Appreciating That Girl

I got the entire first season of That Girl on DVD, and I'm into it. I know it's crap. But that doesn't mean it can't be fun. (Of course, my taste is suspect, as I did recently download Bobby Sherman's "Easy Come, Easy Go" and "Julie, Do 'Ya Love Me" onto my iPod.)

Marlo Thomas isn't much of an actress. Her "sincere" mode is anything but … all whispery voice, tremulous smile and shiny eyes. But oh! Her clothes! I am completely loving the clothes! Mini skirts and solid-colored shifts and pastel, belted trenches. And the accessories! Little bags with chain handles, big sunglasses worn atop your head, lush fake eyelashes. Very Carnaby Street by way of New York.

And while the show is pretty predictable and trite now, there's no questioning the influence it had on me as a very little girl. I grew up wanting to be Ann Marie. I wanted to be out of the suburbs and into the city. I wanted a life as different from my parents' life as possible. I wanted independence and privacy (and a great trenchcoat). And I do work on Michigan Avenue, I do have a decent career, I do have a nice (albeit messy) condo … and a lovely green trenchcoat.

So thank you, Marlo/Ann. And I wonder about 30 years from now, how many girls today will be thanking Carrie Bradshaw/Sarah Jessica Parker for inspiring them to move into the city?