Amanda FooEmilio Pucci. Christian Dior. Chanel. Christian Louboutin. Manolo Blahnik.
Why is UrbanWire tossing out brand after brand when this is supposed to be a review of Sex And The City 2, you say?
That’s because the whole Sex And The City series, with its 6 seasons, 2 movies, 1 possible prequel and 7 Emmy wins, would be nothing without fashion. Fans don’t reference scenes with what the characters did as much as they refer to them according to what shoes the characters were wearing.
This essentially tells you all that you need to know about the sequel to the first Sex And The City movie in 2008: that it’s basically a 2½-hour version of the television series from HBO, reuniting the fabulous foursome.
Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) is now Mrs. Preston and, like everyone who has ever got what they wanted, she finds that she is deeply uncomfortable with the title. Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon) finds herself hating her job as a lawyer when she has been defined by her career all these years. Charlotte York (Kristin Davis) is locked in full hysteria after noticing that her new nanny is unbelievably attractive and begins doubting the trustworthiness of her husband. Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall) has menopause, which doesn’t require any explanation.
The 4 are whisked away to Abu Dhabi (which is really Morocco because the actual city refused to allow them to film there) when Samantha has potential business. Like the James Bond movie franchise which was all about battling baddies with gadgets in exotic locales dripping with easy girls, the SATC team get to flaunt their high fashion and ogle at men in a holiday heaven with easy to look at hunks.
Before you can even say Vogue, they’re up to their usual antics. Charlotte finally admits her beautiful children are driving her insane. Miranda is fully immersing herself in the culture and rushes to cover Samantha up with every opportunity. Samantha is just as sexually free in the ultra conservative Middle East as she is in New York, and gets arrested for making out on the beach. Carrie kisses Aiden, her ex-fiancé and other Big squeeze, after bumping into him in the spice market. Has she just kissed her 2-year-old marriage goodbye?
No rocket science here.
Yes, what the women are going through are relatable. Just about every modern city woman can understand or knows someone who is facing the terror of handling a toddler, the struggle to balance career and family, the hell that is menopause and the foreign land that is marriage. And who doesn’t want a bit of unattainable escapist fun every now and then, or a glamorous travelogue with 4 old friends?
But given the 2-year wait and the big money thrown in (the sequel cost a little more than 50% more to make than the original US$65 million movie) director Michael Patrick King he seems to be making this movie for self-indulgent fun rather than earnestly trying to entertain the series’ legions of fans. When you take away all the old material, what we’re left with is just a new location.
It’s made more disappointing when you consider the mega-star cameos with the likes of Miley Cyrus, Tim Gunn of Project Runway fame, Penelope Cruz and veteran singer-actress Liza Minnelli gracing the movie.
All told, this is a movie best enjoyed when it’s released as a DVD because at least then you can pause at every other frame to drool over the fashion.
Want to know even more about the stunning foursome? Head over to CTV‘s Movie Mania to find out more!
Title: Sex And The City 2
Opens: May 27
Duration: 146 minutes
Language: English
Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Director: Michael Patrick King
Cast: Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon