Yes, Carrie And Co Have Aged, And We Should Celebrate That!

Since filming began on the Sex And The City reboot And Just Like That, pictures have been emerging from the show’s New York set almost daily, to our general delight. Yet amid all the excitement (why has Big’s ex been spotted?), a vocal minority immediately started complaining that the stars of the show are past continuing the story of those much-loved characters. ‘Old AF’ went one social media post, while comments on one newspaper article sniffed, ‘Please, dye your hair’ – and much worse – under photos of co-stars Sarah Jessica Parker and Cynthia Nixon. It all begs the question: when are people going to get used to seeing older women star on screen?

It goes without saying that Sarah, Cynthia and Kristin Davis are gorgeous by the standards of any age group, and beneficiaries of the finest moisturisers and retinols that money can buy. They look great – but they don’t look 25 now they’re in their mid-fifties. And for some people, even in 2021, that’s an issue.

You have to wonder, has Meryl Streep shown them nothing? Has Grace & Frankie revealed nothing about the freshness of seeing older faces on screen? In the 17 years since Carrie and co left our screens, we’ve been offered endless wannabe SATCs about young women, from The Bold Type to Emily In Paris. What we haven’t seen is Carrie, Miranda and Charlotte at 50; how they cope with grown kids and ageing husbands; what Samantha’s absence has done to their friendship group. There’s fresh drama and comedy to be mined, and Carrie rocking grey streaks is just another issue the group has to discuss over brunch. The things that really matter to viewers – the cast’s talent, their comedy chops – haven’t changed. Or have improved with 17 years’ more experience.

Yet – and despite what the enduring success of stars such as Jennifers Lopez and Aniston might suggest – women over 50 are still under-represented on screen. The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media found, in 2020, that 75% of characters over 50 were men. Only one in four Hollywood movies had a woman over 50 in a leading role who wasn’t stereotyped as grumpy, unattractive or unfashionable. Sexism and ageism go hand in hand, and they both feed this sort of critique of the cast’s appearance.

Harrison Ford is currently shooting an Indiana Jones film at 79, and no one says he’s too old. Tom Cruise is filming two Mission: Impossible films back to back, at 59, and no one seems to think he’s past it. So why is it that women are supposed to hide their laugh lines? A high-profile series with 50-something stars should be celebrated, especially when said stars are using this opportunity to address SATC’s long-discussed lack of diversity and bring the likes of Sarita Choudhury, Nicole Ari Parker, Karen Pittman and Sara Ramirez into the mix.

There is hope that this outdated attitude to women on screen is finally dying. Most articles about the reboot have written positively about the stars embracing their grey roots and latest fashion choices; they have learned that there will be pushback (rightfully) if they continue with their old, sexist attitudes to older women. Anyway, it’s far more fun to speculate wildly on whether Carrie and Big are making it work (spoiler: according to reports of a leaked script, it’s looking dicey) and which labels our favourites are wearing in 2021. There are new stories now for them to explore and that’s exciting for fans of any age.

Helen O’Hara is the author of ‘Women Vs Hollywood: The Fall And Rise Of Women In Film’ (Robinson), out now