Sex and The City Jumps the Shark
Call Sea World: Sex and the City has jumped the shark. Since the HBO series exited with tears and orgasms in 2004, we've all moved on even if Carrie, Miranda, Samantha and Charlotte haven't. When SATC finally hits the big screen, it's no longer in sync with the way we live now. And that's $4 for a gallon of gas and the ripple effect that's raising prices in every quadrant of our lives from protein bars to plane travel. It's the economy, stupid.
In one flagrant sequence - no spoiler here -- Samantha's puppy starts shagging a pillow in Carrie's professionally redecorated apartment. That pillow cost $300, Carrie shrills. The laugh track doesn't rise to its intended peak - and it's not just because the idea of a mini-bitch Sam who'll screw anything is no longer funny as she turns fifty. It's that Carrie would drop so much cash on a throw pillow! How very dare she? If that's what the money-minting professional writer has to worry about, she's definitely not playing Scrabble with my posse.
Real estate porn also dominates the movie, equally out of whack with life post-bubble. True, foreclosures haven't battered Manhattan like they have the rest of the country. Still, when Mr. Big buys Carrie a dream penthouse, hardly breaking a sweat or negotiating an interest rate, and then tops it by building her an enormous closet as the ultimate token of his love it made me like Carrie less. The clothes-horse hangar is so bright it could be the light at the end of the tunnel seen during a near-death experience. And that intensity of Carrie's closet worship - OK, I get it, it's a joke, a long-running joke - is now beyond the let them eat cake of Sofia Coppola's revolutionary era Sex and Versailles, Marie Antoinette. It's verging on the perversion of brothers Uday and Qusay Hassein in the twilight of big daddy Saddam's Iraq.
Argue away that the fab four were always about fantasy. I get it. They have our cake, and it doesn't show up on our bathroom scales. They live the life beyond credit card debt so that we can make a virtual escape into their designer clothes. And, yet, in 2008, their label loving world where they live myopically and refuse to think globally has become claustrophobic and beside the point.
Girl power -- the power to reclaim our sexuality, our friends, to measure ourselves not by how far we've climbed the corporate ladder, or how far we've married up -- was once a radical and welcome addition to our weekly TV diet. It expanded our gossip universe as we discussed our own struggles to succeed in the big city decades after Mary Tyler Moore tossed her hat up in the air and made it after all. But in the era of Hillary's faltering race for president, wherever you plant your Manolos on that great divider of female opinion in this historic election contest, the girl power issue has shifted from the personal to the political.
Once we have power, what are we going to do with it that makes us fifty-one percenters any different - eh,Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte, Samantha? Eh, Hillary? If we're going to pick up the check, let's not succumb to the same old greed and consumerism that's so 2004.
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I confess, I never was into SATC when it was running; and now that it is in re-runs, I really still don't see the attraction.
Carrie-a wannbe fashion hound with little sense of style and propriety. I think she dresses more like second-hand rose and those over price torture devices called shoes-what a joke.
Samatha - I couldn't believe she slept with 35-40 men on the show (a count I heard from an avid fan); doesn't she know about HIV and STDs; what a poor role model for younger women and a bad example for both men and women on behavior.
Charlotte - a ninnie, whiney, little WASP. How she ever got to be a gallery director is beyond me. Her lack of self confidence was pitiful. Way too materialistic.
Miranda: one of the most wishy-washy lawyers I have ever seen. Not a good example of womanhood or respectability.
All in all; SATC was just not a good thing for women and their friendships, although, it did ask interesting and important questions about marriage, single life and priorities.
jumped the shark, sank to the bottom of the tank, rotted and stunk from the head ...
WHEN was the show ever good???
