SEX AND THE CITY

The new “Sex And The City” film which took £2.1 million across 453 cinemas on it’s first day in the UK was in some ways better than I had expected. Not being an ardent fan, I was surprised to see what an event it was for women of about my age…they’d all been out first, got dressed up, cheered as it came on… As expected, I did find that a film about four women with an insatiable desire for (in my opinion, mostly bad taste) designer labels and price tags appearing during an economic downturn and/or recession, particularly in the US was a little bit insensitive. The “having it all” philosophy feels suddenly shallow and empty – you’d think they might have chucked in a small donation to a charitable fund somewhere along the line.

However, once I’d climbed off my high horse, there were lots of good bits. It had a few LOL moments (the scene involving Samantha and some homemade sushi is hilarious, but made me wish for more of her ridiculous behaviour – she was boringly tame. Whereas the moment when all the other’s can’t stop laughing at Charlotte’s embarrassing moment didn’t make me laugh at all. That toilet humour…you’ve either got it or you haven’t). However, the support and love and friendship they give each other through break-ups, breakdowns, children and emotional issues in general is wonderful to see. The film also touched on a number of sensitive issues, mainly centring around the themes of love and forgiveness which would have resonance for a lot of people and made me feel slightly miserable – the New Year’s Eve scene was desperately sad.

The film started by pointing out that every woman in NYC was after the “Two L’s – Love and Labels”. I can’t really talk about it without giving the story line away which wouldn’t be right, but suffice to say I think the counsellor’s idea of not allowing the past to be dwelt on endlessly but to encourage a move forward was a bloody good idea. I think that is where my marriage became even more broken than it was before – we concentrated on every aspect of why and how it had/hadn’t made us happy and after months of trawling, we sort of got stuck in the mud. It would have been much better to say “you must no longer discuss the past – do you want a future together or not? If so, then lets look at what you need to do to make it better than it was”. Easier said than done mind you…I’m quite sure my ex-husband wanted me to do just that, shut the lid and move on…but at the time, I simply couldn’t do it. I was too hurt.

I wonder what will take it’s place…we need something similar but with a social conscience…