I've been re-watching Sex and the City on Amazon Prime. I fully enjoyed this show in my thirties, and now that I'm getting older (and hopefully wiser), the re-binge is having a different effect. I remember too vividly now how much Carrie's signature squeal ("Aaaah!") got on my nerves. And now, the whole character shows far more flaws in the same kind of vivid detail.
What I'm most struck by, however, is that my own estimation of the actors has changed. If you, too, have written off this show as fluff and sex and guest stars and little more, take another look. Because as catchy and kitschy and clever as the scripts are, it's the portrayals that give this show real meat. These characters are flawed, three-dimensional and fascinating because they're startlingly relatable. And the reason for that is... (drum roll, please) ... that the acting is downright impressive.
This show has been disregarded by too many. Even though "sex" is right there in the title and the fashion statements are abundant, there is nothing vapid about this project. The show is actually about people, love, and the relationships they're trying to navigate. Now that we know more about the people who made this show happen, and the feuds that have stoked tabloid headlines, the simple fact that casts are not always the best of friends reveals an interesting detail, and something I thought I would never type:
Kim Cattrall is a very good actress.
A little history: I first became aware of Ms. Cattrall when an older cousin showed me
Mannequin, the kooky magical comedy with her in the title role, and Andrew McCarthy as her hapless paramour. (Now there's a guess spot we should have seen...) It's a cute movie, but not great. Later, I saw a clip from
Porky's, which wasn't terribly challenging -- her role is basically a far less interesting version of Samantha. But the first real impressions of her acting chops were formed for me... by the MST3K "guys". They absolutely skewered some of her earlier films, labeling her one of the worst actresses of all time. What can I say? I was young, and I believed them. After all, they'd seen more movies than me. (I suspect that's not true anymore.)
But let's look at it another way: whether you're "Team SJP" or "Team Cattral" in the playground-worthy celebrity feud, there was obviously some serious tension on that set. And far too many accounts indicate that Ms. Cattrall was
persona non grata for much of the run, and certainly for the filming of both post-series films. It doesn't matter whose side you're on. The very presence of that kind of tension, maintained over a period of several years, shows that these women deserve far more awards for their work on SATC.
Because the animosity never shows. Not once. They continued filming together,
unlike others who allegedly forced producers, cast and crew to work around their lack of professionalism. These women, and the rest of the cast, soldiered on and made it look great. We believed that they were friends. We believed that they genuinely cared about one another. And considering the more recent rants on Twitter and Piers Morgan by Cattrall, that's more than impressive.
We've all worked with people we don't like, or who we've at least clashed with in one way or another. Hopefully, there's a way to work around it. I just hope we can all get the job done so gracefully. And just as hopefully, we'll come out of it
without the dramatic tweets.
