Dear 'Sex and the City 2' - Please Don't Suck This Time Around
Filed under: Comedy, Drama, Romance, Fandom, Remakes and Sequels
Dear Sex and the City 2,
I am writing this letter to you as a defeated fan. I might not have entered the Sex and the City universe until 2001, when a random e-mail buddy convinced me to watch and ignore my disinterest in fashion-centric fare, but I was converted quickly. Intermingled with the Manolo monologues and ridiculous fashion was a show with smarts. In all its ridiculousness and sometimes over-the-top fervor, were strong and defiant women.
The show offered professional, successful women who weren't one dimensional fiends salivating over husbands and baby making (even Charlotte had her depth), who had strong friendships free of catty, hair-pulling behavior, an openness to diversity and spanky, alternative lifestyles, and refreshing attitudes and conversations about sexuality and sex.
And then came the movie.
It was all about husbands, marriage, babies, and family.
Where did the women we grew to know and love go? Carrie's independent attitude and mixture of thrift and class gave way to a white-wedding obsessed monster who craves money and first-class living. Charlotte became a caricature of herself, xenophobic and barely one-dimensional. Samantha's strength was traded in for whiny, lonely life centered completely on her boyfriend. Only Miranda's life seemed to continue as planned, but that's not entirely joyful since her storyline has always been dedicated to chastising her.
(A rant in and of itself -- one dedicated to a character continually chastised by the man who supposedly loves her -- chastised for her lifestyle, for not wanting a child in a rocky relationship, for being bored in the middle of nowhere, for her love of the city, for being hurt when cheated on...)
Sure, a movie requires each character to be challenged, and by the end of Sex and the City some of the normalcy was back -- but it was still achieved by throwing every bit of spark by the wayside and reveling in the social norms the show had always shunned. The sexual pioneers of television became the bashful older women of the big screen.
No, I'm still not over my disappointment with Sex and the City -- and I keep hearing about the inevitable sequel that Entertainment Weekly says will come in the summer of 2010. Rumor has it the sequel will be shorter, funnier, and less expensive fashion-obsessed, while still offering much-needed escapism.
How about we escape back into a world of forward thinking and progressive lifestyles? Let Carrie and Big be a duo who stick to the roots of their humor and simplicity, busy with work, love, and friendship. Let Charlotte rediscover the world she had before motherhood, and balance both. Let Miranda get thrown one bone, somewhere. Let Samantha be strong, happy, and independent in her 50s.
The success of the first film inspired so much talk about the power of women in film, so how about we take that and show what women are and can be? They might be a decade older, but they can still have diverse and unique lives. They can still work. They can still party. They can still have interesting sex. They can still meet interesting people.
They can still ignore stereotypes and societal pressures and live life in their own way.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-02-2009 @ 2:26PM
Robin said...
Well, the show hadn't been *great* since Season 4 anyway, so I didn't have high hopes for the movie. That being said, I'm way more offended at the whole "runs" scene from the movie than the fact that it was about marriage and babies.
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2-02-2009 @ 2:44PM
so'c said...
I haven't seen the film and I barely read the article but I can't imagine ever hearing someone say "SATC 2 was soooo much better than 1."
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2-02-2009 @ 2:52PM
Cam said...
I thought the movie was fine. It held its own as far as tv show adaptations go
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2-02-2009 @ 3:21PM
SOS said...
Yo ... Monika,
What’s goin’ on? You want another writer for the sequel? You just pining; or what? All your points are valid. Are you suggesting the original writers come on board or be consulted or (heaven forbid) write the sequel? You make valid points and seem to want changes; would you mind suggesting exactly what changes?
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2-02-2009 @ 4:04PM
Drew said...
I think the problem many fans had with the movie was that they expected it to be just like the TV show. But the movie takes place 10 YEARS after the first season.
These women are no longer in their 30s and are ready to settle down with their lives. It doesn't mean that their personalities or ideas will change, but now their lives are about husbands and babies and marriage. What's wrong with that?
