I can't believe I'm even posting about this: A SATC:The Movie quibble.

[offbalance]

So, they've been filming all around midtown the past few weeks, and this week, the crowd is over by St. Patrick's Cathedral. Word on the street is that Big and Carrie are getting married. Good on them.

However.

The continuity whore in me has a big problem with this. In the Season 1 episode, "Come All Ye Faithful," it was established that Big was a weekly churchgoer at Park Avenue Presbyterian Church. Carrie, in that episode (or possibly the one where Charlotte is wrestling over whether she should convert to Judaism or not), states that she was raised in "the church of be nice to people and eat your vegetables."

So, why, pray tell (pardon the pun), would they get married in a CATHOLIC Cathedral?? I may not know too much about the Christian faith, but I'm pretty sure that Catholic and Presbyterian are not interchangeable. It's not a big hall you rent out, either. I think you need some proof that you're Catholic to get married in St. Pat's. Am I wrong?

A few reasons they could be shooting that scene there:

1. Big and Carrie aren't the ones getting married, and that was just a rumor.

2. The producers/location people figured that no one currently living in the five boroughs is going to bother seeing this film, so they decided to go for an iconic New York location, rather than an *accurate* one. I mean, St. Patrick's is pretty, right? And it's on Fifth Avenue, right near where Saks just opened up a temple to Carrie's real religion: shoes! It's like, perfect and stuff.

3. No one remembered that Big has been established as a Presbyterian.

4. It's some kind of wacky dream sequence.

I know it may be silly of me to take up a tiny detail such as this one, especially on a show as grossly inaccurate in so many ways as Sex and the City always was. But it's like they're not even trying. They might as well call it Sex and the City: We're In It For More Money. And, like I said, I'm a continuity whore. When a show refers back to some obscure detail from a past season, it makes me all aglow. (like when NCIS referred to DiNozo's past Ypestis poisoning in the season premiere. That made me squee. Continuity!!) It's easy enough to do, especially when you have as few episodes as SATC did. Seriously!

Anyway, I'm through embarrassing myself. Point and laugh in the comments if you must.

Comments

[wendywoowho.livejournal.com]

...perhaps a dream sequence?

[offbalance.livejournal.com]

I just thought of that, and added it. I'd be totally okay if they did that. I'd be delighted if they did that, and Carrie is relaying her dream over brunch, and the first thing Charlotte says is, "But I thought Big was a Presbytarian?"

Yeah!

[wendywoowho.livejournal.com]

Because Charlotte would totally have that knowledge at her mental fingertips!

Re: Yeah!

[offbalance.livejournal.com]

She so would! She'd hear the word "Wedding" and switch over to planning mode, and despite the possible scenarios*, that's what she'd be stuck on.

*Such as meeting Big at the altar and seeing Natasha and Ex Wife #1 standing there, and/or having the entire church be filled with every ex Carrie has ever had, every guy she's ever slept with, crushed on, etc. The place would be filled, and she's mortified and wanting to run for her life. Bonus points if they have Aidan up on a cross and bleeding, but I think that's a tad dark for that universe (and potentially tasteless).

Re: Yeah!

[redstapler.livejournal.com]

Bonus points if they have Aidan up on a cross and bleeding, but I think that's a tad dark for that universe (and potentially tasteless).

Hey, the man *was* a long-haired hippie carpenter.

Re: Yeah!

[offbalance.livejournal.com]

Ahahahahaaha! Very true! And waaaay too saintly.

Re: Yeah!

[dkellergrl.livejournal.com]

It's too damn bad that John Corbett looks NOTHING like he used to from 2003.

He's currently being a "rocker" in his country-rock band aka going through his mid-life crisis.

Re: Yeah!

[offbalance.livejournal.com]

Seriously. He used to be so goregous. What happened?

Re: Yeah!

[dkellergrl.livejournal.com]

I have no idea, but it pains me to see photos of him on his fans MYSPACE pages. He's aged at least a decade within 4 years of not being in a tv show.

