All of the negative tweets about And Just Like That are cracking me up. Mostly, people are mad about the scripts, one character’s death and how everything is a massive cringe. I’ve seen precious little criticism of how the main characters *look* although I know there was a lot of chatter when the first promos came out. There will always be people who knee-jerk and say “so-and-so looks OLD.” Which is ageist, of course. But what about the people muttering “maybe this actress shouldn’t have gone overboard with fillers”? So it is with Kristin Davis, who is quite upset that people are making unsolicited comments about her face.
Kristin Davis is slamming the unsolicited comments about her appearance on the Sex and the City revival, And Just Like That….Davis, 56, said it was “a shock” to see the negative reactions to her and her costars’ looks in the new series — which debuted earlier this month and 17 years after Sex and the City wrapped. Davis, who reprised her role as Charlotte York in And Just Like That…, spoke to The Sunday Times Style Magazine about the frustrating fascination with her onscreen appearance.
“Everyone wants to comment, pro or nay or whatever, on our hair and our faces and our this and our that,” she said. “The level of intensity of it was a shock… I feel angry and I don’t want to feel angry all the time, so I don’t look at it, I just know it’s there.”
Also in her Sunday Times interview, Davis looked back on her days starring in the original Sex and the City, reflecting on the similar criticism she endured about her body.
“They would write articles every week about how I was ‘pear-shaped,’ which I didn’t feel was a compliment at the time,” she told the Sunday Times. “It would stress me out a fair amount because I couldn’t avoid it. I kind of feel like that’s how it is now too… But I also feel — I’m going to be blunt — I feel like, ‘F— you. F— you people, like, come over here and do it better.’ You know what I mean? Like, what are you doing?”
The actress pointed to social media as a driving force in such criticism, explaining, “That’s the problem with social media, right, is that you don’t know what those people are doing. You don’t know anything about them. They’re just hurling bombs at you. It makes me angry.”
First of all, she does have a pear-shape! No one is saying that to be mean, it’s merely identifying a body type. Kristin Davis has a lovely figure and she always had a really cute shape. I loved seeing how Patricia Fields dressed a woman who wasn’t a typical-actress ectomorph body type (and Charlotte often got some of the cutest clothes, tbh). As for the stuff about the actresses’ faces. There’s rudeness, there’s ageism and all of that in play and I’m not going to deny any of that. But!! There’s also just a normal human reaction of “wow, someone overdid the Botox and fillers.” I don’t really get what people like Kristin and Renee Zellweger are even arguing at this point, that it’s rude to notice when someone has had noticeable cosmetic work? That people shouldn’t talk about how it’s hard to watch an actress try to emote through all of those fillers?
This teaser has SPOILERS.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.
I thought in photos she looked refreshed, but not overdone. It’s onscreen, in motion (or lackthereof) when you are taken aback. I mean, she slurs her words because she is so frozen. It is super noticeable.
Exactly. In the scene in which she is crying I had difficulty understanding her lines. Do whatever you want to your face but if it becomes a problem when speaking your lines, bet people are gonna say something.
Yes. It is painful to watch hence it is I think legitbto notice and say that. Actors who have to be looked at and who have tonuse their face to communicate the story should know aboit this and think a bit then threy get their faces wacked. Her horrible acting due to frozen face was the only distraction from the general car crash that is this show. I am not watching it further. The mix of bad scripts, storylones, clothes that hang like costumes on them and the pain each time Davis comes on screen is just too much.
@ SM, I agree!! If you are going to freshen up your face, make sure they don’t hit the nerves which affects your speech. I watched the 2 episodes and I barely paid attention. I was mostly interested in Willie Garrison to be honest. But their plot of how WOC comes into their lives was making me cringe throughout the 2 episodes. I am done watching this dribble of a story that has long been dead and did not need to be revisited for anyone but SJP.
Charlotte’s plastic surgery should be played up- it’s noticeable to the point of it’s own plot
I have to say- I’m in love w AJLTl. I love seeing the women grow up during this era. It’s like an apology made into a series
Facial plastic surgery looks best on faces that don’t ever move. That’s why the Kardashian/Jenners perfected the blank stare in photos and end up like the Joker when they cry, laugh, or try to emote. Kristin’s face may have still looked normal when she sat motionless, but now that she’s trying to act again, she’s having the same Joker-faced problems as every other aging woman trying to fight it with too many fillers and injectables.
Maybe she didn’t think she’d need to be Charlotte again, but yeah, I’m sorry, Kristin, it’s REALLY noticeable. Call up Nicole Kidman’s people. As much work as she’s had done, and as much crap as she’s gotten for it on red carpets, she’s playing the dissolve game well enough not to let it be the focus of her television or movie roles.
