When I watched Big and Carrie decide to rekindle their dysfunctional relationship on the last episode of Sex and the City in 2004, I wiped the tears from my face and came to terms with the fact that I would no longer know what was going on in the lives of Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte.

That did not turn out to be the case.

It seems the Sex and the City phenomenon isn’t going anywhere — especially after the recent news that Sex scribe Candace Bushnell will write a young adult series about Carrie’s teen years, aptly titled The Carrie Diaries.

The closest we’ve come to Carrie’s high school years on the show was the return of her first boyfriend (played by an institutionalized David Duchovny) and her disturbing, yet realistic reference to losing her virginity (“Eleventh grade. Seth Bateman. His smelly rec room. Half a joint, three thrusts, finito.”)

Bushnell’s deal with publisher HarperCollins includes two young adult novels (so far) that will take readers through Carrie’s teenage years, some of which will be spent in a yet-to-be-determined suburb and some, of course, in Manhattan. … continue reading

Have you ever found yourself in the midst of a discussion about a hugely popular television show you’ve never watched? Well, this happens to me. I’m often embarrassed that I haven’t watched enough television (which is something I never thought I was capable of feeling).

A friend of mine sent me an email the other day with the subject line, “Mary Tyler Moore is on DVD, yeah baby!!!!!!!!!!!” Her 11 punctuation marks of jubilation led me to believe this was news to really get excited over, only I couldn’t. You see, I have a confession to make: I have never seen an episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show — not a one. It has been on numerous countdowns as one of the funniest and most groundbreaking shows ever, and still I have neglected to see it, despite the existence of the syndication time capsule Nick at Nite.

Thankfully, for people like me, complete series of programs such as The Mary Tyler Moore Show are now available on box set. DVD boxed sets give us the chance to sit down at our convenience in our comfiest pajamas for hours on end to catch up with devoted fans. It takes me two days to do what took others years. The boxed set is a crash course in television. There are so many long-running shows that so many of us have not seen at all or seen in their entirety, but now, thanks to the DVD box set, we can.

Here is a short list of series that I think, if you haven’t seen yet, you should, because they are hilarious. (Oh, and they helped knock down a whole bunch of walls for women in entertainment.)

6 Complete Series Available on DVD You Should See:

1.The Mary Tyler Moore Show

All I know about The Mary Tyler Moore Show is that in the opening credits, she famously throws her beret-looking hat in the air, and then freeze frame. Of course there is more to this series than that, so I (along with some of you) will own up to my Moore-less life and settle in to watch this award-winning series. … continue reading

You can't make everyone happy, but you sure can make money trying ($135 million, to be exact). Michael Patrick King must have learned that lesson somewhere along the way of working on Sex and the City: The Movie. Of course some fans will find fault in Big's predictable commitment-phobia or in Samantha's new singleness post-Smith, but the characters themselves are so lovable that it doesn't really matter — we'll keep paying to see them go through their trials, even at $10 a ticket.

King, the lead writer and director of Sex and the City, told Entertainment Weekly that a summer sequel is on the way. … continue reading

For a long time I’ve wondered who decides how to categorize new books by a female authors. Who is the genius in marketing that can distinguish the difference in serious fiction and the far fluffier “Chick Lit”?

Last time I perused the Chick Lit shelves at Barnes & Noble, they seemed to be getting mighty full. Let me start by saying: I get it. I understand the words “Chick Lit” are a useful marketing tool. I know single women in their 20s and 30s make up the largest demographic of book buyers. Flagging books that might appeal to them makes sense (and dollars).

Think of the money made by Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones’s Diary and Lauren Weisberger’s The Devil Wears Prada, two enormously popular Chick Lit novels. Many of these books get picked up by Hollywood (none more famously than Candace Bushnell’s Sex In the City) making everyone involved with them a boatload of dough.

But it’s no secret that the Chick Lit label denotes something about the content of the book. It’s a nudge to the reading public that says, “Pssst, hey! This book is lightweight. It’s a woman’s story about, you know, love.”

