Sex and the City 2

A lot of people exercise their brains with puzzles found in the newspaper. Sudoku is a prime example. The variety published by a typical paper can usually be solved in less than 5 minutes, or at least that's been my experience with them. The goal for me was to grab an issue of The Kansan, take a seat in class, and have the Sudoku finished before learning was to commence. I didn't have class every day, so when I didn't need the Sudoku I kept the paper. A small pile sits next to me as I type this review. I never got to working a single puzzle after graduating; I found that writing and talking about movies was a more suitable exercise for me. It seems that the worse the movie in question, the more mistakes there are to find. For that reason alone, Sex and the City 2 is a good brain teaser.

The adventure begins when Carrie Preston (Sarah Jessica Parker) and friends Miranda (Cynthia Nixon), Charlotte (Kristin Davis), and Samantha (Kim Cattrall) attending the wedding of their best gay friends. Since this is based on a long running TV series, I'm sure fans of the show found more significance to the scene than I did. In my eyes it was the most logical way to present Liza Minnelli as herself singing Beyoncé's "Single Ladies". It's a scene that can't be unseen, and I knew instantly that it would haunt me for the rest of the summer. Everyone at the wedding makes Carrie feel bored with her life now that she's settled down with Mr. Big (Chris Noth). The most bizarre way this is accomplished is by having a random couple tell them they will be lonely if they don't have children. Then wouldn't you know it, something ridiculous happens and the girls get flown to Abu Dhabi where they are treated like royalty all because some sheik wants Samantha work a PR campaign for his property. But don't worry, our leading ladies forget about any logical objective and proceed to flaunt what they got in the desert.

I realize this movie didn't have me in mind when it was created. This is my first experience with the girls of Sex and the City and from what I gathered I can see why an hour-long TV program running on premium cable would be a hit. These girls are rude, and vulgar, but they play off of each other like champs. When they are seated at a table gossiping is when Sex and the City 2 shows any hint of a shine. The problems then smudge that polish.

I've never seen so many costume changes. I'm convinced it's the driving point behind the narrative. Every scene is constructed to show what Carrie and the girls can put on then lead to another situation for them to dress up. No movie should be so shallow, and even worse they look flammable and toxic. I wasn't sure if the running gag is that Carrie doesn't know she looks like a low rent streetwalker, there's a sign of trouble if ever there was one.

No care is shown with the characters. Samantha sleeps with absolutely any guy regardless of the situation, and the outcome is too much to stomach. Miranda has a subplot about needing to balance work and family which gets lost in a sea of plunging necklines. Charlotte frets about her husband cheating on her with their nanny every 10 minutes. Lastly, Carrie is simply too selfish to be likable. She has a husband who seems to be doing a fantastic job by everyone else's standards. To her, he needs to do more and this sets her up for a lamebrain, and oddly predictable, encounter with an old flame.

The wanton excess of this movie leaves no doubt as to why the world hates us. Sex and the City 2 is a better terrorist motivational tool than it is an enjoyable time at the theatre. These girls are easily living the life in New York before the film takes its sweet time to send them to the Middle East where everything is ratcheted up to 11. They each get a personal Maybach 62 S so they can be chaffered to and from locations where they can offend locals and change clothes. There's an occasionally clever line but that won't vindicate watching it.

WARNING: a few *small* spoilers.

The previous review says it all - but I still feel it necessary to add my two cents.

I, too, was a huge fan of the series...if only because the characters were interesting, and it was so refreshing to listen to realistic female characters discuss taboo topics such as sex.

I forced myself to watch the first movie. That was bad. This one...even worse. The characters have become utterly superficial, materialistic (in a way that's practically nauseating given the current state of the economy) - and completely 2 dimensional. The writing - cartoony and juvenile. Honestly, Carrie's the worst - the way the character acted in the film, I would personally have recommended that Mr. Big file for divorce. (Complaining because he wants to stay home and watch movies together, then forcing him to leave a party--that she dragged him to--early because he had a conversation with another woman?) Jeez.