Molly- I adore Nicole Kidman and yes, sometimes her work is not a distraction, but omg, there were parts of The Undoing where it was ALL I could see. I hate to say it because she is probably my #1 favorite actor, but sometimes her work is so distracting.
The whole situation sucks because for actresses, there IS NO winning, unless you are like say, Helen Mirren and you age naturally beautifiully. Anyone else is either lambasted for looking older when they do nothing, or looking freakish when they resort to procedures to try to avoid the aging. There are some who get really good work, my guess is they start very small and just upkeep that, so they age a little, but not much. But I have to wonder if even in those cases if they are just lucky and have faces that can handle SOME procedures without looking weird. (Like the way some women can wear a lot of makeup and still look great while others in the same amount look like clowns)
100%, if your procedures have impacted your speaking voice to the point of slurring, it’s impossible for the audience not to notice. I’m not trying to bash her but it’s very noticeable and impacts literally every line she says as an actress.
Exactly.
It’s even more stark because the SJP and Cynthia Nixon (especially Nixon) don’t seem to have done anything to their faces. They look like themselves, they have the full range of emotions available to express. Kristin, next to them, looks garish. Her face doesn’t move the same way it did before, her lips are frozen… it’s bad.
Next to the Selling Sunset girls she’d look natural, but next to actual naturally aged women… it’s just unfortuate that she felt the need to do it.
That’s where I noticed it, too, at the table with Cynthia Nixon (who looks terrific) & SJP. Just echoing what others are saying here, when you’re no longer understood when you’re speaking, you’ve done too much to your face & people will talk about that, they just will.
This right here! I was very distracted from the awful script because she sounds like Carol Channing!
I watched a bit of it and thought maybe she was wearing a dental appliance or something because her speech was so different than what I was used to.
It just makes me sad TBH. Our society puts so much pressure on women to look 20 years old forever and then we tear them apart when they don’t, and we tear them apart when they take action to stop the aging process. I personally am very opposed to plastic surgery and injectables for myself (and I hate that the Kardashians pushed extreme surgery and fillers into the mainstream and for young audiences) but I sympathize with talented women that feel like they have to freeze time in order for people to stand to look at them.
I get that it’s not great to see those comments, but her fillers have really impacted her acting in the first two episodes. And that’s something people are allowed to criticize.
I couldn’t decide if she just forgot how to act like Charlotte or if the work she had done to her face was preventing her from acting like Charlotte.
Back in those skinny 2000’s, being referred to as pear-shaped was no compliment.
Yes, can confirm, I was and am pear shaped then, desperately trying to pretend I was hourglass. Pear shaped was a huge insult. Side tangent: Though so much sucks about this timeline, I’m glad my teen kids live in a world now (at least in their communities) where there’s less of this body shape weirdness, the fat phobia in “old” movies seems so weird to them, the treatment of ‘nerds’ is just not understandable to them…
I came to say this, anorexic thin was in back then and I remember her being called heavy or thick, and she wasn’t, still isn’t. I also wonder how much those comments impacted her decisions to get fillers and work done. I hate this world sometimes. SJP is called old and gross for aging naturally and Kristin is called out for having work, it’s almost like women can’t fkng win.
Me too! The late 90s and early aughts were not kind to pear-shaped women. I was in my late teens/early twenties then and I remember being so excited to find Julie fit pants at Ann Taylor Loft because before that I had to wear a belt to get pants that fit over my butt and hips.
The real problem here is, sorry, thinking you can “win” with online trolls and commenters. There is no “winning.” They are sick, critical, nasty, no-life, nobodies who attack anything they see. If she didn’t know that, then she oughtta get out more. And yes, the face IS. A. MESS, KRISTIN. DEAL WITH IT!
Exactly. “Pear Shape” was code for “fat” in the late 90s and 2000s. SJP and Kim Cattrall were very straight lined looking and zero body fat. Kristen has more of an hourglass shape. Always gorgeous, always fit, just not rail thin. People did comment and it was even a plot point in one of the episodes when she doesn’t want to change in front of her friends at the spa.
I think her facial work is distracting but also I think she is just so gorgeous and I wish she would have left her lips alone. It’s her body though and if she likes it then it’s worth it for her.
Yes, it’s both rude and wholly unnecessary to comment on someone’s body or face. It really is that simple. Criticize the show for being garbage, but leave the appearance critiquing in the past
This.
I’m so torn about plastic surgery criticism. On the one hand, I firmly believe that each of us should do what we want, even ruin our own faces. On the other, I HATE the message it sends to girls and women everywhere, especially the extreme body butchering, 99% geared toward being more “pleasing” for the male gaze. I hate that it is so normalized and so many young people think that plastic surgery & procedures are just expected now. But pointing out that the work she had done is not good doesn’t really help with the latter.