True, Chick Lit books are always about love (the heterosexual variety); Chick Lit books always seem to tell the stories of young professional women facing hurdles in the big city (most of the time, the young professional is white.) … continue reading

We're halfway through summer movie season, and it is time once again to employ Lesbian Scientistics to determine which summer blockbuster star is the most kissable, and what exactly goes into lip appeal. (CAUTION: The findings below are fraught with SPOILERS.)

Step 1) Ask a question. Does a woman's bad-assness effect her kissability?

Step 2) Observe. I will profile each woman to garner an accurate portrait of her bad-assness, paying special attention to whose ass she kicks, what she kicks ass with, and what she wears to hand out said ass kickin'.

Anna Popplewell/Susan Pevensie, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

Enemies: Telemarines, the misogyny of C.S. Lewis.

Allies: 2 Sons of Adam, 1 Daughter of Eve.

Uniform: Chainmail, leather corset.

Weapons: See pie chart.

Sarah Jessica Parker/Carrie Bradshaw, The Sex and the City Movie

Enemies: Big, Mr.

Allies: Samantha, Miranda, Charlotte.

Uniform: Fraggle-fur shawl.

Weapons: See pie chart. … continue reading

Barkeep, a round of (virtual) cosmos on me. The summer’s ultimate chick flick Sex and the City came, saw and trampled the competition with its six-inch Manolos this weekend. With an estimated $55 million weekend take, the film trounced expectations to become the biggest opening romantic comedy in box office history. But the question remains: Was the Sex any good?

Yes … and, no, but, mostly, yes. At two hours and 25 minutes, the film is arguably about 45 minutes too long. Still, I actually had the proverbial “I laughed, I cried” reaction. (I did laugh, and I did cry.) And, for the most part, I had a pretty good time. It was like slipping on a really nice, really expensive, really familiar pair of shoes. The film played out like the show’s seventh season simultaneously down and blown up.

Everything is bigger and more fabulous in the film: the clothes, the shoes, the purses, the apartments, the locations. Money has become, truly, no obstacle. And while the eye candy is impressive, it has never been why I watched the series. I have never —not once —lusted after a designer handbag.

[WARNING: Plot spoilers below. If you haven’t seen the movie yet, best to skedaddle. If you have, pour yourself another cocktail and let’s talk.]

So, what worked? The friendships. Ten years after we first met them Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha are still the reason Sex and the City works. The chemistry between the women still feels organic. So when they’re together, there is a shorthand and ease there that makes you believe you’re eavesdropping on a group of longtime friends.

What else worked? The interplay of humor and heart. The bon mots were, as always, wonderfully clever. Sometimes I wish I could hire the SATC writers to pen a week’s worth of witticisms for me, so I too could go around dropping hilarity gems. But at its heart the film is about the women’s relationships, both with each other and the men in their lives. … continue reading

I like superhero movies. I really do. They’re fun and fast and the costumes are faaaa-bulous. Straight men in stretchy fabric and capes – this is better than figure skating! This summer’s heroic roster includes Iron Man, Batman and The Incredible Hulk. And as great as those crime fighters are, they’re also a reminder that when it comes to superhero movies, no women need apply – this is man country.

New York Times film critic Manohla Dargis recently opined on the lack of women heroes and women— period — in today’s big budget blockbusters. Could this be the realization of Warner Brothers exec Jeff Robinov’s decree that the studio would not make any more movies with female leads? Dargis thinks so:

“Nobody likes to admit the worst, even when it’s right up there on the screen, particularly women in the industry who clutch at every pitiful short straw, insisting that there are, for instance, more female executives in Hollywood than ever before. As if it’s done the rest of us any good. All you have to do is look at the movies themselves — at the decorative blondes and brunettes smiling and simpering at the edge of the frame — to see just how irrelevant we have become.”

Ouch, but true. … continue reading

As the Sex and the City movie fast approaches (May 30, have you circled the day on your calendar with a big red pen yet?), new photos of the fabulous foursome have been released to promote the premiere. The ladies look like no time has passed since they first began sipping cosmos together on-screen a decade ago. Ah, Hollywood magic. Still, some news outlets are expressing surprise that the actresses may have been digitally enhanced in the promo pictures. Um, duh?  

