Grace Reyes

I was a fan of Sex and the City, so I thought I would also enjoy And Just Like That, even after Big’s death. Did not happen. There are so many problems they’re supposedly addressing that only get a coat of paint with a bit of glitter. I guess the writers and producers wanted to show inclusion by making Miranda date a queer binary woman, and introducing new “colored” friends. Charlotte’s daughter doesn’t want to be a girl but Charlotte is seeing this as something that will pass, just a bad dream she’s having. I dislike Charlotte’s shallowness and her bird-chirping way of talking. I wonder why they make Miranda look and talk to Che with that stupid smile plastered on her face. Miranda used to be an educated, well-rounded professional but her career seems to have gone down the drain. I applaud that she wants to end a marriage that she’s not happy in, but actually I think she wants her relationship with Che to be exactly the way she wished her marriage to Steve were. They have each befriended a woman of color, that’s true, but they are not plain women. I like Nya, she’s a renowned college professor that is not sure she wants children but she’s trying just to make her husband happy. I believe the writers wanted to emphasize that not all women want to be mothers. Charlotte’s friend is incredibly wealthy and has incredible relations. Out of nowhere and in minutes she gets food to feed one hundred volunteers when their caterer didn’t show up. And she wants everything recorded for her Insta! Oh, I almost forgot, Charlotte and her friend arrive at the place they are volunteering at IN A LIMO!!!??? Carrie points out that she’s wearing overalls… with flashy high heeled platform sandals… to paint bathrooms. Her friend, super wealthy shallow real estate Hindi mogul, makes a face of utter repugnance when Miranda offers her a T-shirt for the paint job. Of course, she’s very elegantly dressed and offers a big check instead. The “girls” have aged but they haven’t grown up. I miss Samantha!

I was really surprised that so many people gave this series a five-star review; then I guessed they might not have read the book. As a Language Arts teacher, I always read the book first. I can’t understand how Celeste N G agreed with this adaptation. I liked the book, a lot. Though the series follows the basic plot, they changed many things and added others that make no sense. The characters in the book are real human beings, with virtues and flaws. In the series they emphasized just the flaws. Mia was such a strong character in the book, so honest and straightforward. In the series, she’s a hypocrite mostly. I’m really disappointed with this series. They shouldn’t have put Reese and Kerry’s picture in the cover of the book. They are not one and the same! Why changing the fact that Mia’s mentor had a partner and having Mia be her lover instead? Mia telling her daughter to return the dress Lexie bought her for Homecoming dance and offering to go to Goodwill to get her one. And then she sells a valuable work of art to help Bebe pay for a lawyer- the lawyer was pro bono in the book. Bebe is portrayed in the series as very ungrateful. In the book she’s beautiful, shy, so it’s very out of character that she shows up at Mirabelle’s birthday party and makes a scene. In the book, Mia supports Bebe but doesn’t get to the extremes she does in the series, like sneaking in Linda’s house and lending Bebe her car keys to go there. In the book Mia is motherly and understanding, she comforts Lexie after the abortion, in the book she can’t be more bitter and cruel! In the series, Mia does drugs in the home she shares with her daughter and leaves the paraphernalia in her studio for all to see. She also sleeps with strangers and with her own boss. Elena might not be the happiest wife in the book but in the series she has a schedule to have sex with her husband- Wednesdays and Saturdays. They also introduced this Jamie character who supposedly was Elena’s boyfriend when in college and to whom Elena runs to, driving all the way to New York to meet him. And what about Bill, Elena’s husband, looking at Mia so lustily? And what about Izzy? I loved the unconventional character in the book, a rebel and a non-conformist. They took away her signature combat books in the series and depicted her as a lesbian. I don’t see how that adds anything valuable to the character. The Izzy in the book would have never dressed up and done her hair to go to Homecoming dance to supposedly make her girl crush jealous. As I said above, this is a very disappointing adaptation. Somebody here said that the characters in the series are not black and white, I hope meaning they have both virtues and flaws. I don’t agree. The characters in the series are so despicable that it’s really hard to empathize with them. I would really want to know how many of those who gave the series a five star review read the book. I didn’t have Hulu. I got it because I was reading this book and because Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington are two of my favorite actresses. I was so excited to see them playing the roles of Elena and Mia! The Hulu series damped my enthusiasm. Hugely.