Sarah Jessica Parker Is Right: We Need More 'Sex' in The Future, But Not The Past

By Rebecca Macatee Posted Feb 19th 2011 04:00PM

Pop-Ed: When I was 21 and first moved to New York City, I wanted to be just like Carrie Bradshaw. I headed to Macy's and bought the comforter she had on 'Sex and the City' -- it's Calvin Klein's "Bamboo Flowers," if you were wondering -- and hit the town with expectations of lavish parties and Mr. Bigs and Aidens on every corner.

But as any New Yorker can attest, the 'SATC' lifestyle isn't a reality for most. I quickly found that no self-made Manhattanite under 30 has a walk-in closet, and no freelancer anywhere can afford Manolo Blahniks. And as adorable and witty as she was, even Carrie wouldn't have endless suitors knocking down the door of her $750 a month brownstone on the Upper East Side.

Still, I loved Carrie. I loved that she was a free spirit, a proud New Yorker, a passionate writer, a true friend and always the ultimate single girl. And like me, and so many others, Carrie hit rough patches in her professional and personal life, but with her feisty resilience, she kept right on pushing through.

It really hit home for me when Carrie talked about her early days in the city, when she used to "buy Vogue instead of dinner" because she "felt it fed me more." The label-loving lady even used to "wear Candies and ride the subway," according to her BFF, Stanford. And in 'SATC 2,' Carrie revealed that she met Miranda while working in the dress department at Bloomingdales. Even my curly-haired, sharp-tongued idol wasn't always getting $4.50 a word to say her piece.

So as cliché as it might be, I project myself onto Carrie and see a lot of the shoe gal in myself. I've taken comfort in the fact that as fabulous as Carrie Bradshaw might be, I've only known her character in her 30s and beyond. So basically, that whole vague time period before she was quite so sure of herself and writing her own column and landing book deals, she very well may have lived a life not unlike my own. And I think a lot of people feel this way and see themselves in Carrie and her past, which is why her character is so universally appealing.

In an interview with the LA Times blog 24 Frames, Sarah Jessica Parker, the actress who has brought Carrie to life since 1998, says there's definitely "a third story to tell," but "maybe not now. Maybe in five years."

While the actress claims the desire to wait comes from her need to be challenged in her work, I have to wonder if a part of it comes from the not-so-fabulous reception of 'SATC 2' at the box office. The franchise has always been for the fans, not the critics, but many ardent 'SATC' lovers, myself included, were less than thrilled with the second film.

I've rejoiced in seeing Carrie's writing bring her success financially and personally, and I was ecstatic when things finally seemed to be working out with Big. As time goes on and Carrie continues to mature, so should her lifestyle. But with an Abu Dhabi backdrop and so much emphasis on the over-the-top posh setting, the sparkling personalities and dynamic of the four girls was somehow lost in the glitz. 'SATC' has always walked a fine line of believability, but the extravagant, $20,000 a night suites in the Middle East seemed to push 'SATC 2' far beyond anything resembling relatable.

Parker admits that when she first heard about a 'SATC' prequel -- with Blake Lively playing a 19-year-old Carrie -- she "was like, Wha-a-a-at?" The actress says she's not opposed to a "Sex and the City-type story" with 20-somethings, but she doesn't feel like it should feature specific 'SATC' characters whose backgrounds have already been explained to a degree in the TV series and the movies.

"There are a lot of important and interesting stories that 21-year-olds can tell," she says. "I don't begrudge any 21-year-old the opportunity to tell their stories ... But I don't think we can pretend to go back. It's creating two histories. It's like, 'Oh I didn't know that about Carrie Bradshaw.'"

She's right. I know Carrie Bradshaw, and her past is some combination of what Sarah Jessica Parker has relayed to me through her character up until now and what I project onto her struggling early days in the city. I love Carrie because she wasn't 25 and running her own business like so many other fictional New Yorkers. She had some nitty-gritty groundwork to do to establish herself in her love life and career, and however great Blake Lively might be, no one other than SJP can do justice to this iconic character.

And let's be honest, to make Carrie's early days in the city fit for the silver screen, the struggling writer and not-so-polished fashionista is going to have to be written way too glamorously. The real Carrie is right. There's room for 'Sex' in the future -- albeit, a little more down-to-earth -- but we can't go back in time with a different Carrie Bradshaw. After all, replacing Carrie with a 20-something, naive girl is the exact antithesis of everything 'SATC' stands for. Don't make me have to start referring to Blake Lively as "the idiot stick figure with no soul."