I haven’t watched this mess, but I do hate that people are criticizing the actresses for…aging? Like we all do? And then for doing things to prevent the look of aging (whether with good results or bad). Women can’t f’ing win, can we?
It is a mess. Trying to resurrect the fun, funny, past, but also deal with DEPRESSING issues. It’s a show that can’t decide what it is.
I passionately believe that women should have the choice to do whatever they want with their bodies and faces- if it’s not hurting anyone else and they are happy with it, who cares? Skip Botox and fillers? Go for it! Hit up the injectables weekly? You do you. Also, Charlotte clearly visiting her cosmetic dermatologist on the regular is totally on brand for a Park Avenue 50-something.
@ Anne : I guess my thing is that it looks so bad. My mother had a facelift when she was in her ’60’s and she said a good facelift made a woman look “well rested”, like herself but better. My sister had botox injections in her forehead and it looked weird (to me) because no woman in her late ’50’s has a smooth, wrinkle-free forehead. I would think if Charlotte had been totally on brand, she would have gone to a cosmetic dermatologist who gave her better results. I’m not against having procedures but I think a woman deserves to get good results that make her look like a “refreshed” version of herself. KD’s work looks like it was done by someone who didn’t know what he/she was doing. That’s my gripe.
They should have made charlotte’s Botox and fillers part of her story. Clearly it impacted her speech and looks so the director should’ve gone with it since audiences were going to notice.
The only comments that I’ve heard are that everyone looks good (they do), but Kristin has gotten some obvious work. Obvious work, and its a bit more jarring because she isn’t playing younger and her costars look more naturally their ages. And now she’s flapping her arms and saying “this is all an attack on women!”, and it isn’t that. Of course it’s rude, but it isn’t the enslaught she’s claiming
Same here. The obvious work, or whatever she has had done, are the only comments I’ve really heard or seen about any of the trios looks. I must have been reading the wrong, or nice, stories because I don’t ever remember seeing anything negative about KD’s figure. I also have wardrobe envy for her character, at least her summer clothes.
And really, these comments are mild compared to comments about SJP’s looks that have been going on for years and are vicious.
This. I get that no one wants negative comments, but I also get the feeling that she’d be fine if everyone was saying she (and the work she had done) looked great. Her face is notably different (not in a great way) and we can all see it and hear her slurring in her performance.
The body comments are ugh though.
The slurring and sounding absolutely bizarre when speaking, like she’s trying really hard to sound “normal” or “perky” or whatever, makes me think the writers should have given the alcoholic storyline to Charlotte. It would’ve made waaaay more sense based on how she sounds slightly drunk or high all the time when speaking. People would’ve been commenting on her acting in a good way, then, and saying that she really captures that slightly slurred speech of someone who is perpetually buzzed and that trying overly hard to sound alert, awake, perky, and “normal” of someone who is always a little drunk/high and trying very hard to hide it by overly enunciating and projecting their voice.
The show sucks balls honestly… this should never had seen the light of day. The acting is just terrible especially SJP … I can only stomach 10 mins before turning it off.
Hm her face is also full of fillers , don’t think people care so much that she got older… it’s what she did to her face.
I totally agree with your second point (and first, frankly!). The issue is NOT that any of them have aged or have wrinkles or grey hair. What people are most commenting on is the her surgery is distracting visually and even negatively impacts her speaking voice.
@ cg2495 I could only watch about 15 minutes into without turning it off. There were so many things that were not good but especially Kristen Davis’ mouth was a bit “joker-ish.” As in the Jack Nicholson Joker. Not good.
It looks like cheek implants or something? But her face does look way different. I’ve always loved her because she’s the only famous Kristin that is not a blonde! (I’m a brunette Kristin.)
If I were her, I would just own it… but that’s just me.
People are going to comment when it affects someone’s mouth and how they speak.
Jennifer Aniston has the same problem. For years she looked good with fillers but then poured a pile of stuff in and around her mouth and it looks very weird when she’s talking and sounds different.
It’s too far when you can’t move your face or speak properly. Better to age a bit more naturally.
Theres noticing someone has used fillers/botox/etc, BUT why do people feel the need to point it out? Nomatter how you spin it, its still commenting on peoples appearance which is always unwarranted IMO
Because that’s her line of work? She’s a beautiful woman, but she had something done that has affected how we perceive her performance. That’s all. It’s too bad her work wasn’t great, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles.
I think people will comment if you want to pretend it’s natural and that you’re naturally blessed looking a certain way.
If you admit what you’ve done like Dolly Parton does, I think people are less likely to comment.
