It's almost impossible to measure how Sex and the City has altered the sex lives of its fans. Sure, there are women who insist that Samantha's fierce libido encouraged them to embrace their inner “trysexual” (someone who tries anything once). But a quantifiable increase in sex? Do tell.
A much easier case could be made for the HBO series' role in legitimizing footwear addictions and deifying shoe designers Manolo Blahnik, Christian Louboutin and Jimmy Choo.
But the show's greatest achievement has to be the way it depicted New York as the ultimate place to live, love and let loose. Locating the real-life stomping grounds of the four main characters – Carrie, Miranda, Samantha and Charlotte – is not at all difficult, whether you take a bus tour or explore the shops, restaurants and neighbourhoods on foot – comfortable shoes recommended. And thanks to the Sex and the City movie opening May 30, there's more buzz than ever about Manhattan, the show's fifth and most fabulous star.
Though I lived there for three thrilling years, and many of the show's locations (Coffee Shop, the Louis K. Meisel Gallery, Luna Park) are the same ones I frequented, I
devoted a recent trip to all things SATC.
I kicked off my pilgrimage with breakfast at Pastis, which wasn't the actual setting for the foursome's coffee klatches (shot at the Silvercup Studios in Long Island City) but appeared on the show a few times. Some say this Meatpacking District simulacrum of a French brasserie is past its prime, and Pastis has always served up better ambience than food. No matter. My egg-white omelette – Charlotte's default order – provided the perfect sustenance to begin the day.
The best way for Big Apple newbies to get a taste of Carrie and the gang's cosmopolitan life is to take the Sex and the City Hotspots tour, a gimmicky/glam idea conceived by Georgette Blau, whose nine-year-old company, On Location Tours, also shines a spotlight on The Sopranos and Central Park.
For $40 apiece, the mostly international and almost entirely female tour group hopped on a bus outside the newly restored Plaza hotel and listened to a “sexpert” point out such crucial plot spots as SoHo House (where the gals sneak up to the rooftop pool), Onieal's (the bar of choice for Miranda's hubby, Steve, and Carrie's one-time fiancé, Aidan) and a West Village Banana Republic (where Carrie and a fling make out in the fitting room).
Natasha Malinsky, my tour's bombshell guide, possessed plenty of behind-the-scenes knowledge (Sarah Jessica Parker got to keep all her shoes, and there is a major blooper in the opening credits) and worked the double entendres like a stand-up comedienne – informing us, for instance, that we would be “getting off” at several stops.
This was certainly true at the Pleasure Chest, ground zero for all things titillating. Charlotte bought her pink Rabbit vibrator here, and the gals on the tour swarmed the battery-operated pets with enthusiasm.
Magnolia Bakery, where the girls would often go to indulge – and is now so famous that it requires a bouncer during peak hours, was a highlight that followed a slow crawl up Greenwich Street.
Cathy Epstein, the director of marketing for On Location Tours, said ticket sales for the 31/2-hour tour have increased as much as 20 per cent since September, when the film began production.
“We're sold out seven days in advance as opposed to four days,” she said. “Onieal's is pouring 1,000 cosmos a week.”
The haute pub is the last stop on the tour. Epstein said more locations will be added once the movie opens.
Ask any New Yorker and they'll tell you they've noticed scenes being filmed en plein air, but only the cast and crew know which locations have made the final cut. The buildup is like foreplay.
