Sex and the City (2008)

Does it work as a standalone movie if you don’t know the show? But if you are a fan of the show, this is a delightful addition to the unfinished story of the original show. 

 There was one scene that has really stuck with me. When Big failed to show up to the wedding and Carrie’s car ran into his on the street, the first thing she said to him as she slammed him with that bouquet wasn’t to ask why, or even call him out on his cowardice. The first thing she said was “I’m humiliated.”

There’s a world there I would have despised her for these priorities, but I actually really emphasized with her when she said this. Carrie is vain and she cares a lot about what others think of her - she knows this - and Big knows this. All is fair in love and maybe it’s fair for you to get cold feet, but how can you humiliate me so in front of all these people whose opinions of me I really do care about? Do I not matter to you at all? 

For very different reasons, both of my prior relationships probably ended somewhat abruptly to my friends (the last one was quite unexpected even to myself) and there was definitely part of me that felt similar embarrassment in addition to heartbreak: I gushed about you in front of all my friends. Do I now look like a fool? 

Yes, I am outing myself as a big Carrie apologist (in addition to being an apologist of Cynthia Nixon’s bagel order). She’s probably the least principled and the most flawed out of the four. She may be vain, painfully indecisive, and she gets carried away easily and forgets to be considerate, but when push comes to shove she isn’t afraid to face the most unglamorous part of her and she doesn’t carry shame around it and I think that’s so beautiful. It’s why I love her.