Getting lip fillers isn’t like getting a different shade of lipstick. Why would you be surprised people would ask what you’ve done? Maybe other people want the doctor’s number….who knows. I guess the commentary could register as a criticism, but judging by Instagram I wouldn’t be surprised if people want to know how to get the same thing.
I wish more celebs who are 40 plus would publicly accept they had work done when it’s obvious and esp when it’s not. I think the reason celebs get defensive is the fact ppl can tell and they want to portray the image that’s just how they look naturally when it’s clearly not.
I noticed KD work bc of the lisp she has on the new SATC episodes. It’s so distinct and noticeable of course ppl would talk about it as it impacts how that character is portrayed.
She was on Colbert with Cynthia Nixon and what I noticed is that she seemed to be slurring her words a bit.
“Miranda” and “Carrie” look older but they look totally fine, in my opinion. People are talking about “Charlotte” because her face looks like the Joker and it’s clear she did some weird stuff to it. So she can’t scream about “people talking about how we look” without acknowledging she looks weird because of what she did to herself. I honestly think if she had not jacked up her face, no one would be saying anything.
Sorry, but women who age gracefully, whose hair and makeup aren’t at complete odds with their skin texture, aren’t the ones being criticized. These ladies look CRAZY. Cynthia’s hair in the show is so unflattering, it has nothing to do with it being white, it’s a bad cut. SJP’s skin looks rough, she’s lit really harshly and the heavy makeup does her no favors. And Kristen’s fillers are bad, full stop. I don’t think it’s ageist to point out they were all done dirty in the visuals dept
I also hated Miranda’s haircut in the first episode but possibly it was/is supposed to reflect a weird time for her character. She looked GREAT at the funeral though.
I feel like they could have been gentler and more flattering with Carrie’s makeup and hair and general style as well. Her hair was either super frizzy or scraped back in a bun, neither of which are flattering to anyone over 30. This is not about having gray hair or wrinkles. It is stylistic choices.
Finally… I pretty much hated everyone’s clothes in the first episode and even the second. I feel like Miranda especially was let down by wardrobe. Was she *supposed* to look that bad??? Why would they put her in that freaking hideous big flaring midi khaki skirt? No one could look good in that.
I guess I was totally oblivious but I didn’t notice any face work or effects thereof on Kristin Davis. Weird.
I don’t think SJP was done dirty. That’s just her own preferences coming through. She hasn’t had much work done, but she tries to distract from the ageing process in other ways. The painfully tight hair that essentially gives her a facelift or else the voluminous frizz that hides half her face. The dark heavy eye makeup that covers her crows feet like a black hole and distracts from her eye bags. The lighting that makes everyone’s skin texture look shit but that distracts from the wrinkles. Even at the end of the original TV show you saw the same things creeping in.
Kristin’s had too much done but I don’t really get why that’s a problem given the character she’s playing. Charlotte would have had the exact same work done, and no one would comment or blink an eye because it’s the norm for someone like her. It’s totally in character. The same thing with the Nicole Kidman roles people always complain about. Her characters in projects like The Undoing and Big Little Lies would totally have a boatload of work done.
Is it rude to comment on someone’s appearance? Yes.
Are we supposed to ignore the obvious work she has had done to her face, which in turn is detracting from emoting effectively in her role as Charlotte? No.
This isn’t a feminist issue — we’re just pointing out the blatantly obvious.
It might be a hot take but I say F yeah,let’s begin to be critical of women who have had so much work done to avoid aging that they are now unrecognizable. Shade the hell out of that shit so badly that women aging more naturally, having grey hair and wrinkles, with maybe some minor refreshments if *they want them* becomes seen as more desirable and marketable. End all this nonsense where talented, lovely 50 year old women are trying to look 25, to play a 60 year old, just to get work in Hollywood or on TV.
THIS!!^^^
As a 51 year old woman, I love your points!
Honestly, if you’re going to have work done, make sure it’s good work! The prevalence of bad cosmetic procedures among people who should be more careful with their faces is stunning.
To me, it’s too bad to see she has had work done. She’s so pretty and I’m guessing however she looked before didn’t warrant work. I don’t think she is nearly as pretty now.
The cosmetic surgery KD got affects her acting and pronunciation so yes ppl are going to remark and comment on that… That being said, this is 100% the type of surgeries I could imagine a rich housewife like Charlotte would be getting since so many middle-aged ladies do get them IRL so I guess that it fits the character?
An acquaintance of mine living in Phoenix got some similar work done and just looking at fb pictures of her, I find it super distracting. But it seems like something many 40-50 something are doing around her and so she blends in
I’m 55-the same age as these women. I watched the first 2 episodes this weekend (cringing-it’s awful). What is distracting is not that they’ve aged or that she isn’t a stick figure: it’s her mouth which is so overfilled it looks painfully and distorts how she speaks. We all have eyes. It’s not the aging -it’s the trying NOT to age.
