The Carrie Diaries: Oh No!
June 30th 2010 03:13
This might seem a bit strange, but I’m going to give my thoughts on a movie that hasn’t been planned, that is based on a book I haven’t read. I was browsing a book store the other day and saw Candace Bushnell’s The Carrie Diaries, incongruously located on the edge of the literature section. I flicked through it.
It is the first in a series of prequels Bushnell plans to release, and is aimed at a teen audience. According to the LA Times, it chronicles Carrie Bradshaw’s trials as she finishes high school in Connecticut.
From what I can gather, just like the recent film, it deviates a lot from the background we are given in the series, leading to large flaws in continuity.
The Father: In Season Five of the series, we discover that Carrie’s father left Carrie and her mother when Carrie was three years old. In The Carrie Diaries, it seems she has three younger sisters and “a tender-hearted scientist father” who raises the family after her mother’s untimely death.
The Boys: In Season Three, Carrie tells Charlotte she lost her virginity in the eleventh grade to Seth Bateman (on the ping-pong table), yet the prequel apparently describes Carrie as an unpopular virgin in her final year of high school, who develops an ill-fated relationship with a boy named Sebastian Kyd.
The Girls: Carrie’s three best friends in high school are Lali, Maggie and Mouse, and her nemesis is a girl who goes by the inconceivable name of Donna LaDonna. Reportedly, their characters are aligned in some ways with the people in Carrie’s life in later years. The book ends with Carrie going off to make her fortune in Manhattan, after her cousin gives her the phone number of her friend, Samantha Jones. Never mind that in Season Four we learn that Carrie had not yet met Samantha when Carrie was twenty-two.
I sincerely hope no teen movies are developed from the books, as ten minutes of flicking in the book store revealed little wit to be had from the text. This tale of teen angst is already inspiring more than enough angst for me.
Michaelie Clark
Carrie arrives in the Big Smoke. Image courtesy of metro.co.uk
From what I can gather, just like the recent film, it deviates a lot from the background we are given in the series, leading to large flaws in continuity.
The Father: In Season Five of the series, we discover that Carrie’s father left Carrie and her mother when Carrie was three years old. In The Carrie Diaries, it seems she has three younger sisters and “a tender-hearted scientist father” who raises the family after her mother’s untimely death.
The Boys: In Season Three, Carrie tells Charlotte she lost her virginity in the eleventh grade to Seth Bateman (on the ping-pong table), yet the prequel apparently describes Carrie as an unpopular virgin in her final year of high school, who develops an ill-fated relationship with a boy named Sebastian Kyd.
The Girls: Carrie’s three best friends in high school are Lali, Maggie and Mouse, and her nemesis is a girl who goes by the inconceivable name of Donna LaDonna. Reportedly, their characters are aligned in some ways with the people in Carrie’s life in later years. The book ends with Carrie going off to make her fortune in Manhattan, after her cousin gives her the phone number of her friend, Samantha Jones. Never mind that in Season Four we learn that Carrie had not yet met Samantha when Carrie was twenty-two.
I sincerely hope no teen movies are developed from the books, as ten minutes of flicking in the book store revealed little wit to be had from the text. This tale of teen angst is already inspiring more than enough angst for me.
Michaelie Clark
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Comment by Morgan Bell
Deep Pencil
Business News
Movie Train
Carrie very rarely talked about her childhood or family.
I remember an episode about Big's mother going to church, and the time Miranda dating the religious guy who showered immediately after sex, and the whole story arc about Charlotte converting to Judaism, and Carrie never spoke of her religious background.
They just need a fan to go through and identify the couple of things they can't change.
Why do they insist on making such a botch job of the whole thing?
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
Well-spotted, Detective Mich!!
Comment by Michaelie
Flick Wit
I thought initially that maybe Bushnell was aligning the prequel to her actual novel 'Sex and the City' but that wouldn't make sense either...
You're right Morgan, it really couldn't be that hard to not contradict the few things that have actually been related about her past!
Maybe they should have had Detective Mich on the case pre-publication...
Comment by Morgan Bell
Deep Pencil
Business News
Movie Train
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
Comment by Michaelie
Flick Wit
Obviously not so much care is taken with the SATC tale...
Comment by The Rusty Can
Everything
Ooh~~ I'd love that job!
I hope they don't do a teen SATC... it'd be too weird.