When he first started on SaTC, I used to call him Aiden "Chris in the Morning" Shaw. I loved his character and when the affair between Big and Carrie happened, my love affair with the show was over. I was just pissed off with that whole storyline.

Re: Yeah!

[offbalance.livejournal.com]

Geez. That's not good.

I loved him on Northern Exposure. And I was fine with the first Aiden storyline; I thought it was interesting and made Carrie find out some nasty things about herself. HOWEVER, I hated the SECOND Aiden storyline, never thought they should have brought him back, had them get engaged, or anything. Carrie was wretched to him twice, and I hated her for it.

Re: Yeah!

[dkellergrl.livejournal.com]

HOWEVER, I hated the SECOND Aiden storyline, never thought they should have brought him back, had them get engaged, or anything. Carrie was wretched to him twice, and I hated her for it.

Then, of course she was upset that everyone who was Aiden's friend considered her to be 'the bitch that broke his heart twice'. How could ANYONE not like/understand my quirky ways. It was like she didn't want to accept her position as the one who broke his heart, TWICE. If the writers could have allowed Carrie to accept it AND admit it, then it probably would have made her grow up a little. Oh no, that could never happen with Carrie. The "it girl" of the show.

Re: Yeah!

[blergeatkitty.livejournal.com]

WIN.

[redstapler.livejournal.com]

Buh?

Why not use Cathedral of St. John The Divine?

That place is so ecumenical, it's practically Unitarian!

[offbalance.livejournal.com]

St. John the Divine is not on 5th avenue! Plus, it's on the upper, upper west side! As if they'd walk their Manolos up there!

(But yes, exactly. Why not just use the same church that Big goes to? Or a bigger Presbytarian church? They exist!)

[alcestis.livejournal.com]

Speaking of quibbles... Unitarians aren't necessarily Christians.

[redstapler.livejournal.com]

Exactly my point!

There are a lot of Jewish, Muslim, and non-Judeo-Christian observances at Cathedral of St. John the Divine.

[alcestis.livejournal.com]

I guess it depends on your use of the word "ecumenical." When I read your comment I had ecumenical defined as "promoting Christian unity" in my head which is why I responded as I did. I like "all-encompassing" better... less Christian connotation. But that's just me being a good Unitarian Universalist minister's daughter. ;)

[offbalance.livejournal.com]

This is all news to me, btw. I sort of thought Unitarians were a flavor of Christianity. I didn't realize that wasn't so much the case. I'll be filing that away for future reference. :)

(Did Sex and the City actually make me learn something of value? I couldn't help but wonder.)

[alcestis.livejournal.com]

It really depends on the church, actually. There are many humanist Unitarian congregations that don't speak of any divine spirit of any sort. There are also those that say the Lord's Prayer. The latter creeps me out as I was raised in the middle (or at least more humanist). I personally wouldn't ever describe myself as Christian since I do not believe as Christ as my/a savior. I think he may have existed and if he did he was a pretty cool guy... a bit of a hippie, but had his heart in the right place. I do, however, believe in some sort of "god-like force." The way Yoda describes The Force is pretty close to my view of G-d. This also gives me the creeps as my religious views are similar to a George Lucas film, but what can you do? ;)

[dar-actually.livejournal.com]

For a pretty good indicator of just how compatible and interchangeable Catholic and Presbyterian are, google "Northern Ireland" sometime. The body count is somewhere in the thousands, at last check.

Why didn't they just try for something a little more plausible. Like a Jewish wedding in a mosque.

[offbalance.livejournal.com]

::snicker:: Well put, as always.

That's exactly my point. Were they even thinking?

