Hello World!!!

Okay, okay, okay…now that the girls’ movie of the year has been out for just over two weeks, I thought it would appropriate to discuss the  movie at length…First of all, did you like it? Was it better than the first movie? Did it leave you wanting more?

My answers are: Yes, Yes and Maybe…

I’m afraid when it comes to Carrie and the girls, I will always be a HUGE fan…the writers of the “Sex and City” institution would have to do a lot to lose me…As I read or heard somewhere, “Sex and the City” is a love letter to singlehood…And anyone who has been out in the dating game for a while knows that single girls like myself need a good love letter every now and then…soo I LOVED the movie…

And I enjoyed it more than the first movie…Why? Well, first of all, let me state this:  some of the quirkiness, irony and overall rhythm of the HBO television series simply can not be duplicated on the big screen…I did not realize this when I saw the first  movie and so I kept pondering what was missing…Once I realized that I could not expect exactly what I saw in the television series, I could relax and let the story unfold…And so for that reason first of all, I enjoyed the second installment of the movie more than the first…

Now aside from that, I enjoyed the overall plot more anyway…let’s face it…many of my friends (like Carrie and the girls)  and I have been single for a looong while and once we finally tie the knot, I’m sure we will ponder just what being married really means for us…This notion was  the theme of the second movie. I was never one of those women who wanted to get married in my ’20s…for better or worse, I wanted and had to explore this world solo a little bit before committing to the institution of marriage…And I also affirm that part of the reason that I have been single for so long is because I have wanted to be…And for anyone that has treasured singlehood, I would guess that it would be difficult to surrender that individuality, freedom and let’s face it: excitement that you feel when you always have the chance of meeting your next great love…

Carrie finally landed Big after years of practically chasing down this classically emotionally unavailable man around the NYC…And now the two have been Mr. & Mrs. Big for roughly two years…You would think she would be satisfied as she finally has the man and career of her dreams…but as any dyed-in-the-wool single girl has realized years ago, “familiarity breeds contempt…” Carrie has gotten somewhat bored…her husband is no longer the single suitor that shows up outside of her window in his black limo ready to whisk her away on a romantic night on the town…instead, he has become the predicatable husband that would prefer ordering in every night and watching black and white movies on television…(Actually, that sounds great to me, but let’s keep the focus on the heroine of the movie…)

In fact, Carrie is so shaken up by Big’s predictability, she escapes to her single girl apartment that she still owns to write and ponder her marriage…Question: Should every woman retain ownership of her bachelorette pad for occasions such as these? After a couple of days or so go by, her husband shows up outside her window as he did when they were single to whisk her away for a romantic night on the town…they are pleasantly surprised to discover how much excitement they have for one another after a few days away from each other…And to Carrie’s surprise, Big suggests that they take a two-day vacation away from each other every other week…And since Carrie is all about defining new roles, even in marriage, she considers his proposition while secretly scared their marriage may be deteriorating…

And true to form, Carrie MUST discuss all of this when she and the girls head to Abu Dhabi (actually Morroco) for much needed girl time…Question: Even after marriage, should girls regularly schedule a trip just for the girls? The all- expenses- paid trip is a gift from one of Samantha’s potential new clients…(Read NG – you know who you are, I need for you to hook up a similar trip…’K, thanks 🙂 )  What a better place to ponder gender roles and the institution of marriage than in the Middle East…For the purposes of brevity, I won’t get into much of what happened with Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha…but I will attempt to wrap it up here…Charlotte, who dreamed about about being a mother for years, discovers that motherhood, while incredibly rewarding,  is just plain hard… Miranda, who encourages Charlotte to confess and affirm her ambiguous feelings about motherhood, realizes that she can define her career on her own instead of bowing down at the chauvinistic law firm she works for…Samantha, a lovable sex fiend, realizes that her sexuality, while shocking stateside,  is downright criminal in the Middle East….

But back to Carrie…Inevitably, while in Abu Dhabi, she draws The Test to her…everyone should know what the Test is by now…I believe that whenever we are considering making a decision that could change the trajectory of our life usually for the better, we attract the very thing that threatens to take us off course…I first read about this in the The Artist’s Way…I could give a dramatic example of this us…but let me offer a more harmless example…Trying to lose weight, you make a huge salad with just the right amount of broccoli and other veggies and just as you sit down to eat it, your girl calls up and invites you out for coffee and desert…oh the temptation…

And so in the middle of Abu Dhabi of all places, Carrie bumps into Aidan – the other man who swept her off of her feet…(And some of us feel that she should have choosen Aidan over Big anyway…) Feeling somewhat unsure of her relationship with Big, she goes out to dinner with Aidan…Question: Is it okay to go out to dinner with a former love under any circumstances once you are married? One woman told me she felt it was okay since they ran into each other across the world from where they met…

True to her drama-creating form, Carrie allows herself to be kissed by Aidan…and truth be told, she sets up the stage for such a kiss when she wears a skirt with a slit that nearly reaches her waist…Once she actually kisses him though, she instantly feels remorse and remembers what it was like when she was single and all she wanted was Big’s commitment…and of course, all’s well that ends well…Carrie and Big have a heart-to-heart discussion about their marriage that ends with Carrie wearing a huge black diamond ring that while it symbolizes her marriage to Big also demonstrates her individuality…

So what did you think about the movie…

Any thoughts?