I just hate-watched that promo two times and everything about it annoys me. Something nice: Cynthia Nixon looks great.
I’m the same age as these characters and although I like to think I have kept myself up reasonably well, I’m struggling with the judgments here. I’m not super-happy about the reboot, but I’m dismayed about how much of the backlash against the show is rooted in ageism. Even here, comments like “aging women.” Please. We are ALL aging women. If you are not aging, you are dead. It will happen to you too. If you’re lucky.
Okay, thank you for saying this because I’ve been feeling the same reading a lot of these comments. Aging is a privilege that is denied to many as they say. I feel the ageism is couched in justifications of saying she’s had too much work and so it’s okay to say this stuff. We live in a society that tells women we aren’t important after a certain age and as women we should not be the handmaidens of mysogyny. People have become very careless of other peoples feelings, it’s not a good look.
On a semi-related note, I, a 50 year old woman, just hired a woman in my dept. I have not seen her yet, but have had several phone interviews. My boss, a man in his late 50s/early 60s HAS met her in person.
After his face to face interview, the very first thing he said to me was that she is “older”. Now, I had a general idea of her age-range due to her resume and the fact that she mentioned being an “empty-nester”.
I was taken aback by the mention of her age, so asked him “why, how old do you think she is?” and he said “mid-50s”. Again, I am 50. He is 60ish.
Her age won’t matter for this job. Some travel is involved, and long hours when travelling, so sure, an actual elderly person, if frail, might not be the greatest fit. But this woman is in her 50s and very into FITNESS. She does personal training and ran her own gym recently. Again, it was right there on the resume he read.
I was SO taken aback by his main/first assessment being her age. Particularly as he assumes she is all of 5 years older than ME and is younger than him. I don’t think HE would have hired her if it was solely up to him. But I will be her manager, and I wanted to hire her and her resume and interview showed that she would be a good fit. I found it so confusing and gross. But it also scared the crap out of me, because if I ever want or NEED to leave my job, *I* will be 50+ searching in a job market with men like him making the hiring decisions.
Personally I refrain from commenting on people’s faces and bodies and stick to criticizing clothes. I believe that dismorphia comes in part for this kind of comments, if a person wasn’t happy with their faces and decided to get something done to look “fresher”, well, it’s obvious that people talking about it on a negative way will feel awful. Now, why can’t actors accept that these procedures affect directly their work?
That being said, I’ve never seen a person who had work done look better than before. Ever. Whether they got fillers, botox, some type of acid, a lift etc. doesn’t matter, it doesn’t look good.
Pfft. She’s walking in her Jimmy Choo’s in the face of public image. Which, incidentally, is its own beast and the cost of fame. Disappear or deal. It’s horrible to be picked apart for looks, but as we’ve seen the last several years, half the country is clinically insane and can’t be understood.
I think the frozen face actually works for the part. If it were real life Charlotte would have probably have had fillers and would have a hard time speaking.
So Charlotte should be hired to play rich beautiful women with excess plastic surgery . There are so many parts for that type of women she will have it made! Don’t fight it, embrace it.
I would hope we don’t ever live in a world where we can’t comment at all (even negatively) on people’s looks, especially if they are actors and put themselves out there. Plastic surgery, weight, hair, age, whatever. Gossip sites like this would be so boring and have no posts without some bitchiness.
Who wants to read People all of the time? 😉
Charlotte IS a rich beautiful woman who probably had excess plastic surgery — could easily work for the character
It would work if it’s part of the script, if thy showed her character’s insecurities and how women in that social class are pressured to look younger. Just own it and admit it because that’s what they do.
They do somewhat write it in. They talk about her trying to pass her hair as natural. They might get into it further.
I said something similar above: it’s totally the type of work Charlotte would be getting IRL so it fits the part
EXACTLY, based on what I’ve heard from my mom, grannies, aunts and older females at work it’s not easy to age and supposedly nobody is harder on women than women themselves. That’s one reason why so many women are seeking youthful skin, hair and body no mater what.
I’m 29 now and I already know that I will not be getting any injectables, who the heck knows what all that junk does long term in the human body and I really don’t like the way they look. Luckily bangs work great with my bone structure just like my mom and her forehead is without wrinkles no plastic surgery needed at 57.
I will consider facelift in my early fifties, but until that time I’ll continue with never smoking, never drinking alcohol, eating exceptionally well, doing my daily yoga, drink lots of clean water, take my vitamins/supplements, putting on sunscreen every morning along with a great moisturizer, sleeping at least 8 hours every night and I’ll be focusing on great skincare and very little make-up long term.
