Culturati Goes Out: Sex and the City

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Last night a group of us ladies (we call ourselves the Culturati) went out for a night on the town. On tap for yesterday evening was a screening of Sex and the City, followed by a reservation at a new restaurant in the District: Coco Sala.

First, the movie review, which DOES have SPOILERS…

It wasn’t just a movie, it was an experience. It was the first time I went to the movies and felt under-dressed. Apparently jean capris paired with a fitted paisley print hoodie did not cut it for this occasion, but I held my own. It wasn’t a typical Saturday afternoon at the movies with the girls; it was an event. Dresses, draped necklaces, bright colors, stilettos, fashion boots, flat-ironed hair, Chanel No 5, and maybe three or four men unfortunate enough to have agreed to the venture.

The wait was fierce. Girls dressed to the nines throwing elbows. There was no breathing room; it was wall to wall female. We magically secured a spot, thanks to Adventures in Shaw’s brilliant planning mind (We call her our Cruise Director), near the front of the line. After waiting for a half an hour, we were let in.

And the movie began.

The opening was a walk down memory lane, which the crowd met with cheers, laughs, and claps. It was fun. We had all been waiting for this movie, and it was finally here. The movie theater was bursting at the seams with estrogen, pink, and labels.

Now, before I get into my beef with the movie, I really enjoyed it. I don’t think anyone who watched the show will hate this movie. It’s big. It’s over the top. It’s “fabulous”.

My first complaint is the same as it was with the show. Carrie. Bradshaw. Insufferable as always.

The girl has always suffered from not quite getting it. She’ll get so close to learning something, and then completely fall apart. She’ll almost take responsibility for something, but given the chance to displace blame or justify a mistake as a “learning experience”, she’ll jump at it. The movie gives a perfect example of this with Big and Carrie’s wedding. Big left Carrie at the altar, after getting cold feet; the wedding had become a circus, and no longer about them. Miranda, under duress from her collapsed marriage and Steve unceremoniously showing up to Big and Carrie’s rehearsal dinner, in a moment of weakness says to Big that he’s crazy to get married. Steve had just cheated on her. Big knew that. It was a mess, and an extenuating circumstance.

Months later, while Carrie and Miranda are out to a Valentine’s Day dinner, Carrie starts talking sense for the first time ever in Sex and the City history. The wedding “had gotten bigger than Big”. Her article about the wedding in Vogue was filled with “I” statements instead of “We”. Anyone with half a brain could see it coming. Carrie was going to scare Big away. Miranda finally blurts out what happened at the rehearsal dinner and what she said. What was Carrie’s response? Screaming about how she couldn’t figure out what had happened that week to ruin the wedding, etc. How could Miranda have ruined this, etc, ad infinitum. Did she have a right to be upset? Of course… but once again she decided to take the opportunity to displace all the blame onto Miranda. She preached about how she had learned her lesson and then pretty much dumped the whole thing in Miranda’s lap. Miranda deserved an apology, and she never got one. In fact Carrie used the whole experience to teach MIRANDA a lesson… what? That whole thing was so backwards.

Then again Carrie has always lived in her own ME ME ME world.

Second, so many characters that were so full of life and depth were reduced to one-dimensional set props.

I understand that it’s a movie, and time constraints don’t allow for the development of everyone, but it was sad to see characters like Big and Charlotte be reduced so drastically. Charlotte did have some fabulous moments, but she was just a series of moments.  She was reduced to a yippy caricature of her former self.

(Also, what the hell happened to Candace Burgen? Did she piss off the make-up artists and costume designers? Eek.)

Big was a shadow of himself. His depiction reminded me of why I don’t like Carrie. It was seeing their relationship through her eyes, and he was just an ornament. His charm and zest were watered down. He wasn’t really there. Even at the end, when things were resolved, Hollywood style, he was still a shell.

It was funny, how in a movie where Big and Carrie are the centerpiece, I found Miranda and Steve’s relationship much more compelling. Their reunion was what had me cheering and a bit on the teary side. When Big and Carrie patched things up at the end, it felt anti-climactic. Even their City Hall wedding wasn’t all that thrilling. Not because we wanted the pomp and circumstance, but because half of the audience was actually surprised that they would stay together. I know, it’s Big and Carrie, but so many women cried out saying that Carrie didn’t deserve him. I honestly didn’t think that they would stay together. They didn’t seem to belong together. I know, I know, 10 years, blah blah blah. I’m sorry but 10 years of drama does not a fated soul-mate pairing make.

As it was made abundantly clear in the season six season finale, Carrie’s “lover” is the city and her friends. It should have been left that way. Considering her relationship with Big was touted as such a great love story, it was more of a backdrop.

My last complaint is something personal and somewhat pithy. I’m a brunette. I love being a brunette. I’ve never dyed my hair. I’ve never experienced blond envy. I was positively thrilled when Carrie Bradshaw went brunette in the movie. She needed a change. She wanted to hide. She looked stunning. Then I realized that brunette to her was a sign of mourning. Brunette, to me, should be celebrated. To her, brunette was a scarlet letter. I know, blonde is what makes Carrie pop; it’s a part of her. I just hate how having brown hair became symbolic for hiding. Especially since I thought she looked much less busted and broken down with that color. Anyway, my point is people should be proud to be a brunette; it’s classy and striking.

Things I loved? So much. It was so big and over the top. It was Sex. And. The. City. It’s something you can’t escape. There were so many laughs and good times with the movie. You felt great walking out of the theater. It was FUN. That’s the best way to describe it. Samantha finally broke free of her Smith-centric life. Charlotte got her baby. Miranda and Steve worked things out. Even Stanford and Anthony had some moments. It was just so fun.

Overall, I recommend it. In spite of my aforementioned beefs with the film, it delivers, hands down. I didn’t expect to suddenly start liking Carrie Bradshaw, so I was not surprised by my reaction to her. It’s sassy. It’s flashy. It’s a circus.

It’s fabulous.

After the movie, the Culturati tried out a new trendy restaurant called Co Co. Sala…

It is a self-described “Chocolate Lounge and Boutique”. It isn’t all about chocolate, though. I’ll review that next time. See more pictures from the day HERE.

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Tags: big, candace burgen, carrie bradshaw, charlotte york, chocolate, chris noth, coco sala, fashion, miranda hobbs, movie, moview review, mr. big, relationships, review, samantha jones, sarah jessica parker, sex and the city, smith jarrod, steve, washington dc