“Sex and the City 2,” the sequel to the 2008 picture, which got bad reviews but was a big box-office hit, proves that the creator of the TV show, Michael Patrick King, who’s the writer-director of the two big-screen versions, has not absorbed any lesson about the weakness of his first movie—or of the TV show, for that matter.
Nor has King developed as a director as far as narrative and technical skills are concerned. Once again, he has made a fluffy, mostly silly tale, which suffers, among other things from a protracted running time (two and a half hours of fashion parade).
The sequel just reaffirms all the problems of the 2008 movie, namely, that what was fun for a weekly 25-minute episode is not much fun when it’s shown on the big screen, especially if you don’t have anything interesting or witty to show. Like "Shrek Forever After," which also ran out of steam, Sex and the City 2" also may prove that mid-life crisis and menopause (female or male) are not the most exciting topics that the public is eager to see.
There’s another, more significant problem. A whole decade has passed since the TV show was at its prime and the quartet of femmes has aged considerably, a fact that excessive makeup and outrageous costumes can not compensate for.
At one point, protagonist Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) says: "I arrived on this island at exactly 3:30 PM on Tuesday, June 11, 1986. It seems like only yesterday." You’re wrong Carrie. It feels like ages ago. Both you and your comrades, not to mention the surrounding city, have changed considerably since the TV show premiered in the late 1990s.
However, Warner, which is releasing the New Line production, need not worry much. While “Sex and the City 2” is not exactly critic-proof, it has its loyal following. And so, expect the sequel to score with femme, particularly women of a certain age, likely to see this trashy fluff in same-gender groups, just as they did two years ago.
Here is a brief summary of the women’s social status. Miranda had a baby out of wedlock, got married late, and she's the alpha spouse. Charlotte converted to Judaism, adopted an Asian daughter and had another daughter. Samantha has tried relationships and is now resolved to always be single. And Carrie, who has tried everything she can to make her relationship work with Big, still has a career as a self-employed writer.
Miranda, a partner at a prestigious New York Law firm, has discovered that, despite her efforts, there is a glass ceiling for career-oriented women. Charlotte, who always dreamed of being the perfect mother, now has a loving family but still feels short of the aspired standards. The outrageous and outspoken Samantha takes on the taboo of menopause and aging by simply fighting the effects and ideas associated with these processes.
The filmmaker’s easy solution out is to send his four femmes on a vacation to one of the most exotic, sought-after spots, a place at once modern and conservative, the United Arab Emirates, where they can flaunt their sexy Western costumes, and clash with the surrounding environment, its mores and its men.
The TV series has always had a pseudo-feminist subtext, suggesting that friendship and camarderies among women are more important (and long-lasting) than sexual affairs and relationships with men, even if we really did not believe in it.
The "new" movie tries to maintain this fake aura in dialogue, but it’s really not convincing. Thus, Carrie says: "Gotta hand it to you, Samantha, not blowing us off for a guy, very classy." To which Samantha responds: "Well, we made a deal a while ago. Men, babies–doesn't matter. We're soul mates.”
At its few good entertaining moments, “Sex and City 2” feels like an outré fashion show (some of Carrie’s dresses cost north of $50,000) by women, who get to exercise their most escapist fantasies. At its worst, it’s an idiotic tale in which four potentially bright women make fools of themselves by behaving like girls half their age.
It’s time to put the franchise to sleep. For the record: Kristin Davis is 43, Cynthia Nixon 44, Sarah Jessica Parker 45, and Kim Cattrall almost a decade older. May I suggest that these women are simply too old for such silly adventures.
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