'Sex and the City' Replaces Mac With PC -- For a Price

By John Mitchell Posted May 18th 2010 06:00PM

Fans of 'Sex and the City' have come to expect certain things from the hit TV series-turned blockbuster movie franchise, and seeing the ladies wear and use brand name, big label products is one of them. We all know the girls love to strut around Manhattan in Manolo Blahnik shoes, eat at the fanciest restaurants in New York City and wear only top designers like Dior, Chanel and Roberto Cavalli. And we're certainly used to seeing our heroine, Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), typing her newspaper columns and books on her Mac laptop -- you know, the one she left on her bed for Charlotte (Kristin Davis) to find when she left for Paris, the one she returned to when she came back to her beloved New York.

Carrie's Mac made an appearance in just about every episode and was prominently featured in the first movie, but you won't be seeing it in 'Sex and the City 2.' Because of a partnership with Hewlett-Packard, only HP computers will be featured in the forthcoming sequel.

According to the New York Post, "Every aspect of Carrie's life is reduced to a vignette that can be monetized: Going to the Gym (sip on Lipton Sparkling diet green tea, an official sponsor of the new movie!), Having Cocktails with Girlfriends (try a specialized cocktail from Skyy, the movie's 'official vodka'!), Getting Married (Swarovski paid to be featured prominently in the film) and, of course, Working On Laptop, Staring Wistfully Out the Window (Hewlett-Packard partnered with the movie so its laptops would be featured, and SJP will appear in the computer company's ads, of course)."

But fans of the show know that Carrie and Mac were made for each other. The Guardian UK sums it up best, noting, "Carrie is a professional homeworking journalist ... Macs were invented for them: people without IT support, with no skills or office training, with very little likelihood of ever accruing any knowledge or expertise, with no backbone or basic housekeeping procedures."

That's Carrie Bradshaw in a nutshell; she didn't even have a cell phone until the shows final season in 2004.

Carrie's Mac was even a subplot for a season four episode -- 'My Motherboard My Self' -- in which her computer, overloaded from years and years of use (and no backing up!), crashes when she goes to save one of her columns. Aidan (John Corbet), just trying to help, buys her a new iMac, which quickly becomes a symbol for change that Carrie simply isn't comfortable with.

Similarly, in the two-part series finale, a Macbook serves as a symbol of what Carrie is willing to leave behind -- i.e. herself -- to move from New York to Paris to support her artist boyfriend Alesandr Petrovsky.

Charlotte is quick to notice, too. Shocked, she tells the girls at the coffee shop, "And her computer was just sitting there on the bed," just before Mr. Big (Chris Noth) enters to ask for their permission to jet off to Paris to tell Carrie he loves her.

(Careful, there is a curse word or two in the video below.)

As PopEater previously reported, the fashion house Halston, of which Parker is a chief creative officer and has an equity stake, is also featured prominently in the film. The Post notes that of the 41 different looks sported by Parker in the sequel, five of them are Halston. The films reported wardrobe budget: $10 million. And the actresses -- Parker, Davis, Kim Cattrall and Cynthia Nixon -- got to keep most of the clothes!

Fans of the show know that expensive fashions and chichi cocktails are par for the course when it comes to 'SATC,' and frankly, that's part of the allure -- seeing all that fancy stuff you could never possibly afford is half the fun. Given the consumerism the show and movies trade in, it's not particularly surprising to see products being shilled. But the computer switch up feels particularly inorganic, if not downright jarring. To borrow from Carrie Bradshaw herself, "I couldn't help but wonder, where's the line between a film and an extended commercial?"

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Sex and the Sequel

Does it have something to do with 'Sex and the City' and its dazzling cast of characters? Well, have we got a gallery for you. Check out hundreds of pics >>

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Sex and the City Snapshots

In this Tuesday, April 27 2010 photo Candace Bushnell, creator of "Sex in the City," poses for a portrait in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Sex and the City Snapshots

In this Tuesday, April 27 2010 photo Candace Bushnell, creator of "Sex in the City," poses for a portrait in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Sex and the City Snapshots

File --In this file photo from Tuesday, September 8, 2009, actresses Kristen Davis and Sarah Jessica Parker film a scene on location for "Sex and the City 2" in New York. (AP Photo/Charles Sykes)

Sex and the City Snapshots

© BAUER-GRIFFIN.COM Sarah Jessica Parker keeps it casual as she leaves the press junket for her upcoming movie "Sex and the City 2" at the Crosby Street Hotel. NON-EXCLUSIVE April 21, 2010 Job: 100421X7 New York, New York www.bauergriffin.com www.bauergriffinonline.com

Sex and the City Snapshots

©BAUER-GRIFFIN.COM Actress Sarah Jessica Parker leaves a press junket at the Crosby Street Hotel for "Sex and the City 2" wearing a brown hat and leopard print scarf. NON-EXCLUSIVE April 21, 2010 Job: 100421M3 New York, New York www.bauergriffin.com www.bauergriffinonline.com

Sex and the City Snapshots

Tags: Cynthia Nixon, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, sarah jessica parker, sex and the city

Comments

(8)

Tuesday 18 May

By dquintan3648

Vote down Vote up Report this

Mac is everything. I have a mac, everyone has a mac. So how big is SATC's budget that it can't keep ties with mac?

Wednesday 19 May

By Steffen Jobbs

No more Macs! I won't be watching this show anymore.

By hair

The girls will have a Mac attack for sure!

By KAT

WOW... WHATS NEXT? Platic payless pumps instead of Manolos???
Carrie HELPED put MAC back on the map!

By Barbara F.

Boo, hiss!

By Jessi

It just dosn't feel right. Very unnatural, very un-Carrie.
I wonder why Apple just didn't outbid HP? (Even if it were just for the sake of saving the integrity of the show.)

Friday 21 May

By sturmdrangcreme

omg! i didn't know there is laptops out there other than mac

By DrBear

Who cares? So her laptop will have a little HP instead of an apple on it. So what?

Ladies, this is why men accuse you of being shallow. You get upset and stupid sh!t like this.

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