As for Samantha - that character's gone completely over the top - sex crazed in a way that went way past racy and into plain vulgar.

Combine that with the incongruity of throwing the characters into a completely unrealistic situation (heading to Abu Dahbi?), and then disrespect that they show to Arab culture....well, this movie COULD NOT have been worse. Thank goodness that there's no way they'll make STC3. At least, I really, really hope not. How this ever could have been green lighted for production is totally beyond my comprehension.

I watched the first film as someone who had only ever casually watched the show and didn't really care to do more than that. The first film didn't get the wit of the show but did try to have a bit of substance to it in some regards, even if it didn't work. The second film feels like someone has taken the decision that this should be more of an "event" than a film so instead of worrying too much about story and characters, what we should have is just an endless OTT parade of wealth. Very much like the wedding that opens it, the film is constantly excessive, gaudy and unnecessary. Some will love it for this as some sort of guilty pleasure but I'm not sure if it is what fans or casual viewers will warm to.

My understanding of the show was that, while it did have the wealthy and free of the NYC fashion world as its main characters, it did keep itself connected to reality for the majority of viewers so that, while some of it was big city fantasy, it did still have a realism and wit in regards friendships and relationships that viewers could relate to. There is none of that in this film, instead the characters (themselves living in comfort and wealth) are granted access to a world of extreme luxury that takes them far from reality and makes them pretty unlikeable and patronising for the majority of the time. In terms of plot there is not a lot going on. Each character has their own little thread and mostly they amount to very little since the majority of the time is spent with them enjoying their luxury. There are some smaller moments of potential (Miranda and Charlotte being honest about motherhood with one another) that are good but they are lost in the luxury and the long run time as our characters just run from one glamorous location to another.

Anything that is close to a plot is handled badly whether it be a device or a relationship theme. The loss of Carrie's passport is "put out there" in the middle of the film only to be resolved within seconds and used for a terribly pointless conclusion. Her relationship quandary (about not seeing her husband a few days a week) is nonsense (since she has issues with it the day before jetting off for weeks) and is also discussed in the most patronising way, with Carrie drawing from the example of her private butler having joy in only seeing his wife once a month (missing that he can only do this because he has to work all the time, serving people like Carrie, as opposed to it being a relationship choice). The thing about the nanny goes nowhere and is resolved with a piece of throwaway titillation (excuse the pun) that is as vapid as the character.

Although the majority of viewers will not be offended by it, it has to be said that SaTC2 is an incredibly insensitive film considering where it was made. In principle I have no issue with the "these women are just like us" message but when it is made in as clunky and unrealistic manner as it is in this film then it is hard not to scoff at it. Likewise the constant suggestion that the women of the Middle East are oppressed is badly done and only made worse by having Western "liberation" "celebrated" by having Samantha wearing a revealing outfit, simulate sexual intercourse in a crowd of men heading to morning prayers – I'm really not sure what part of that scene was not designed to cause religious offense.

The cast go with it but outside of the brief moments some of them get to be characters (eg discussing motherhood) none of them do anything of note. Much has been said of Parker's looks that is unfair and irrelevant to the film – her job as an actress is not to physically appeal to the viewer. However, it is hard to overlook this aspect when the film spends so much time troweling her in makeup to the point where she looks ridiculous. Her narration musings are so superficial that her delivery only sounds the same. Cattrall tries to be the Samantha she always was but it doesn't work and the material misses the chance to do anything smart or progressive with her; she is also hurt by having the lions' share of the culturally and religiously insensitive material and having to sell it as her being "right". Davis and Nixon have even less to do than these two, which is a shame because they both come over as the more natural and realistic of the four. The male cast are again mostly plot devices, although I thought that Noth's Big was a better character than normal – although maybe I just felt sorry for his situation here? SaTC2 doesn't have the decency to be a car-crash of a film, the sort of thing that you watch aghast, but nor is it any good whatsoever. It is gaudy, superficial, overlong, offensive, and full of missed potential and bad ideas. Removed from the City of the title and placed into a world of extreme opulence the film also pushes the fantasy so far that it prevents any meaningful connection for the casual viewer (which the show used to be able to do). I doubt that even fans of the show will be happy with this film.