Ms. Adams, have you heard of the Great Depression? And are you aware of the rise of both gritty, gangster movies and pure unadulterated fantasy movies like those directed by Busby Berkeley at that time? I have $20.00 to live on until June 1. Therefore I cannot afford to go see Sex and the City on opening weekend. But I will be there next week once the pay check comes in because I NEED to see my old friends in their glamorous clothes, gorgeous homes and exciting lives. In hard times many people like myself do not wish to roll in harsh reality all day, every day. My life is tough enough without shunning occasional entertainment that can make me forget my teenager's latest speeding ticket, my mother-in-law with dementia and all the care-taking I'm doing, and the fact that we're living pay check to pay check. There's nothing wrong with that. We are all different, and need different things. Exhaustion, depression and anxiety follow me most days. Let me enjoy Sex and the City.
Thank you. I was wondering when I would see a comment that reminded us of the importance of suspending disbelief and enjoying the fun. Since "he who must not be named" became president I have found the world to be harsh enough - I don't need to seek out more bleakness in my entertainment. Just like laughter is medicine, sitting back and having some fun without worrying about the correctness of the delivery is healing.
ditto, I was going to write the same post, so let me add, fantasy is good for the soul. On the physical plane or in the consciousness realm we enjoy the good life watching our imaginary girlfriends live the high life.....
Tonight my daughters and me and a few friends are having a SATC party and movie....
Power to women everywhere whether real or fantasy.
Oh, BYW, is their life any less acceptable than the beautiful successful girl in Knocked Up that f.... the creep who is ugly, fat, and probably smells bad? We woman get it from both ends dont we, we're damned if we do, damned if we dont...I know this I've been around for six decades.
It's fantasy - extreme self indulgence in a fictional way. Personally, I'm more offended by the myriad of reality shows about rich, famous people who spend real money in this way, and expect me, the poor viewer, to be amused by it.
Sex and the City is a yarn.
Reality tv is a yawn.
PS. I know, just don't watch it then - and truthfully, I don't much now. But I don't have TIVO and I still see the ads, and see the fawning online comments.
Ditto!
Did they get Ted McGinley to guest star?
I've always wondered about that myth regarding Ted McGinley. The shows he was on all did well and when they didn't it wasn't because of him.
. Married with Children did VERY well with him for YEARS.
He was on Happy Days for two years and that had jumped the shark LONG before he showed up.
50 Episodes of Faith and Hope.
Dynasty for a season and a half.
And others.
As well he was on a couple of highly acclaimed shows like
Sports Night (one of the best)
West Wing.
He has a better than average hitting average yet for some reason that myth has stuck
So where did this myth about him causing shows to go under start?
Escapism - Entertainment - Indulgence
i can only dream of living in a world where the big issue of the day is: "who took my Minolo's at the baby shower?"
i've appreciated the chance to take the only vacation i can afford: a 30 minute censored rerun of fictional characters who live like royalty and without restrictions (couldn't afford cable to watch them while it was hot)
but as soon as the credits roll, me and my $2 flip flops grab my laptop (I'm still paying off) and realize that to a lot of people in the world (with real problems) can justifiably call me out as a pampered whiner, too
it is for girls what science fiction is for boys... shopping fiction, i guess. experience is limitless and all desires can be gratified. a nice penthouse and some nice clothes aren't at the limits of imagination or anything though. ms. adams and the critical ny post review are certainly insightful about how we've changed since these girls set forth in manhattan; but maybe it's precisely the crashed economy and new frugality that make this movie such a welcome and enjoyable confection- so unusually soon after it ceased tv production. it's kind of unusual for a comedy - except mash- to foster the kind of enduring community that roswell, charmed, and dynasty have. and it will be difficult for satc too because of the volatile changes of fashion that will date it so quickly. the crazy thing about '80's fashion on dynasty was that possibly the biggest flop in fashion history was the trademark of the decade and it's show- the midi skirt. the midi was the sole wardrobe of pamela sue martin as dynasty took over the decade- and it flopped. so now it's just a dynasty look and the show endures adrift from fashion trends.
Ahh, another sad Hillary supporter bashing away. SATC is a MOVIE....it's just fun....not Oscar contending...just fun. Lighten up already!
I've always wondered how intelligent women can get caught up in a show featuring people who are absolutely horrible. Materialistic, self-centered , horrid women.
