Kim Cattrall's Best Work

A couple of years passed quickly. I'd watched the first three episodes of this show's first season so I could write about it. The show is called SENSITIVE SKIN and stars Kim Cattrall, formerly of the ultra-fabulous SEX AND THE CITY on HBO.  At the time I watched those episodes, Cattrall was in the entertainment news because, reportedly, she was not longing to do another SEX AND THE CITY movie. I think a lot of her gay male fans were miffed at that news. As I eagerly made it through all of Season 1 of SENSITIVE SKIN, I could understand Cattrall's position.

This week, I re-watched Season 1 and started Season 2. I loved it even more. This show aired on HBO Canada. Not here in the U.S. That's a shame, especially for Cattrall fans. Kim Cattrall does some of the best acting of her long career with some of the best material she's ever been given to play. SENSITIVE SKIN is currently on Netflix. I am positive that, had it aired on American TV, she would have been in the Emmy and Golden Globes running for Best Actress in a TV Drama Series.

Before I describe the show, let me write this about the reported Kim Cattrall reluctance to return to SEX AND THE CITY adventures. This may be a stretch, but here goes: Asking Kim Cattrall to do her sexually adventurous SEX AND THE CITY character again would be like asking Sally Field if she's be interested in a reboot of GIDGET … with Gidget now as an adult.

No disrespect to the TV character, but the actress has moved on and shown greater range with excellent work in more mature, more challenging material. The actresses on SEX AND THE CITY were good. I, however, was not one of those gay men in Manhattan who squealed with delight at every episode. Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) was a columnist. Did she ever wrote a second draft? Did she ever do research interviews and take notes? Was she ever pressed to meet a deadline? I had women friends in New York City who were columnists. There were times when we had plans to grab a bite until I got call and heard, "Can we reschedule? I'm doing a rewrite and trying to meet a deadline." That was just one thing. The other thing? The four women were not very dimensional to me. Did they have parents? Aunts and uncles? Siblings? When I watched, I knew nothing about their family backgrounds. Those family ties give texture to the fabric of your life, shape why you are the way you are and they often fuel the drive many of us had to leave home, head for the big city called New York and recreate ourselves. That certainly was the case with me.

On SENSITIVE SKIN, Kim Cattrall plays Davina Jackson, a wife and mother in her 50s. When first we see her, she's in a drugstore and looks like a dwarf in a land of pharmaceuticals. Davina wants something for her hormones. She has a rather bookish and loving husband. They live in Toronto and they've been married for 30 years. The husband is a columnist. She's a former model who acted occasionally. Cattrall shines in this role of a woman determined to find a new meaningful path in her life as she navigates through menopause. The humor is smart and insightful. Fran Lebowitz, Anna Quindlen and Oscar Levant would love the writing on this series. That gives you idea of its quality. There's also a touch of James Thurber in the scripts. Davina has a conversation with herself in the first episode. She's at a function and...sees her self. The two Davinas engage in a conversation that no one else can hear. Or see. This Canadian TV adaptation is based on a British TV series.

At first sight, Davina and her husband seem like an odd couple. An owl and a pussycat. But as the episodes progress, we see how they do complement and love each other. We see how they deal when approached by outside sexual temptation. Marriage, parenthood, love, infidelity, fear, loneliness, loss and ageing are topics touched on in this show. SENSITIVE SKIN is a blessing for middle-aged and senior-aged actresses. It gives them employment and meaty material to play. Joanna Gleason plays Davina's jealous married sister. On Broadway, actress/singer Gleason won a Tony Award for playing The Baker's Wife in the original Broadway cast of Sondheim's INTO THE WOODS. On screen, you saw her in Woody Allen's HANNAH AND HER SISTERS and CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS. Also, she played Dirk Digger's angry and bitter mother in BOOGIE NIGHTS. Each SENSITIVE SKIN scene with Joanna Gleason and Kim Cattrall together is pure gold. Click onto this link to see a trailer:

https://youtu.be/1sPW1JD03yU.

In between the time I watched episode of SENSITIVE SKIN for the first time and now, I've experienced some loss, disappointment, sibling friction and occasional feelings of fear as I try to walk that tightrope called "ageing." The episodes have more resonance to me now. I have nothing but high praise and appreciation for Kim Cattrall's performance of depth, grace and wit. She was good in SEX AND THE CITY. She's even better here.

If you can, see SENSITIVE SKIN on Netflix.