My sister’s mother-in law had a really good face lift 4 years ago and I have to say it was worth for her to save for it for over 6 years. It looks really great, not fake or trying too hard to look younger, she just looks better : no turkey neck, no jowls, no loose skin, a bit tighter but not the creepy, strange way.
She also had ablative laser resurfacing done at the same time as the facelift and it improved the texture and tone of her skin by about 85-90% and she had good skin to begin with, but skin damage accumulates over the years no matter how diligent she was with sunscreen and moisturizer.
I know it’s frustrating for her but I think it would be much easier if she’d both be honest and acknowledge how disconcerting it is.
People aren’t upset that she’s aging. If they were, we’d see a similar amount of comments towards Cynthia and SJP.
What she should do is acknowledge the pressure women are under to look younger and how far some women get coerced into cosmetic work to the point that it affects how your face moves.
I rly respect SJP and Nixon for going natural. That’s what the shows about right? Growing older and NORMALIZING it for women. Kristens’ work is sooo noticeable
I don’t really think it’s ageist to just point out that the characters/actresses look old/older. They are old/older. “Older” should not have a negative connotation, and when we treat it like it inherently does have some horrible connotation, we are the ones who are contributing to Old=Bad, Young=Good. If someone says “oh gross, she looks so old,” then yeah, that’s bad, that’s ageist, that’s contributing to the idea that women are gross or less valuable simple because they are older or look “old.” But just mentioning that they look older, or that you can tell they are older, or even mentioning that it took your brain a second to get used to the fact that they look different because you’ve been watching the original series for 20 years and got used to thinking about the characters as perpetual 30 somethings so you noticed when they came on screen and looked older, isn’t inherently ageist or bad. Saying out loud that people change and look different as they age (again, just mentioning that they look different, not mentioning that you think they look worse or bad) shouldn’t be considered ageist, I don’t think. People *do* look older when they’re older and the characters are a large part of the aesthetic/scenery of the show, so that means the show looks different to us now, and it’s a thing we notice.
I guess what I’m saying is that if we would like to live in a world where there isn’t as much ageism and where 50+ year old actresses aren’t treated like they’re less-than and ugly and unacceptable to see on our TVs, then maybe we shouldn’t act like the mere mention of someone being 55+ or looking different at 55 than they did at 35 is some kind of horrific insult. Is the end goal that we want to see older women on screen portraying older women with their own unique stories and struggles and joys as valid and normal, or is the end goal that we want to see older women on screen doing everything to look “young” and playing 35 year old characters and pretending that women never age and that they’re perpetually dealing with dating, parenting very young children, and trying to establish their careers? I think it’s more important that as women actors age they play women characters that age, and that those characters are not just reliving their 30s over and over and over again because that’s the “best” or “most fun” or “most interesting” era of a woman’s life. Then 50+ year old women and their unique stories becomes just as normalized, entertaining, valid, interesting, and valuable to audiences as watching a younger woman’s story.
You make some very good points. As I was reading through today’s comments, I remembered a similar situation with aging male actors in the two trainspotting movies set & filmed 20 years apart. The original cast returned, clearly having aged, but I don’t recall a slew of comments about that. Yet when it’s women? Oh, yeah, we’re going to talk about that.
Trainspotting didn’t promote fashion though. It helps that the actors are male, but I think the actual themes can make a difference too.
When a very handsome male actor ages, I do think it’s noticeable to me though. I recently saw an interview with Michael Vartan and I was taken aback a bit — just simply because he was so handsome for the majority of his life, and now he looks less so (maybe he was taking a pandemic break from the beauty regimens — he didn’t look unnatural, just older). He’s still not unattractive, but any slight difference on an extremely attractive person can come as a slight surprise.
I suspect good-looking people who don’t look how they used to look probably get more commentary than regular people who are more used to being criticized in the prime of their youth. On the one hand, extremely attractive people benefit a great deal. On the other hand, they’re probably under more pressure to not disappoint people when someone sees them.
I agree with Useitorloseit. It works for this part. In the first episode at brunch, Carrie and Miranda even call her on trying to “pass” younger. Charlotte is trying hard to not age “naturally.”
I can certainly empathize with Kristin Davis here, being upset over hurtful comments over her appearance. WHO the hell wouldn’t??? Come on, we all bleed when cut!! But she has had notable work done to her face, and it does illicit a reaction, and unfortunately, some people are definitely crueler than others. I think the more pressing issue is what a fucking train wreck this series is LMAO!! Not that I didn’t predict that given the movies (especially that horrific 2nd one). They have trashed these characters. Miranda is a budding alcoholic/Karen, who can’t seem to keep her foot from getting in her mouth about being politically correct? Charlotte is a bumbling emotional idiot with no sense of allowing her daughter Rose to express herself. Miranda and Steve let their son Brady have sex with his gf in the house WTF…on and on. It is so cringe. But I will hate watch with my daughter for some laughs!
