ESTROGEN CENTRAL - Shopping bags line the aisles. Heels click on the sticky floors. Gaggles of girls pose for pictures.
This was the scene at one New York City theater during the opening weekend for “Sex and the City,” which turned multiplexes across the country into a kind of feminine ground zero. Of course, “Sex and the City” doesn’t represent all things feminine, just the cliches: clothes, gossiping about men, Vogue magazine, etc.
Whatever you think of the film or the HBO series that spawned it, the jammed cinemas were an intimidating place for any heterosexual male to venture. This reporter was (forcibly) dispatched to a Manhattan theater to determine whether the ultimate “chick flick” could be a welcoming experience for a guy. And with look of determination that said, yes, he was confident enough about himself to make such a trip, this reporter went. Talk about embedded journalism.
The crowd was not nearly as homogeneous as expected. (Enough men apparently went to help the film to a robust $55.7 million gross over the weekend.) Interviews with three couples suggested that “Sex and the City” has plenty to offer men — or at least isn’t worth avoiding like a well-dressed plague.
Anthony Smith initially said he was “dragged” to the theater by his date, 21-year-old Pamela David. She quickly reprimanded him: “That’s not true. You wanted to see it. Don’t lie.”
Smith, 38, then happily let down his guard and confessed he had seen almost every episode.
“I’m totally into it and I’m straight,” said Smith. “You understand women better watching `Sex and the City.’”
Turning to David, he added: “Not that I figured her out yet, though.”
Jose Dalban, 25, joined his girlfriend, 19-year-old Rosemary Mejin, and was proud to acknowledge that he’s a fan of the show: “I like Samantha. She’s my favorite.”
Like seemingly everyone in the theater before the film started, Dalban said he hoped Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) finally marries Mr. Big (Chris Noth). Regardless of how the fortunes for the most prominent male character on the show ended up, Dalban thinks men can identify with the show’s feminine foursome.
“`Sex and the City’ is like when I get together with my cousins and my friends,” he said. “They’re just like us, only on the woman’s side. I have a friend that’s just like Carrie. I have a friend that’s just like Samantha.”
Vivian Becker, 22, attended with her boyfriend, who insisted on anonymity for fear of embarassment. And for good reason: Becker said he, in fact, was the “facilitator” in their trip to the cinema. The boyfriend admitted that he was “invested” in the show after being made to watch the TV series by Becker.
“Sex and the City” is one of the few summer blockbusters targeting women. Most of the comic-book adaptations and R-rated comedies are aimed squarely at male teenagers. To Becker, guys having to go see “Sex and the City” helps balance the gender scales.
“What are women gaining when they go to `Iron Man‘?” she wondered. “A lot of my friends were dragged to that. There’s a give-and-take in movies, right?”
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