Sex and the City

So I saw Sex and the City. I think my moviegoing experience was unique in at least a couple of respects. I think I was the only person in the theater who had never seen a single complete episode (I did see a couple of clips here and there). I think I was also just about the only straight man there who hadn't been brought there by a date. I went with three friends who were all very excited about it, two straight women and a gay man. I think I was also just about the only straight man there with a gay friend who knows more about fashion than the gay friend.

I had heard about the strategies that other straight guys were going to use to avoid seeing this movie: "Sorry, honey, I have to mow the law/walk the dog/work late/serve in Iraq." But, hey, Kristin Davis is gorgeous, Kim Catrall is seriously hot, Cynthia Nixon is beautiful in a geeky sort of way, and this was an HBO series with the occasional nudity, so, even if it's filled with gossipy women and girl talk, there should be at least some side benefits. Also, I understood that women were going to be dressing up for this movie, which they did. They didn't do that for the Indiana Jones movie. Another small benefit.

I am happy to report to the men of this world that it's actually quite a good movie, very enjoyable as a movie in and of itself. I had followed the series through other media, so I had heard of Mr. Big, Chris Noth, and I could even name all of the characters (Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte, and Samantha), but, having never watched an episode, I didn't know much of the background. Even approaching it as a sui generis phenomenon, however, I followed the plot without any problems. I now understand the appeal. I get it. Now I know why women are obsessed. It makes perfect sense to me that the opening weekend boxoffice - $55 million - blew away all projections.

The appeal is really very simple: it's just a good show. It's well-written, the characters are interesting and realistic, and there's just enough drama to keep everything going. The "realistic" part is particularly intriguing. It doesn't have the absurd characters and bizarre relations of a soap opera or the narrow confines of a sitcom. I could easily see myself knowing one of these women. Suspending disbelief is just about effortless.

Well, suspending disbelief is easy until Mr. Big drops a chunk of change to buy what must be a $10 million penthouse apartment for he and Carrie without blinking an eye. I bought that, but only because Chris Noth sold it really well. I guess that's why they call him Mr. Big.

But I also figured out why men are scared of this series/movie/phenomenon. Personally, I'm not a fan of Sarah Jessica Parker, although I like her more now that I have seen this movie. Apart from her acting, which is good, I now have a great deal of respect for her as a producer. As a movie star, on the other hand, she doesn't work for me. She seems to have an elevated sense of her own sex appeal, which, for me, dampens her sex appeal. There are aspects of this that clearly appeal to women far more than men: guys just don't talk about their relationships this much. They really, really don't talk about their relationships this much.

And then there's the question of the men in this movie. Are we going to be identifying with them? Most of the men, even the ones in relationships with the women, are somewhat in the background. That's a reversal of what we see in most male-oriented movies, where the women are usually underdeveloped. Personally, I have no problem with that. Most of the guys, even the ones who seemed to be drawn along fairly standard lines (the sensitive intellectual, the blond surfer dude) were real people. So no problem with reverse sexism.

No, what scares guys about this movie is this: the women will argue amongst themselves, even fight, but they always are there for each other somehow. But the drama is going to require a villain, and the villain is going to be a guy. The bad guy is going to be a guy. And he's not going to be a normal villain. He's going to be a normal guy. He's not going to be some serial murderer with bizarre accessories. He's not going to be some well-dressed Eurotrash with a thick accent and a sinister sneer. He's not going to be played by John Malkovich. He's not going to be coming after Carrie with a souped-up fighter jet and an evil plan to rule the world.

No, the villain is going to be an average guy about town, and instead of threatening nuclear annihilation, he's going to make some stupid mistake that just about any guy can make. He's going to piss off Samantha because he forgot her birthday. Or he's going to break up with Carrie because his ex-girlfriend just came back into his life. Or he's going to break Charlotte's heart yet again because he's an average guy with average guy fears and neuroses and he loves her and doesn't want to hurt her but he just doesn't have it all together.

Any guy watching this is going to see this and either remember the time he was a complete idiot and did something really stupid and really, really pissed off his girlfriend/fiancee/wife, or he can see himself doing something similar to what normal guy X just did that he shouldn't have done and is now going to have to spent six months apologizing for.

But the flip side of that fear on the part of average guys is that they might be able to watch it and learn a few things about women so they DON'T make that kind of mistake, or they might be able to watch it and think to themselves "Wow, that guy is a total idiot/wimp/loser, I would never do that to a woman," and thereby realize that their personal standards of behavior are somewhat better than those of this guy on the screen. So that's a good reason for a guy to see this movie: because they get a nice boost of self-esteem for realizing that they're one of the good guys.

The scene with Kim Catrall and the sushi isn't bad either.

Today is my sister's birthday, and she is a huge fan of the show, so this review is dedicated to her. Happy Birthday, Christina!