Agree with a lot of the comments. Her face work isn’t that bad but it seems like it affected her speech. Side note. I hate how Charlotte kept crying and losing it around Carrie, making it seem all about her. It seemed overly dramatic and really selfish, like she wanted to make Big’s death about her and expected Carrie to do the emotional labor to make her feel better. This show, I have a lot of issues with these first two episodes, like these women, and the guys, haven’t really progressed much, and the tokenism. Just hope it comes together more and not so cringe.
It’s such a tough business for women. On the one hand, you can lose work if you age visibly (normally); on the other hand, apparently the work she had done has affected her speech & ability to act in away that doesn’t draw focus from the story.
A few years ago, my mom had very good & subtle work done on her face. I think she had it done at the right age & with the right doctor. I was really surprised by my own feelings about it at the time. I felt sort of sad, angry & possessive of her in a way, which caught me off guard. I had to remind myself that yes, she’s my mom, but it’s her body to do with as she pleases. I never said anything to her about it, of course & I’m not sure I’d make the same choice. But something about plastic surgery can really bring out a visceral reaction in us.
I’m all for not living in a “looks-ist” world: let’s stop caring at all about what we look like, pretty or ugly, thin or fat, old or young, etc. Sure, descriptors can be used but all looks are equally valid and accepted. But we’re not even *remotely* close to living in that world, and moreover, Kristin wouldn’t like living in that world. The bulk of Hollywood has always traded on their good looks, and they’ve enjoyed the positive attention and privileges that have come from being deemed attractive. It’s only once their looks have faded that they decry the looks-based system and try to shame anyone that calls them no longer attractive.
And it’s not like people are simply exclaiming, “wow, she looks old now” they are saying, “wow, that plastic surgery made her look weird, like someone else.” She chose to chase beauty and youth with her ill-advised face lift and fillers, rather than embrace aging. She can’t now cry about a looks-based, youth-worshipping system when she fed into it for ages and is still feeding into it.
I actually think if more people criticized all these fake Hollywood faces then we’d have fewer actresses doing it and we’d get back to seeing naturally aging faces on the screen. Like how it is in the U.K. or AU where actors look more like real people.
This show has always been slightly about aesthetics (i.e buying the right Prada shoe). It wouldn’t really be surprising that people comment on the “fashions” (in this case, perhaps some lip augmentation).
The show is materialistic in tone. The shallow commentary would likely follow.
If you’ve been promoting a certain ideal on the show premised on spending money to look fashion-forward, then suddenly wondering why people aren’t more “deep” about other issues does strike me as a little naive.
I’m just here to comment that Botox and fillers are so in character for Charlotte. A rich Upper East Side (or Upper West, I can’t remember where Charlotte lives) lady would do that. It’s a perfect fit, actually.
I equate fillers and botox etc. to fashion and makeup (“cosmetic” surgery—get it?) which I believe are fair game for comment.
I have watched it for about 20 minutes.
My first thought:
– Kim Cathrall made the right call.
Not only this show goes from cringe to CRINGEST, but seeing what they did to the Samantha character, how petty the script is, I totally believe the environment was more than toxic towards her.
-They ruined my favourite girl, Miranda, she has never been stupid.
– Ageism.
I hate when there is the comparison between how a star looks at 50 vs how he/she looked in her/his ’20s, it’s nonsense. I mean: if I take a picture of myself now 40 vs another one of my 20s the difference it’s there.
Charlotte looks different ? Of course.
Her body is amazing, and her face has too much workdone for my taste, but it could perfectly suit her character, as someone stated before me.
Humans have been ‘lookist’ for as long as humans have been around and I doubt we’ll stop now. Of course we assess people on their looks. Is this person related to me? Do I know this person? Is this person a potential threat? A potential partner? What does the way this person looks tell me about them? We can’t see people’s character when we first meet them. The only thing we have is how they look and sound and smell. And the way you look is not coincidence. It says something about you. So I digress but it’s unrealistic to expect people to ignore how someone looks. Personally I’ve seen far too much of my jowls on Zoom over the last nearly two years. I don’t like what it says about me but I’m not going under the knife to sort it out. It’s turkey season after all.
I think Kristin looks great. She has the obvious botox nose wrinkle and slurs but other than that she still looks very pretty.