And you mention how the movie left behind the show's forward thinking and progressive lifestyles. Carrie and Big ended up having a small wedding in city hall, which is definitely not something people would normally do. And Samantha broke up with her boyfriend so she could continue to keep the relationship with herself. Both of those things are very progressive.
Yes, the movie was not as good as the TV show, but I still really enjoyed it. Miranda and Steve dealt with some very real marital problems and were able to work through it. Carrie went through a terrible hardship, but in the end remembered that her friends are always most important. Samantha went back to being the woman we know and love. A new character was introduced (Louise, played by Jennifer Hudson) and she gave us hope that love is still out there. And Charlotte... well, I'm not gonna lie, you were right about Charlotte.
And the last minutes of the movie were absolutely perfection! The movie is about age and growing up and these women are ready to continue living life and loving one another. Samantha is now 50 and still happy, sexy, and single. And the other three girls are all at new stages in their lives.
It might not be the movie you expected, but it still has some great ideas.
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2-02-2009 @ 4:49PM
Monika said...
"It doesn't mean that their personalities or ideas will change, but now their lives are about husbands and babies and marriage. What's wrong with that?"
Their ideas and personalities did change in the film. What's wrong with women being all about husbands, babies, and marriage? That its reductive and excludes the possibility of showing depth and range that fits a larger expanse of women. The show went from challenge typical notions of women in their 30s to falling into every cliche in their 40s.
The same story could've been told without bagging them into cliches and portrayals we've already seen a million times.
2-03-2009 @ 12:22PM
Astin said...
It sounds like you just described Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants 6.
2-09-2009 @ 6:29PM
jo said...
They have to settle down eventually. Who wants to see women in their 40s and 50s act as though they are in their 20s? The movie was tasteful and it was nice to see charlotte finally fall pregnant which is what she always wanted in the series. And as for Carrie and Big, they have always loved each other. They seemed to find them selves back in each others arms over a period of 10 years. I thought the series was excellent and so was the movie, even my husband enjoyed the movie. I am looking forward to number 2!!!
2-02-2009 @ 8:31PM
T_P said...
Loved the series and the movie. The girls were all very true to their characters. Personally I feel that most of the disappointment stems from unreasonably high expectation.
Can't wait for the second one!
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2-03-2009 @ 6:22AM
Sabb said...
I do not want them to have realistic problems and get amrried, having kids,... Of course there is nothing wrong about that but nothing funny and ridicolous either. i want them to have a super duper unrealistic and funny life so that I myself do not have to worry about things they face. I wanna be taken a bit away from reality. See how much money dumb Carrie soend for shoes. I do not wanna see her bying babyshoes. And btw the whole modie was just so foreseeable. No real surprises. Everytime a new scene started one could tell the following plot already...
2-02-2009 @ 11:57PM
Brigitta said...
I agree with every word you have written in this post.
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4-21-2009 @ 3:00PM
Sandy said...
I loved the movie I feel like it gave me closer to all the caricatures lives I left the theater feeling satisfied only question I have is did Carrie and Big keep the apartment? As for Sam I loved how they ended that story line although I think I would like to see her with Richard, Charlotte got just what she always wanted for the first episode to the last, I was how ever a little put off with how they wrote the Miranda caricature what happened to her spine? I know the plot was where they are now and how they have changed but seriously? They did not have to change her that much I am not sure how I feel about a 2nd movie where will they take this? now don’t get me wrong I am a huge fan and I enjoy watching reruns of the show with my daughter who is now old enough to watch it and has discovered my DVD boxed set she loves it and I did shed a tear when the last episode aired I miss it so much for one hr, one day a week I could escape to another world and it was fun but I was happy that they ended it with class but they did leave you hanging I know they made a ton of money off the movie but I did not see it that way I seen it as the writers giving closer to the fans and it was great but I to feel the same way I am not so sure about the 2nd movie of Corse I will go and see it but I am nervous because I do not want it to leave a bad taste for me or leave me hanging but they are going to do it anyway just like so many of you I just hope they do it with class and do not disappoint us in the end Ooo and please bring back the old Miranda.
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