Sex and the Single Girls

The movie event of the year for fans of Sex and the City finally arrives this week. APRIL DREW spoke to some Irish fans of the show to get their thoughts.GIRLS far and wide have finally found an excuse to wear their horrendously expensive pair of Manolo Blahniks, a sexy cocktail dress and sport the most fabulous bag in town while confidently strutting their stuff on their way to the much anticipated Sex and the City: The Movie which hits theaters this Friday. In 1998 Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte began sipping their cosmopolitans, lamenting their relationships and eying up potential mates (or in Samantha's case a potential one night stand) all over Manhattan. It was only a matter of time before single gals all over the city (and the world) were following suit.The Irish Voice spoke to Irish women, who have all sorts of plans to celebrate the return of the iconic HBO series in style with their closest girlfriends, about the influence SATC has had on their wardrobe, their love lives and their friendships with other women. Sarah McEneaney, 28, has been an fervent SATC fan since it first started back in 1998. Although not a lover of television - "I'm more of a movie buff," she says - McEneaney proudly admits she has seen all 94 episodes of the show and is now counting down the hours until the movie opens. McEneaney and her girlfriends will take in a late movie on Friday night. The girls then plan to drink cosmos in a chic bar in honor of the show, especially Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), who McEneaney acknowledges as her favorite character. "Carrie is just great. She is always so funny. She leads a very complicated life, and she is just wonderful," said McEneaney. Donegal woman Roisin O'Donnell, 27, is "rounding up the troops" for a "girls" weekend of SATC. O'Donnell and friends are waiting with bated breath to see what the writers have done with the lives of each character four years on. "I'm really looking forward to it," she said.Noreen Moriarty, 31 and living in Boston, said SATC nights were a religious part of her weekends when the show was airing on television. "I used to live with three other girls so every Sunday night the four of us used to make a point of being home together to watch Sex and the City," she said. Although, the series ended four years ago and the lives of Moriarty and her friends eventually moved in various directions, not having the quality time together they would like to enjoy, they are planning a SATC reunion this weekend. "Since we heard they were making a movie, we have planned to all go and see it together and no doubt we'll be dressing up and having a cosmo or two afterwards," Moriarty said.Best friends Sara Jane Anderson and Carrie Goodman are super excited about the SATC movie. "We'll be about an hour beforehand getting ready and helping each other pick out outfits for the show, then after it will be dinner and drinks to talk about the movie in depth," said Anderson. Not everyone the Irish Voice spoke to will have to wait until Friday to see their favorite characters mull over new conundrums. Bernadette Gibbons, much to the envy of her friends, will be attending an advanced screening of her favorite show on Thursday. "I just can't wait," she said. McEneaney confesses that when the show was airing on HBO for six years, her weekend brunches with her girlfriends included four topics of discussion - clothes, men, weekend plans and SATC. "It's all we talked about for years," she said.Although, the latter of the conversations took a backseat as of late, Sex is back and this time it's the only topic up for discussion. Will Carrie finally marry Big? Does Charlotte finally get pregnant? Will Samantha actually remain faithful to Smith, and does Miranda ever wax?"We all have different hopes and aspirations for the movie so we're excited to see it," she said. SATC, known for its couture and elegance, has rubbed off on a lot of people. Goodman said since becoming a fan of the show she has introduced her wardrobe to "more glamour" and she now has "the confidence to experiment with avant garde fashion."Anderson, who admits she has always had an obsession with fabulous shoes, said watching episode after episode of SATC pushed her over the edge. "Some of the styles they wore were so different from my personal style, I just had to buy some and give them a try," she laughs. Although impressed with the garments sported by each character on the show, especially Carrie, Gibbons said that such "outlandish attire" wouldn't go down too well in Queens where she lives. "I will admit, though, I've lost my fear of caring what others think about taking fashion risks from watching the show," she says. If there was one lesson to be taken from SATC, McEneaney said it would be all about friendship. "Your friends are a blessing and you should always let them know how much they mean to you," she says.O'Donnell, like the SATC characters, enjoys cocktails during the weekends and ventures into the city on a regular basis with the girls to shop like Carrie for shoes, handbags and dresses. However, unlike Carrie, O'Donnell didn't need to make the trek into the city to find her Mr. Right. It was in Woodlawn in the Bronx that she met her soon to be husband, also from Donegal, James McFadden. "The one lesson I'd take from the show is get out of the city if you're looking for love," she said laughing. Each SATC episode ended with a message, and for Moriarty that message was always loud and clear. "We were constantly being told anything was possible and attainable. A lot of people think to be happy or successful you need a man in your life, but throughout the series the men came and went (and came back) but their friendship always lasted," O'Donnell says.Gibbons feels the show "gives women sitting at home the endurance to go out and enjoy life here in the big bad city." She added that SATC makes her appreciate her friends a lot. "The girls' relationship showed me that we all have a few loyal friends to fall back on if your supposed Mr. Right may only really be Mr. Right Now," said Gibbons.O'Donnell especially enjoyed the show because she felt she could always relate to one of the character's trials and tribulations. "They all have highs and lows, just like the rest of us," she said, adding that the series itself accurately captured the essence of women in the 21st century. For O'Donnell and her family back in Donegal, the movie of the series is extra special. They were bitterly disappointed when the series finished up in 2004. O'Donnell met Sarah Jessica Parker in person in Donegal several years ago. "They (she and husband Matthew Broderick) vacation in Donegal every year and they hire their car from my dad so I got to meet her in person," said O'Donnell, describing the actress as "lovely both inside and out." Moriarty, who claims she is one of the biggest SATC fans out there, loved the eccentric clothes, the everyday difficulties of each character's love life and, most of all, "the power of friendship" that existed between the four characters. "No matter what the situation these four very different ladies were always there for each other. What more can single girls in the big city ask for than that?" she feels.O'Donnell favored Parker's character, Carrie, "not because she was the leading lady but because she analyzed everything that goes on in a woman's head and was very lovable. Sometimes she even had the answers to questions that we couldn't figure out."Also a fan of Carrie, Moriarty feels she was the "glue" that kept the four girls together through all their individual trials and tribulations. "Carrie seems to have a special bond with each one of the girls," said Moriarty, adding that Carrie's sense of adventure and risk taking was very admirable. Most women, when asked, chose Carrie as the character they could most to relate to or admire deeply. Goodman was always impressed with Carrie's "quirkiness and vulnerability." However, she also en