I will always watch any version of SATC because it’s a guilty pleasure for me and I grew up with it. I am suprised in Just Like That, however, that the characters seem more like real housewives than the modern new york women they set out to be in 1998. That’s a definite shift, imo (not that they were ever living hand to mouth). The plastic surgery plays into that.
I saw tons of chatter about her face and when I finally saw it, it was not nearly as terrible as everyone made it out to be. I think people have been total assholes about these women. I’m not even a SATC fan. I’ve seen maybe four episodes ever of the original show. But the nastiness toward their age is just so diminishing. Did they expect ageless characters? It’s gross.
It’s part of the reason I’m not watching it. Too sad. Still recovering from the trauma of seeing Nicole Kidman’s face on fillers in that show she did with Hugh Grant.
I haven’t watched it yet but from what I have seen I’m going to at least comment on style and aesthetics. I know it’s not the 2000s anymore but back when the series first ran (and even the films) I feel like they established a tone and certain characteristics. By switching it up it’s like its not even aligned with their characters anymore, like, they should rename the characters and give the whole show a new name!
Carrie was annoying, yea, but it was obvious she was a clotheshorse and into fashion. She worked as a writer and one of her steady gigs was Vogue. She would never style herself in a completely dowdy manner. Charlotte was a “Park Avenue Princess,” came from money and worked in the art world (at least for at time). That right there would tell me that her character was into art and aesthetics and her background would inform her style as well. She dressed like a high society wife.
Samantha isn’t present but she was in PR and glam and sexy. Lastly, while Miranda was a lawyer, she was chill and trendy and obviously palled around with women that cared about looking good. She didn’t want nor feel like a lawyer when she was off duty. Her character also humanized lawyers (they’re not just suits, they’re real people, including any female lawyers…with lives). They all had active New York nightlife lives and dated and WANTED to look cute (or whatever thing they were aiming for). The criticisms was that they ended up too materialistic (so much designer!) and extravagant for what they may or may not have been earning (ex: Carrie).
It’s one thing to hear the criticism and ground it more into real life. It’s another to do a 180. It’s like they don’t know what to do. They could have dressed them this way all along or done so in the movies or find some in-between from the series to now. So obviously, everything (to reviving the show) is to people please and salvage themselves from criticisms (like the lack of diversity). Rather then being driven from a genuine place of wanting to do better and be better. I also realize its not the 2000s and dressing SJP like they did in the 90s and 00s maybe wouldn’t make sense but they needed to ask themselves, “how would Carrie (not SJP) have evolved further down the years?” Same for the other girls.
They could have tone down the films when they made them (those were especially disappointing in their execution and the materialism) if they had wanted to create a legacy. They could have redeemed themselves there with a better plot and more diversity back then (instead of the token part they gave Jennifer Hudson!) It’s a vanity project. But they don’t know how to get out of their own way….they couldn’t resist insulting Kim Cattrall in the process. The more I wrote the more of a train wreck it is. The fashion isn’t canon or an organic evolution of their old fashions, so it looks weird.
I will just never unsee those leaked photos of her years ago. The denial that it wasn’t her was laughable.
I hated big to the point I couldn’t watch the show. He was such a jerk and Carrie gave him chance after chance for no reason!! I feel like I might enjoy it more now that he has passed on.
Do people actually say she looks bad or that she simply got her lips done?
I can tell she’s a pretty woman. But I can also tell she got her lips done.
I wouldn’t say that someone looks bad in a public forum like Twitter for a celebrity to see it (even if I’m thinking it — in the case of Courtney Cox, a very beautiful person, I might have thought it a couple of times, and even she admits she looked bad). But I don’t think you can really stop people from noticing that you’ve physically altered the face you naturally had.
Even when a nose job is good, like in the case of Blake Lively, one can’t not notice the physical alteration made some kind of enhancement (is that the word celebrities prefer? Maybe they like it better when we say something “enhanced” their looks since it sounds more complimentary. I think Blake Lively looks good, so the word enhanced makes sense here. But in the case of Kim Kardashian, I don’t think she made herself look better so the word enhanced sounds like we’re pretending she looks great).
She should take this as a wake up call and let this mess get dissolved or wait until it mostly dissolves on its own and find a better injector. A good injector doesn’t overfill your face to the point it barely moves anymore especially if they’e treating actors.
I know! You’d think she’d have connections! How about Gillian Anderson’s or Julianne Moore’s or Cindy Crawford’s? Call them up, Kristin!
This is incredibly sad. I support her and any woman’s right to do whatever she chooses with her body. I simultaneously feel the natural psychological revulsion humans feel when encountering a face that triggers our sense of the uncanny. I tried to watch A Castle For Christmas with my brother and his husband recently, and my dread reaction at Brooke Shields’s face made it impossible. That Hollywood makes women feel they have to do this is reliably enraging.