And the people they portray aren't so hot, either.
Oh - and Family Guy is right - Sara Jessica Parker looks like a horse.
Actually. Peter says that she " looks like a foot "
I pray that no one here deems me to be a sexist pig but who in the hell decided Sarah Jessica Parker is the epitome of female beauty and sexuality? I may be a 51 year old gay man but...JEEZ! I know one shouldn't judge others by their outward appearances but we are talking about a show that is nothing BUT outward appearances. I could see Cameron Diaz or Angelina Jolie or Charleze Theron but Sarah Jessica Parker? I think Divine was sexier than she is. Actually I think John Candy playing Divine on SCTV was sexier than she is. Miss Parker is a wonderful actress, but the main reason I could never watch this show is because her casting in the lead made it totally unbelievable, along with that unnatural obsession with overpriced footwear. People in this country can barely make their house payments and these women pant after a pair of extraordinarily ugly Jimmy Choo pumps? What's up with that?
I think Carrie is supposed to be the cool girl. She isn't supposed to be the sexy one, that is Samantha.
Perhaps the average gal doesn't crave Manolos, but I scour the Target website for Issac Mizrahi shoes to go on sale. I'm still waiting for the low shaft ankle boots to break the $25.99 price point. Once they hit $16 they are coming home w/ me, bitches. LOL
I can barely make my house payments and watching S & C is like window shopping, or reading fashion magazines on the subway, and I think Carrie/SJP is beautiful, and even if she isn't in some 51 year old male's eyes, what difference does it make? I am a middle aged woman who has lived in NYC for 13 years and I loved the TV show and can't wait to spend my barely-earned money on the film. Who cares, who cares, who cares. Last year I had cancer (can't wear those strappy sandals anymore or fit into my one designer dress); this year my nest egg dropped $50,000 - in three months. I am competing with 20 and 30 year olds for jobs in Manhattan. I am white living in Harlem because I am priced out of downtown by the NYU students and their parents. I shop at Old Navy and the Gap and Banana Republic because that is all I can afford. Who care? who cares? who cares? I love the girls, I love the clothes, I love the New York City they show us. See you at the movie!
And soon Harlem is going to be too expensive to afford, we are just about there as I type.
Kept bimbos will always exist. Did Imelda Marcos shame anyone out of being a shoe fanatic? I guess some people are just getting wise this year. Back in the 1990s I was disillusioned by the Clintons when I realized what they meant by "it's the economy, stupid." I thought they meant: hey, let's fix this mess and get some social programs and benefits for people who need them. What they actually meant was: If you have a trust fund, invest it in new business ventures, preferably overseas, so you can put other Americans out of work while making cool big money to spend on overpriced condos, like us! I watched two episodes of Sex and the City and knew that the pampered and pristine princesses who dumped enough on manicures to support a whole family were not speaking for me, to me, or to anyone I have ever known. I find it funny that so many Americans are only now waking up from their 800-thread count slumber! You poor things. Wherever will you find the perfect prestige purse, during the depression that is now upon us?
It's just a TV show! They're FICTIONAL characters! They don't represent all women just as the men on entourage don't represent all men!
So how much are they paying Huffington Post to write about SATC every day? I know that marketing has a $50 million budget so I'm sure they can afford it.
I get what you're saying, but that's not at all what the phrase "jumping the shark" refers to.
Exactly the point I was going to make. If they had made the girls buddhist monks, had a teenager show up and say she was Samantha's daughter from an egg donated long ago etc., that would be 'jumping the shark'.
Amen to that, cowboy fan 88. Does Thelma Adams or anyone else think that "Sex and the City" was ever related to reality?
It's all a fantasy a fantasy a fantasy a fantasy-- real girls don't live like that-not really-- unless they've hooked up with Mr. Bigs and have connected relatives pulling lotsa strings for them..
I agree with you longisland...but I'm still going to buy that light saber for my boyfriend...this way if a Transformer or Dr. Doom or Lex Luthor shows up.......
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