‘Sex in the City 2’ Should Appease Fans
I enjoyed Sex and the City 2 about as much as any other heterosexual male possibly could; very little. Not being a fan of the television show put me at a bit of a disadvantage in terms knowing the back story at the beginning. Probably more detrimental to my viewing experience however was that I was unable to identify with its strong female characters, preventing me from being engaged by the story. Even if it failed to hook me though, the film seems like a satisfying outing for fans of the series because it has got all the things that made the television show popular: designer clothes, lavish spending, dirty puns, and yes, sex.
At the opening of the movie, Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) has been married to Mr. Big (Christopher Noth), for a year, and as they hit some bumps in the road, she starts to worry that things will easily become boring for them. Charlotte (Kristen Davis) is struggling with insecurity about her marriage, while Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) decides to make some bold career moves after feeling under appreciated at her job. The remaining single woman Samantha (Kim Cattrall), is determined to keep menopause at bay so that she can continue feeling young.
One of Samantha’s ex-boyfriends celebrates the release of a new film that was shot in Abu Dhabi, and as the star’s former publicist, she is invited there by a wealthy businessman for an expense paid trip. Samantha agrees to the trip under the sole condition that her best female friends Carrie, Miranda, and Charlotte be allowed to join her. It’s no surprise that they all readily agree to join Samantha and before you know it, they are soaking in the decadence of Abu Dhabi.
Carrie’s loyalty to Mr. Big is further challenged by a run in with her ex Aidan (John Corbett) who is passing through the Middle East on business, Charlotte spends the whole time stressing about her family, Samantha’s outrageous behavior stirs up trouble with the conservative locals, and poor Miranda just tries to keep everyone sane. That’s about as complex as the story gets.
Fans of the series will be delighted to see the girls together again on a new adventure that has fancy clothes, dirty humor, and beautiful landscapes. They will appreciate that the film’s extravagant spending is a nice escape from the tough economic times people have been experiencing in real life. Women in the audience will continue to enjoy the emphasis in dialogue and in plot on strong feminist characters.
As an outside observer though I found the puns thrown around during the movie to be absolutely painful to hear, and the statements the film makes about feminism to be heavy-handed. Sarah Jessica Parker’s character absolutely annoyed me because she came off as a typical stereotype of a nagging wife, making mountains out of molehills. It was hard to sympathize with her point of view as a result. Despite the fact that Sex in the City 2 failed to excite me, it should still appease fans of the television show by delivering more of the same formula.