Sex and the City (2008)

"The horrors of presbyopia." I heard this common refrain from one of our attending physicians during training, who warned us over and over about the onslaught of patients who would soon be staring over their glasses at us in the exam lanes, complaining about their increasingly annoying inability to focus clearly to read.

This malady affects everyone over time, and patients become symptomatic between the ages of 40 to 45. The simplest solution is to wear reading glasses and/or bifocals, and I am sure you can guess what sort of looks the 40-something new-onset presbyopic women give me when I present this information.

Sex in the City (2008), the movie version of the popular HBO television series, depicts presbyopia as a metaphorical transition to old age- an adjustment of life expectations and acceptance of circumstance. Carrie, played by Sarah Jessica Parker, steals Mr. Big's reading glasses while trying to read a book on historical love letters. Later in the movie, when one of her gal pals holds up an object for Carrie to read, she pushes it further away to see it clearly.

Although presbyopia is far from glamorous, it is a subject that ophthalmologists and patients must deal with on a regular basis. Sex in the City manages to give the viewer a few well-placed scenes of near vision difficulties. As for the rest of the movie, I thought two key parts were very funny, and the movie was kind of long. The end wrapped too neatly, with the requisite Doogie Howser-like voice over. I am going to give this one a B