Girlfriends

A recent report says that women should have, ideally, 4 close girlfriends.

Two might be company and three a crowd, but it seems four is perfect when it comes to friends.The average woman needs this number at any one time in her life, a study suggests.Researchers say females are becoming far more selective and will bother forming close bonds only with those they know they can trust and share experiences. Having four friends is also ideal as it makes up a group of five - which ensures no one is ever left out, the researchers say.

Tonight me and 4 of my girlfriends, well 3 girlfriends and 1 daughter, went to see Sex And The City 2. Having spent the last few weeks avoiding reading reviews of the film I finally got to make up my own mind. What was all the fuss about? Although I had avoided the critics it has been hard to escape the fact that the film has been pretty much panned. Unfairly so. It was funny – best line went to Samantha, having been lamenting her dwindling lack of sexual desire, on spotting a handsome man riding the dunes in a 4X4, sighed and said breathlessly ‘Laurence of my Labia’. It was a riot of colour, the clothes, the decor, the burnt yellows and oranges of the desert, the blues of the sea, and the cascading hues of the market. The opening scene, a gay wedding, was wonderfully OOT, with Ziegfeld Follies type male singers, swans, indoor canals and best of all….Liza Minnelli doing a Beyonce number and shaking her booty in all the right places. Sounds scary I know, but, take my word for it, it was something to behold. Hell, it is worth seeing if just for the beautiful Irish nanny who has the most perfect large and natural breasts, and for some reason refuses to ever wear a bra, cartwheel across the lawn. The four friends are closer than ever and are still what they have always been, Carrie, the writer, still observing the world she lives in and writing her weekly column. Miranda, still fiercely ambitious and wanting to progress in her career. Charlotte, still perfect and trying to create a perfect family, and Samantha, thanks to all the lotions, potions, patches, pills and hormone replacement therapy, still happily fucking her way through life with the most gorgeous men imaginable.

Carrie has finally married her Mr Big and, two years down the line, is worried their relationship has lost its spark. When Mr Big suggests they spend a couple of days a week living apart, so they could both do their own thing, she worries that it is a signal they are losing interest in each other.

Miranda, whose new boss is a misogynist and treats her appallingly, stops enjoying her job and, having been sidelined one too many times, quits her job but feels guilty that being a stay at home mum is just not enough for her.

Charlotte is finding parenthood challenging, difficult and sometimes NOT enjoyable and is filled with guilt because she sometimes resents the demands made on her by her imperfect, but perfectly normal, children. Plus she employs the cartwheeling nanny and fears, if her husabnd is seduced by the breasts, she, Charlotte, will lose the nanny.

And Samantha? Well Samantha despairs that her hormones are packing up and leaving the building.

The film does skirt its way around some serious issues, but then it is a chickflick laced with comedy and fashion and is meant to entertain not moralise. It is about women not being scared of being different, not being scared of their needs, their sexuality or their need to explore their emotions, doubts and fears. It is about women finding their voices and it celebrates their need for ‘personal space’. It recognises that wives, mothers and friends need the freedom to be who they are, not just what they are. Carrie learns that she and Mr Big are free to make their marriage one that suits them and not to feel pressurised to make it fit other people’s idea of marriage. Miranda realises that in a job were she is valued and listened too she can be the best she can be and give her son the time and attention he needs. Charlotte learns that imperfection is pretty perfect after all and Samantha, once back on the hormone replacement stuff, gets to shag her Laurence of Labia on the bonnet of a 4X4. Fucking wonderful!

These woman have been friends for many years and I would love to see a 'prequel', something that has already been done by the other female friends programme, 'Desperate Housewives'. I would love any of the friends in SATC to be my friend whereas I wouldn't want any of the DH women as a friend. When, in an email conversation yesterday with a friend, I mentioned I was going to see SATC this evening my friend said she didn't really watch it but asked me the question she said every woman asks their friends when discussing SATC- 'if you had to shag one which one would it be?' My friend said she would, if forced, 'shag the brunette, it's the princess thing'. I replied 'Samantha, she's dirty'. 'Yep, should've guessed' replied my 'friend'.