Sex and the City

As a few friends and I shared a 40-something birthday, we thought it would be perfectly apropos to go see Sex And The City—the movie, that is. Skipping the trailers and dashing for seats during the first five minutes, we might have missed Carrie Bradshaw in her signature shoe store, Manolo Blahnik, but we didn’t miss the signature cocktails. We came prepared with Cosmopolitans in a beach bag, veggies and dip. It got a bit loud pouring the cocktails into paper cups, and when the spinach dip fell on the floor I was wondering how marinated my sandals would be by the end of the flick…a very memorable night that ended with more drinks and appetizers—four friends in their own Sex And The City drama.

I didn’t always have the patience for the TV show, but the movie was surprisingly okay. Besides the usual Carrie costumes that only Sarah Jessica call pull off (and sometimes not) the four friends displayed some quality acting. If you haven’t seen the movie and plan on it—stop reading right here. I’m about to give it away…

When Big leaves her at the altar (or nearby) in the movie, I wasn’t expecting to see a bed-ridden, circles-under-the-eyes Bradshaw, but this side of Carrie is one I can believe in. The designer “bag” dresses, the poodle skirts, the crazy hats, the vintage gloves, the Blah-Blah Blahniks are all great, but Bradshaw’s serious side is more flattering than the outfits.

I won’t go into more details … go see it and judge for yourself. The best part is they’ve all aged gracefully without appearing to have dived too deep into Botox or Restalyne (and whatever else is plumping out there.) So, when people say I resemble Sarah Jessica Parker, I smile and thank them. And like Carrie, I, too, get by with a little help from my friends…

—Joanne Schenker, canvas Arts & Letters columnist