Introduction
Sex and the City started on cable television as a show that pushed the envelope of sexually oriented storylines. Society at large viewed it as an eye candy show for women who longed to become fashionably trend setting and was thirsty for female empowerment. As such, the movie was supposed by many critics and viewers to be a mere extension of the “brain dead” television show. In reality, the movie held up a mirror to both the male and female sector of the society and showed us the shortcomings and ill conceived notions of many that have no place in the actual world but somehow still managed to exist. With that realization in mind, I came to decide that the movie would be the best topic for this film analysis paper.
Main body
In my opinion, the movie is actually an in-depth look, an analysis if you will, of the behaviors affecting men and women who are engage in long term relationships such as marriages or partnerships. Indeed, fashion and social functions are a huge part of the film but, these merely serve as a backdrop to the actual discussions of marriage problems, live in relationships, and more importantly, friendships and how all these relationships manage to intertwine in our daily lives.
The film was humorously written by Michael Patrick King from an original idea by Candace Bushnell and eventually, directed for the big screen by Michael Patrick King himself. The storyline is simple enough, we have our lovable characters, Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda coming together again. We catch up with them 10 years later and see that there has been a lot of changes in their lives. Just as would have happened in reality.
The portrayal of these changes follow a sort of reality based growing of the characters on a personal basis. Each woman has either found her niche in the world, is carving out that niche, or has her place in the world come crumbling down thereby forcing the lead characters to grow as a person in order to deal with the changes in their lives.
I have read movie reviews that call the movie “plotless and witless” because most believe that the story is old, tired, and dead, due to its television background. So, let me ask you this, “Does your life seem plotless and witless?”. The reason I ask is because the plot of the movie is what struck me the minute I saw it starting to form. Although simple and easily resolved, the reality is that women and men find themselves in one of these situations or another in real life.
When Carrie Bradshaw found herself jilted at the alter on her wedding day, she lived the nightmare of every bride who has had that happen to her in real life. Her reaction to Mr. Big in the middle of a New York street hit the nail on the head. I found myself finally understanding why women feared such things on their wedding day. I was almost sure that women cheered her on as a vindication of their situations unfolded on screen.
Samantha felt that she was losing her identity as her relationship with Smith began to go in a direction that left her uncomfortable. I wondered why she found it uncomfortable. Is it so bad that a man would want to take a woman seriously and why is it that she found herself loosing her way just because she was learning how to love someone other than herself? I was disappointed and angry at her reaction because real love is hard to find these days and when you find it, you should do your best to hold on to it. Specially when the right man comes along and does not ask a woman for anything except to let him take care of her.
Miranda left her husband when he admitted to have a one-night stand, eventually forgiving him in the end. The movie accurately portrayed the life and separation cycle of a married couple. I question the resolution of their situation however because I firmly believe that once trust has been destroyed, it can never be rebuilt.
Charlotte seemed to have the least problems to resolve and served as the mother hen of the group. She is a woman who best portrays the best qualities of a friend, setting aside her own problems in order to help her friends properly deal with theirs.
Then, we come to Mr. Big, the heart breaker. I understand that men get cold feet when they venture into anything that has given them pain in the past, or when they are made to try something new. However, he bungled the way he dealt with his pending nuptials big time.
It is heartening to note however, that throughout all these situations, no matter what happens in their lives, the girls had a friendship that was always there for them to fall back on. It was their security net in this unsure world. Thus, mimicking the reality of life. That before anybody else, before even your parents, it is your friends who are part of your extended family, and who will be there to pick you up when you need it the most. This was the truth that deserves to be applauded for the way it was portrayed in the movie.
Armed with this realization, I beg to differ with the reviewers who called the film “brain dead, plotless, and witless”. The main problem the film had that caused it to be taken lightly by other viewers is the fact that the writers of both the television show and the movie managed to take serious, life altering topics, and present them with a light, humorous tone. So, you can say that the story treatment tended to take away points from the storytelling self studies and realizations.
In the end, Sex and The City is a movie that manages to do what most movies fail to do. That is to base their storyline in reality and allow their characters to grow and experience life on film the way one would in reality, minus the exaggerated and implausible set ups. It uses everyday American English that can easily be understood by even the foreign viewers and handles all the story lines with just the right touch of complexity, heart, and resolutions.
Character development if any was at best shallow since the characters had already been developed over time on the television series. I liked the way that the movie concentrated on partnership development instead. It was something that allowed the viewers to come up with their own understanding of why the characters reacted a certain way to certain situations.
In totality, the movie left me with the impression that Hollywood is not really just a quickie movie machine that only existed to make a quick buck. Movies such as Sex and The City have the potential to reach out and present a serious reality to viewers with a touch of humor, the way I believe that life should be approached.
Conclusion
As far as the societal impact of the movie, it did not set out to break down any barriers or offer any new insights in the single life or married life. If anything, the movie was the mirror that held up a reflection of our real lives to be best seen and understood. As a viewer, I enjoyed the movie and applaud it for tackling serious matters with just the right touch of humor, drama, and angst. It resolved all situations without too much drama and approached the problems with logical solutions that one may actually arrive at if in the same situation in real life.
Work Cited
“Sex And The City: Big-Screen TV”. L.A. Weekly. 2008. Web.
“Sex And The City”. RFT Movie Showtimes. 2008. Web.
Sex And The City. Dir. Michael Patrick King. Perf. Sarah Jessica Parker. Kirstin Davis, Kim Catrall, Cynthia Nixon, Chris Noth. Darren Star Productions, HBO Films, & New Line Cinema, 2008.