Comments

(52)

Saturday 19 February

By Michael

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SJP IS THE PIG.

Sunday 20 February

By native nyer

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The woman who wrote this article (she doesn't deserve the title 'author' or 'writer' for that matter) bases her identity on a superficial character from a TV show. It's no better than defining yourself by the characters in soaps. People like her move here and bulldoze over the real culture in the city with their yuppie dreams. Lavish parties? (what exactly is a 'lavish party' - a bunch of cheesy people at the hudson hotel on a saturday?) Mr. Big? Is that all this woman cares about? It's really tragic. Does she know that NY was traditionally loved for being a real, gritty town and not a superficial super mall?

By Fran Fine

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Love this article. I agree with SJP,,,leave the show alone.
Don't try to go back with Blake Lively (ewwwww) it won't be
anywhere as good as the original series. Why can't Hollyweird
just leave well enough alone?

By Kenny Bobby

U all r awful saying bad things about her, u r just soooo fcking jealous!!!! Why am I noticing u people saying bad things, r u such a snob?? Screw u and I love some movie stars and they r really lucky and wish I could be a star too!! Once I was young, I wanted to be a model cuz I was perfect til I had an accident and ruined my face. I felt my left was over but I am still happy with my life, I am ok and deal with my face. Got friends and all that but My dream was really did want to be a star. I am 44 years old now and u all pls grow up and stop saying bad things about some stars who changed or fcked up. U r the one who shut the fck up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By LOLatYou

And yet your grammar and reply implies you're an angry 15 year old...I could be wrong of course.

By Gregory

Regarding the next Sex in the City movie - SJP says "maybe not now but in 5 years"? I think she's pushing it a bit far, already they approach the "Golden Girls" era. While all women are beautiful in their individual ways, SJP is a bit scary to me, too boney and witch like.

By SgtJoeFriday

Not even a blind man would be cauught dead with SJP.

By badass

Sofia Vergara 39, hmmm. one very nice woman.

By pat

sarah is like they said in maxium the uglest woman in america she is a mess

By DUG

WILBUR!!

By cherryannajones

That last line in the article was priceless and on point!!! And hilarious to any REAL SATC fan. I agree, leave it alone. Everybody wants to put Blake Lively in everything. I'm sorry, she's just not that great. I loved her in the Traveling Pants movies, but I just can't see her as a Carrie Bradshaw. I started watching SATC when I was 26 and just had a set of twins. That show helped me retain my sanity. Leave SATC to SJP and BL to GP, and everything will be as it should.

By Jerry

Parker is one ugly broad and doesn`t make one think of sex.

By mem

I agree Blake might be wrong for the part of a young Carrie, she's to tall. I'm all for them going back and giving us alot more background. SJP shouldn't be so threatened by the thought and doesn't own the rights.

OMG, somebody got hit by a train! Never ming. It's just SJP making an appearance.

By Girl in her 20s

OMG, there's a lot of ageist and sexist women haters posting here!

I'm in my 20s and there's a ton of young actresses my age that I like. But I don't think anyone can do SATC justice like the original gals. It would look weird with a 25/26 year old girl playing Carrie Bradshaw. Carrie is supposed to be a grown woman with plenty of life experience.

And please please NO BLAKE LIVELY! She seems so vapid and empty. She's horrible on Gossip Girl which is actually a very easy role to pull off. So I can't even imagine how bad she would be as Carrie Bradshaw.

SATC is a show about fashionable 40-something year old women. And should stay that way.

By angarrack1

SATC is not about fashionable women, it is about women of little or no substance who are materialistic and self centered.

By MissA

Enjoyed this article and wholeheartedly agree. I loved series primarily for the central friendships, but thoroughly enjoyed the fantasy of their NYC lives. Trying to take their stories backward does not interest me in the slightest.

By Dj Neg

SJP, nothing but a bag of bones.

By YuckNO

Yuck, no. I'm not even talking about Sarah Jessica Parker, although she is VASTLY overrated with regards to her looks. (Although to be fair, she is a decent but not great actress). Just the whole "Sex and the City" concept. We don't need more focus on the vapid, narcissistic lives of these four characters, be it set in present day or set when the characters were in their 20's. Why people felt this series was noteworthy, I have no idea. The very idea of watching any episode of it gives me hives.

By ChuckSC6568

Please. She doesn't want a SATC prequel because it would take the focus off of HER. Not her character, but actually her.

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