After seeing the first Sex and the City movie, and finding it OKAY, I decided to take a stab at the second film. I am a huge fan of the HBO series, so i was naturally excited...

THE GOOD: Yes, there were some funny moments, and some nice things to look at (clothes, design, men). I liked most of the music choices, and I did enjoy the first 20 minutes or so of the film because it seemed as though it would be building up to something interesting, but just these few things alone could not have made a good enough movie for one of the best shows to ever air on television.

THE BAD: This movie had a lot of downfalls. Lets start with the plot (or lack there of). The audience was treated to four women that constantly complained about their "problems". I am not saying that their issues were not legitimate to regular women, but they did not present these issues in a way that would create an interesting plot..they were just seemingly simple problems that were over dramatized and annoying to listen to (lackluster marriage, boring job, declining hormones, having children...) In the middle of these "problems" we get to see how rich they are with their maids/nannys, change of expensive clothes every 4 minutes and fancy homes. All these things made it hard to sympathize with them. Yes, in the show we saw their lavish lifestyle, but this film was rubbing it in the audience's face, and it was a main part of the "storyline" when it really shouldn't have been. (plus, a lot of the clothing choices were NOT good)

It seemed as though they threw in the idea of going to Abu Dhabi just to make things interesting, but it just made things worse. I felt as though there was a mocking/ undermining quality to the way they portrayed middle eastern customs... But more importantly (to me) is the fact that when i think of the show and its title "Sex in the CITY" I think of that city as NYC, NOT Abu Dhabi (really, what were they thinking?)

Overall, i felt like this was a poorly executed film that had little resemblance to the show... I feel cheated.

My sister and I were so excited about going to this movie. With the recession, the loss of jobs and general pessimism of late - the thought of dressing up, drinking cocktails and watching a great movie in the company of a whole room full of women like us was excellent. We desperately wanted to love the movie.

Initially, everyone seemed to be in good form – a bit of a cheer when Mr. Big came on screen; gasps and giggles in response to the first few jokes….then uncomfortable silence. My sister squirmed in the seat beside me through the horrible 'I am woman' song. Having visited the Middle East myself (and enjoyed the cultural experience and friendly people; albeit with a different outlook on life) I was pretty appalled at the blatant lack of propriety exercised by the four.

I have to admit when the movie ended, all the women around me turned to each other and said it was 'great' – I don't think we were ready to admit that it was possibly the biggest disappointment ever. My sister and I had planned to talk about the outfits and scenarios after…we completely avoided the topic. We had all looked forward to this movie – we couldn't admit to ourselves (never mind anyone else) that it was awful.

To say I loved the original show is an understatement. As I enter my late twenties/early thirties, the reruns are even more relevant. The characters in the show discussed sexuality in a fresh, exciting way. They were women you could look up to – intelligent, confident, self-assured. They bear zero resemblance to the four self-indulgent, disrespectful, two dimensional creatures I had to watch.

I doubt any fan will take my advice and not go – I would have ignored it myself. The movie seems to symbolise everything that has gone wrong lately – by blindly pursuing materialism we lose what's really important. This movie spells that out – and leaves you feeling ashamed for having loved them so much in the first place. Having said that, I watched an episode in the series a night later and realised that, actually, I'm not an idiot – they used to discuss interesting, relevant issues – just in fabulous clothes.

As an aside, I spent an hour with my sister getting all dressed up to go, two hours chatting to her before we watched the horror show and four hours after dancing our socks off. Maybe the fact that was the best part means I have my priorities right after all.