[first-lobster.livejournal.com]

I don't watch Sex and the City, but I HAVE seen the episode where they show Big's church (wasn't there also interior shots of the church as well, didn't she like, drop a hymnal from the balcony?)
Either way, if neither of them are Catholic, they wouldn't be able to receive communion at St. Pats, let alone get married. My father was the catholicist person ever, but my mom still had to take classes and make like she was converting or they wouldn't have been able to get married in the church. Also, I had from catholic friends in town who REALLY REALLY wanted to go to a service at St. Pats. I went along (I'm Lutheran) and when it came time for communion my friends were like, "Oh yeah, you can come up!" I got to the front of the line and I guess I didn't say "amen" the right way because the priest stopped and looked at me and was like, "You're not catholic, are you?" When I said no, he refused me communion and sent me back to my seat. So yeah, I don't think Presbyterians and members of the church of be nice to people and eat your vegetables can get married there.

[offbalance.livejournal.com]

Yes, she did! She was so busy spying on Big she didn't realize that she was going to knock the book over, then her plan to remain incognito failed in spectacular fashion.

My father was the catholicist person ever, but my mom still had to take classes and make like she was converting or they wouldn't have been able to get married in the church.

That's how it is with many religions, at least to my knowledge.


So yeah, I don't think Presbyterians and members of the church of be nice to people and eat your vegetables can get married there.

I knew it!!

[first-lobster.livejournal.com]

I'm sure it is like that with many religions, but the catholics are particularly militant about it.

[teany.livejournal.com]

Well, the other possible explanations include:

a. Like you mentioned, they're not really getting married and people are being annoying.

b. Carrie's Catholic.

c. They're not passing off St. Pat's as St. Pat's, and just using it as a "NYC iconic church", or something. Did they really shoot that Season 1 episode at Park Avenue Presbyterian?

[offbalance.livejournal.com]

a. A very likely possibility

b. Possible, but somehow unlikely. But like using her press pass to get into events when it suited her, I could see her flashing her 'Catholic Card' (as it were) to get married somewhere fancy.

c. This is likely. I'm not even sure there *is* a Park Avenue Presbytarian, or if they had leave to shoot there, but they *did* say that's the church Big attended. I'll have to check the book my sister has when I get home at night, I think they may have discussed where thhe church scenes were actually shot.

[blergeatkitty.livejournal.com]

Has to be a dream sequence. I don't think she'll get married any more than Charlotte will actually be hugely pregnant...I think the press is showing all these very spoilery things to throw us off.

Actually I think the entire movie is going to revolve around Carrie planning this ridiculous wedding, with anxious preggers Charlotte hovering around the whole time, Samantha and Miranda rolling their eyes, and then in the last 30 seconds Carrie will wake up in her own bed. And then Patrick Duffy will be in her shower.

What I want to know is, are they going to start referring to him as John now or will she still call him Big to her friends?

Also, they were filming in the Astor Place Starbucks a couple of weeks ago. I'm trying to think of when that was...wait, it was way more recent. Kip and I walked past it on our way out of Trivia last week. That was it. We saw nothing, though. Kip may have seen something on his way there, but he wouldn't have known what he was looking at, because he is a boy.

[rhinoplastique.livejournal.com]

Yep, the Starbucks shoot was last week. I work in the building next door - the one over the K-Mart - and they had a bunch of the trailers parked on 9th Street in front of the entrance. Overheard a few people mentioning seeing Sarah Jessica Parker, but didn't see anything myself.

[blergeatkitty.livejournal.com]

DUDE. I worked in that building up until June. 7th floor.

[rhinoplastique.livejournal.com]

No shit? I just started there in early August - same place you worked for, from the sounds of it. I started out on the fourth floor, but they moved everyone there to the sixth a few weeks later.

[blergeatkitty.livejournal.com]

From the sounds of it (i.e. the fact that they're moving you around like crazy) yes it was the same big-ass company.

Enjoy the Billboard free pile - that was my favorite thing about working in that building.

[rhinoplastique.livejournal.com]

Heh...yeah, I'd heard things had been...eventful...there for a while.

My cube's actually right around the corner from that cafe. Close enough to hear the music from my desk when they have someone playing.