U.K. newspapers the Telegraph and Daily Mail both had pieces “exposing” the airbrushed shots. Help me out, British AfterEllen.com readers: Do people not use Photoshop across the pond? Or have we Americans been so conditioned to expect extreme reality makeovers that we no longer notice a digital nip here or computerized tuck there? Heck, even the women's original Sex and the City photo shoot for the TV show 10 years ago was retouched. See:

Today the fab four are all in their 40s and beyond: Sarah Jessica Parker (43), Cynthia Nixon (41), Kristin Davis (43) and Kim Catrall (51). But from these new solo shots, I‘d put their ages somewhere between 28 and mannequin. … continue reading

It seems like every couple of years or so, someone will release another one of those lists: You know, the ones that talk about the greatest on-screen partnerships and duos. There will be a top ten: Hepburn and Tracy will be mentioned, as will Bogart and Bacall. In the realm of (allegedly) non-romantic pairings, there will be Paul Newman and Robert Redford as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and maybe Laurel and Hardy, or the guys from Lethal Weapon. What there reliably never will be is any female-female buddy relationships.

Well, I think that’s nonsense — so without any further ado, here is a list of my favorite (allegedly) non-romantic female partnerships on film and television:

Dorothy (Jane Russell) and Lorelei (Marilyn Monroe), Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)

The '50s showgirls of this classic film travel together, trade banter, stick up for each other in the face of outsiders, and even walk up the aisle together at the end in matching wedding dresses. Sadly, they weren't actually marrying each other — even though the picture does make it look like it.

Kate/Offred (Natasha Richardson) and Moira (Elizabeth McGovern), The Handmaid’s Tale (1990)

Trapped in the dystopian future imagined by Margaret Atwood's novel, in this film adaptation Kate gets strength, courage, and some much-needed humor from her rebellious lesbian friend Moira.

Thelma (Geena Davis) and Louise (Susan Sarandon), Thelma and Louise (1991)

In this iconic reworking of the traditional road movie, the waitress-and-housewife-turned-stickup-artists became so close that by the end, as Sarandon has said, "they were finishing each others' sentences." … continue reading

As Sarah noted in Best. Lesbian. Week. Ever. today, NewNowNext blogger John Polly recently interviewed the Sex and the City cast. For Cynthia Nixon's comments, see BLWE — here are some other highlights.

NNN: Any thoughts about Cashmere Mafia or Lipstick Jungle?
Kim Cattrall: I haven’t seen them. I’m very flattered because they sound shockingly like a show that was near and dear to my heart. [Laughs.] But it’s not like somebody in the middle of nowhere came up with them. Darren Star put this whole fantasy together, and so did Candace Bushnell — from the inception — so I have no opinion about them going off and trying to tell more stories about women.

NNN: What about the clothes?
Kristin Davis: Did the shoes hurt? Oh, we got used to that. But in the middle of the night, it was as if we’d be thinking, “This is how we earn our check — wearing these shoes.”

NNN: On lesbian costumer Patricia Field:
Kim Cattrall: You go into Pat’s playroom — as I call it — and it stinks like cigarettes, and there’s pizza, take-out food, stuff everywhere. And she’s got a little bit of everything in there. She has designer stuff and, like, a rag-picker's assortment of jewelry from the ’30s and ’40s. It’s so much fun, because you really feel like it’s dress-up time.

Patricia Field

Sarah Jessica Parker: Really, this idea that I’m some kind of fashion icon is, in large part, due to Pat. She’s a remarkable person. And don’t be fooled by the red hair; she’s no Hostess Twinkie. She’s a really smart woman. … continue reading

Last Friday, the full-length Sex and the City movie trailer was leaked online.

