hard and kept a nanny.
How would she deal with the only person she trusted to take care of her child, dying? Would she get Charlotte and Carrie to help?
What happens when you realize you cannot have it all on your terms?
She would try to convince Steve to become a house husband, but also having the girls pitch in and help for a while (including Samantha who I really would like to see have a real bonding moment with Miranda) while she figures out what to do.
In the end I would like to see Charlotte and Steve share caring for Brady after school. This would allow us to see how Steve and Charlotte interact and bond, but also Miranda and Charlotte. Out of all the girls on the show, these two have not had enough moments together.
Samantha.
Well you know Samantha would be the most light hearted of the movies, but with a real strong dose of realism.
Kim Cattrall only began to show real range in the final few seasons of the show. Before she was just pure, sexy, over the top, fun.
She was the main funny of the show. You could always count on Sam Jones being the thing to either shock you or make you laugh at loud.
Throughout the show Samantha Jones was always aware of getting older, and seemed prepared for it. She was always cool and confident and un-apologetic about her desire for sex no matter how old, or young her conquest were.
It would be interesting to see her facing how perceptions change once a woman hits the big five zero and how a woman in turn deals with it.
Samantha has always been independent and has never really needed the support of the girls in anyway other than just their friendship, but it would be good to see her deal with how the people deal with a woman once she is considered to be too old to be sexy. Of course this would then reflect how the girls see themselves. Miranda, always the most insecure in regards to her looks would try to vamp it up. Carrie would start experimenting with new looks and become even more neurotic and Charlotte would be the one to embrace the aging process.
I would personally love to see these women on the screen again. I do not think that just because they are in their latter 40’s/50’s that they have no stories of relevance to share. In fact they are needed more than ever. We live in a world were a force like Madonna is mocked because she is 50 and still dancing and performing and being provocative. Lets face it women over 50 are not considered a subject of interest for film or TV, so we need to see a 40 something Carrie Bradshaw looking fashionable and cute. We need to see 40 something Miranda Hobbs holding down a job and a family. We need to see 40 something Charlotte deal with motherhood and infertility and we definitely need to see 50 something Samantha Jones f*cking her way into her 60’s.
Isn't it funny how you can utterly loathe an actor. I mean the mention of their name, or the sight of them can fill you with a complete rage. I am like that with Renee Zellweger (or lemon face as I call her (or cats arse...but it does insult cats which really isn't fair on them).
