MOVIE REVIEW: SEX AND THE CITY 2 (2010)

I recognize that I am not the intended audience for this film but, since this was a major motion picture released for the consumption of the general public, I still get to hold it up to the light for examination. If you are a fan of the series, you may not want to read any further, because you may not like what I have to say. No matter how much you may love these characters, this is not a good movie. That’s not just my opinion, but also the opinion of an overwhelming majority of critics who reviewed it when it was released.

A few years after her marriage in the first movie, Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) and her gal pals Charlotte (Kristin Davis), Miranda (Cynthia Nixon), and Samantha (Kim Cattrall) find themselves in respective ruts. Carrie’s is her relationship with her husband, Charlotte’s is motherhood, Miranda’s is professional, and Samantha’s is menopause. The cure to what ails them is a change of scenery- Samantha’s PR work for a wealthy sheik opens the door for the four of them to embark on an all-expenses-paid excursion to Abu Dhabi. The ladies’ upper-class, white, American antics get them into all sorts of trouble.

Several people have defended the show and these characters to me over the years by emphasizing that the bonds of friendship are a strong central theme. My limited exposure to the show and having now seen both movies suggests to me that these characters are co-dependent friends, bordering on toxic, and unable to tackle their problems directly. I recognize the importance of having close friends, but these ladies can’t seem to solve a lot of their topical issues without getting together in a way that removes them from the issue that needs addressed. How does going halfway around the world solve marriage, family, and work problems when all of those things are left behind? Yes, space can help, but this film and series seems to suggest that lavish consumption and ignoring the rest of the world will lead you to personal epiphany.

In the first movie, the gals took off for Mexico to help all the characters reset after Carrie’s initial wedding day plans went awry. In this movie, an exotic location is once again used as a means for each of them to reset their lives, but their out-of-touch jaunt lasts longer than the Mexico getaway did in the first film. I suggest that this is because the filmmakers ran out of meaningful ideas for their characters. All of their issues could have been resolved back home, but what good is the Sex and the City brand without the razzle dazzle? The spectacle is needed to mask the fact that these ladies could have fixed most of their problems if they were better at communicating with their loved ones. What does it say about them as characters and people that they put off doing so?

Episodes of the TV show were about half an hour long. This film is as long as five episodes, essentially making this movie a binge watch session. Binge all you like, but I was ready to purge a little afterwards. The length of this film is unnecessary, as large chunks of it are lazy filler. These ladies already convey the worst of big-city materialism, but the Middle Eastern setting intended to provide laughs comes off as culturally insensitive. Much of the culture clash humor feels outdated, which is ironic because it’s the kind of thing that might feature in the old movies that Carrie’s husband wants to watch with her instead of maintaining the rounds on the New York social scene and pretending to be young. If these women are supposed to be modern, independent, and capable, then why are they written into situations that betray that supposition?

This movie hits all three of my superlatives for the rating it deserves- the characters are irritating, the story (or lack thereof) is aggravating, and the runtime tests your patience. The things the ladies work through didn’t need to be shown in a movie; they’re more suited for episodic television. The faithful fans may love to gorge on the films, but it was always going to be a reach to make these characters work in a movie. They’re perfectly suited to episodic TV and nothing more.

The first film was intended to be a grand sendoff for the characters and the series. This second (and hopefully last) installment feels every bit as excessive and needless as the materialism on display in each of the characters’ lives. It’s clear that the filmmakers don’t have friends like Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda, and Samantha, because, if they did, someone would have staged an intervention and told them this was a bad idea that shouldn’t be pursued. Friends don’t let friends make movies like Sex and the City 2.

FINAL RATING: 1.25 out of 5