Lo que veo: Sex and the City: A Close-up Journey

I need to write this review in English. I cannot relate with Carrie, Miranda, Samantha, and Charlotte in Spanish, even though they appeal to every women in every language. So, doing my best in my second language, here it goes.

 

We all were expecting a follow up of the pop-culture phenomenon. We needed to know more. At the end of the 6^th season, it seemed that the four friends finally found their happy endings. But, did they?

 

The movie begins with a much witted summary of where each woman ended. We see Carrie walking through Manhattan -with the show’s theme-score remix and with lyrics by Fergie-, watching, like she always does, what is happening, and wondering what happens when you find what you wanted when you were 20. Designer clothing, shoes, style, and fashion were a must and a feast for every woman in the theater. A happy beginning, though, becomes dark: Carrie’s Big-gest fear became true; Miranda is betrayed by Steve; Samantha is dealing, for the first time, with her own salvation; and Charlotte, a balance in tragedy, found what she wanted, but want her friends to have it too. The “happy ending” part is closely questioned.

 

Now, I cannot continue in a group analysis, because each story is pretty individual. They only come together in the way it always did: love, friendship, loyalty, support, comedy relief, and a lot of understanding for each other. So, I’ll begin a comment trying not to spoil the movie, but giving a general idea on what to expect.

 

Carrie: The Dark Side

 

Carrie is happy, finally. After three books, she had accomplished all what she wanted, and found true love. This love, like it always had been, made a brutal roller-coaster turned that changed, once again, Carrie’s views on finding “the one”. This final bend in the road put her in a very dark place, one that we never saw in the show. Thanks to her friends, and a new candid assistance –Jennifer Hudson- she survived. Her journey, though, helped her to understand that hope, in any age, is the last thing to miss. She did not ran to dating, like she did with all her important men in the show, but she took time to be alone and reconstruct herself. “The one” was she; then, the man that she wanted and needed would come to his sense and she will have her “non-label” happy-ending. Sarah Jessica Parker played Carrie as beautiful as she always did, and gave a new phase to her insecurities and a face to a more mature personality.

 

Miranda: The Judgmental Awakening

 

If any word, during the whole SATC show, that described Miranda better was “judgmental”. She and Carrie had their first big fight because of it; she broke up with Steve a second time because of it; Charlotte was always looking for her approval because of it. The only one that was immune to her judgments, of course, was Samantha. The rest of her friends and life was determined by this lawyer talent and relationship curse. Steve, for the first time, betrays Miranda. She, being the judgmental character she is, cannot and would not forgive him. This disenchantment made her to commit a mistake that got “Carried” away. Time and her friends helped her to regain her confidence and manage her judgments to a place where they cannot be felt any more. Cynthia Nixon vulnerable representation gave Miranda a new awakening as a character and a conclusion that opens a new chapter instead of closing it.

 

Samantha: The One Love

 

Samantha moved to Los Angeles with star client/lover/boyfriend Smith Jerret. Her whole life is revolving around a man, which she’s not accustomed to. Carrie’s mess reunited her with her “once every two weeks” friends and their relationship get stronger, even though the distance. She began to question her relationship, as Smith is always working, and a thread is living next door. With a lot in her mind, and with no exit to her pleasures, getting things and eating becomes Samantha new lovers. At the end, she made a resolution and began, again, to take care of her one love: herself. An interesting turn, though, needs to be mention. When Carrie needs someone more, though Charlotte and Miranda are there, also, Samantha turns in this maternal/compassionate friend that she needs. Turning 50 becomes a new bend in the road for her life, and the beginning –we hope- for a new healthy phase. Kim Catrall keeps representing Samantha with perfection, but added this new slight light of maturity and wisdom that was missing in the show.

 

Charlotte: The Hopeless Hopeful

 

Being the only one happily married, Charlotte is the balance in all the tragedy. She gives comic relief, but also reminds her friends that hope cannot be forget, that you can have it all. Her fight with Big is the best scene –you’ve all seen this scene in magazines- and the resolution of this encounter is the climax. Her beautiful family is an example, but her loyalty to friends is the best way to deal with the everyday life of marriage and the outside world. Kristen Davis is always classy and perfect sweet Charlotte, even in the most embarrassing situations.

 

Louis from Saint Louis: Louis Vuitton lover

 

Jennifer Hudson character was a must. Carrie needed an assistant: her whole life was crumbling, and her friends had their own situations and could not be with her 24/7. Louis from St. Louis gave Carrie what she needed: space and time to think. Their relationship, though, do not bloom, and that is the only flaw of the movie. After a great “Dreamgirl” performance, Hudson’s character was kind of shallow, only profound in her search for love and Louis Vuitton bags. I thought that after a very special gift from Carrie they were going to explode together, maybe as a mentor/student relationship that would help both in their search. It did not happen, and we all missed it. 

 

The Men

 

Men always were accessories in Sex and the City. Here they are the triggers of many of the main situations, but they’re also active agents of change. Big is Carrie’s insecurity, but also his lover hero; Steve is the traitor, but Miranda’s laugh and romance; Smith is Samantha’s world, but also an honest and understanding individual; and Harry is the perfect husband, and Charlotte’s messenger of hope. They’re all the men behind these wonderful women, and “the ones” that took their hands when they reached their journey.

 

At the end…

 

Sex and the City completes their commitment with fans, HBO, and the characters. Michael Patrick King created and directed a great screenplay that integrates all the fantastic stories that we knew from the series, and gave a whole new aspect of these women journey to maturity. Because this was what it was. It was a journey of each of these characters beyond their “happy endings” and how to deal with it. Life is not perfect, and we all know that, but to hope that we can work to make it close it to it is fabulous.