I’ll admit it: I’m excited about this movie. And I say that as someone who took quite a long time to become a fan of the show. When it first premiered in 1998, the glossy-looking previews got me to tune in, expecting a New York–based comedy along the lines of Friends. What I got seemed a lot more along the lines of soft porn to me — plus a seemingly endless run of terrible puns and vacuous-sounding questions from sex columnist Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) — and I just as quickly tuned out. When friends talked about the show to me, I told them in no uncertain terms that I couldn’t stand it.

Yet somehow, around the time of the fifth or sixth season, I found myself taking another look. And whether it was just because I had gotten older, or because the show had gotten a lot better, I unexpectedly found myself being drawn into it. Carrie seemed less brittle, self-obsessed and neurotic to me, and I found myself noticing what a good friend she was. Prissy Charlotte (Kristin Davis) had met her perfect match in the short, bald, fat Harry (Evan Handler) and had loosened up a bit. Slutty Samantha (Kim Cattrall) was no longer shagging everything that moved, but seemed on the verge of settling into an actually rather touching relationship with Smith (Jason Lewis) — plus I admired the tough, steely way she was handling breast cancer.

And then there was Miranda. … continue reading

So you're watching a scary movie, and the expendable female character, who is probably blonde, is about to die. You know this because of (a) the Psycho-esque shrieking music, (b) the food, either in the microwave or stove, that is beginning to burn, or (c) it is starting to rain outside, and said female is trying to escape from her car but cannot hold onto her keys. The correct answer? Any or all of the above.

Ah, movie and TV clichés. We all know the things that happen only in the movies or on TV. If you've ever lived in a large city, you know that the Sex and the City girls had to be wearing some sort of taxi-attracting pheromone. That is, unless they were in danger, or having a bad day, or needing rescue by a man, in which case no cab would be available. Then they would have to walk, most likely in the rain.

This month, TVsquad.com and its readers have been tracking some favorite clichés. The lists made me chuckle enough that I thought I should share. Here are some of my favorites and my nominations.

Here's one that's bugged me for a while: “In bedroom scenes, men have sheets that reach their waist, but women have L-shaped sheets that come up to their chests.” No kidding! This is especially true on American TV. Heaven forbid we have a wardrobe malfunction and expose the country's children to the evils of the female body. (I know, some of this has to do with actresses who won't do nude or charge for it. But still. Double standard.) … continue reading

I sometimes think back to the summer before my freshman year of high school. My very Catholic school gave us a booklist to read, and as a result of the imposed summer homework (Oh, no! Would all of high school be like this?), I was introduced to the four sisters March. Yes, the booklist included Louisa May Alcott's Little Women.

Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy found their way into my heart that summer of ’65. As I sat out on Mastic Beach in Long Island at the home of one of my cousins, I was transported back to the Civil War and the lives of those four girls. Balmy winds and beach sand under my feet were no match for Southern hospitality, adventurous escapades, plays, balls and the tears shed at the many sad moments in the book. I immediately fell in love with Jo and wished she could hold me in her arms as she did her dear sister Beth. Little did I know that was a portent of my future!

As I grew up and enjoyed different shows on TV, I came to recognize a pattern. Certain shows resonated with me in a way that was so familiar. You know these shows: The Facts of Life, Golden Girls, Designing Women. What was it, I asked myself, that connects all of these shows? And then one day, it came to me. The characters on these shows reflect the attributes of the characters in Little Women. … continue reading

They’re baaaack! Yes, the fabulous foursome of Sex and the City is back. The first teaser trailer for the SATC movie came out yesterday. I’ll admit it; I got a little sentimental when I heard the theme again. I half expected to see Carrie in that pink tutu dress getting splashed by that bus. And as much as I want to toast the movie and the gals, I can’t help wondering: Will it work?

I watched all six seasons of the hit HBO series. I even hosted a premiere party or two, complete with appletinis. And when it ended in 2004, I thought it went out on a pretty darn-near-perfect note in terms of wish fulfillment. So now, almost four years later, what exactly is left to tell? Well, the trailer doesn’t let too much slip, unless a woman trying on fancy white dresses means something to you. [To see the trailer in hi-def, click here.] … continue reading