I haven’t seen the movie (yet), but this bit in the New York Times (thumbs down) review of Sex and the City II had a bit that jumped out at me:
“If they seem less wonderful now, it isn’t because of slackened effort or diminished charm on the part of the actresses who play them. It is that the movie itself, and perhaps the culture it stands in for, has lost interest and can’t figure out what to do with them as they tiptoe toward middle age. “
Well, yes and no. I agree that the culture “can’t figure out what to do with” us women as we “tiptoe” toward middle age, although I’m not tiptoeing so much as lurching clumsily in my brand new platform espadrilles while trying not to trip over the Razor scooters and American Girl dolls left in my path. Hence all this cougar silliness and MILF talk and poor Formerly Famous women doing THIS to their faces. That’s why we’re here, caught in the adult tween zone between what we were and what we are becoming, a.k.a., Formerlies. We’re figuring it all out as we go, because there’s no graduation ceremony or wedding or bat mitzvah that you prepare for as you approach 40 and then move on to the next thing.
But I SO do not agree that the culture has “lost interest,” in us, not least of all because we are part of the culture, and there are so many of us, older women who were us, and younger women who are all too aware that they will soon be us. If the excitement about the movie (and all the nice buzz this site and the upcoming book has been getting) is any indication, the culture is wildly interested. In fact, this movie, which by all accounts is pretty high on the suck-o-meter, will nonetheless be watched until the SATC ladies are in Boca with their 4th husbands ogling pool boys.
Could it simply be that SATC II wasn’t a great movie, and didn’t do quite as good a job painting the life of glamorous Formerlies as well as it did glamorous 30somethings? All that means to me is that someone needs to write a better movie about us.
Photo by Jessica Diamond CC
May 27, 2010 at 7:44 pm
Since when is 50 tiptoeing to middle age? You are statistically full blown middle age at 40 for sure.
May 28, 2010 at 5:51 am
thanks for the link love and A to the MEN about a better movie.
We need something that captures our depth while not losing our fabulousity and HUMOR along the proverbial way.
Bueller? anyone?
May 30, 2010 at 9:51 pm
So happy to have found you via a stalking session on Mayhem and Moxie. I too am a former hottie and am desperate to find other ladies who have inadvertently left hot in the dust. As for SATC, I am not a fan. Not because they aren’t awesome, just because the SATC ship sailed and somehow I was left on shore (I think I just didn’t have cable at the time and never got a chance to catch up). I feel left out of the SATC raves by my friends (real and imagined) but figure it’s better this way. What, with Sookie, and Bella, and Jutsin (that’s Mr. Timberlake if you’re nasty) and numerous other things I’m slightly ashamed to admit, I’ve got enough to obsess over. And, yes, we are quite an interesting bunch!
May 30, 2010 at 10:59 pm
I am finding myself increasingly appalled by how many critics and haters are seizing the opportunity to harsh on the SATC ladies’ advancing age as evidence of the movie’s supposed badness. Like it’s somehow OK to be a MILF, but not to actually grow older. I enjoyed SATC 2 and saw it for what it is: a fun, frothy fantasy about modern women moving on with their lives in an era where there are no real rules. If you’re looking for a less-glossy presentation of our contemporaries, try the new Nicole Holofcener film. She gets us.
May 31, 2010 at 10:41 am
happy (very belated) sits saturday sharefest!
i’m sure your book will do well. :]
May 31, 2010 at 7:56 pm
Having seen the movie with my bff — the same woman who I used to watch the series with and who I saw movie #1 with — I thought the movie was like an old sweater — a bit stretched out but still comfy. The problem with the movie wasn’t how old the characters are but how little conflict and drama the plot had — Michael Patrick King chose to just cash his check instead of create great storylines for his talented over 30 actresses.
June 1, 2010 at 9:14 pm
I, too, am not a SATC fan – I find the characters annoying (and would find them annoying at ANY age.) Just wanted to second the shout out for Nicole Holofcener’s films – they’re terrific.
June 5, 2010 at 7:05 pm
I’m with Suzanne – the problem isn’t with the cast, it’s with the plotless storyline. Their daily lives are portrayed as boring, and the only way to relieve the boredom is to take off on some completely over the top unlikely adventure. It’s a truly sad failure of imagination and understanding on the scriptwriter’s part and it’s to the credit of the cast that the movie is even tolerable to watch, given how little they had to work with.
What I enjoyed about SATC1 was the way it confronted some quite credible issues. There are no credible issues in this movie bar one – the scene where Charlotte and Miranda talk in the private bar together . I am not a mother, don’t want to be, have little to no interest in kids, but I thought that scene was plausible and realistic and reflected where their lives are at.