SEX AND THE CITY 2
Honestly, I had the lowest expectations for this film, given that its marketing strategy seemed to rely on little else other than glittering 2’s as far as the eye could see, not to mention books devoted solely to the fashion in the film. But I lined up anyway, and standing outside of the box office, I started chatting with the group of women in front of me about why they were there. “We’re the built in audience,” one said, “the new female power demographic.” That’s the same demo that’s made movies like The Devil Wears Prada and Mamma Mia! box office record-breakers, despite the conventional studio wisdom that says that women don’t go to the movies. These ladies were fans of the HBO series and had mixed feelings about first movie. They invited me to join them to watch the film, which I did. And, in accepting their invitation, I (quite unexpectedly) had the ultimate SATC experience. And it was good.
Look, any film that starts with a flashback to June of 1986 (the year I graduated from NYU, by the way) and the clothes we wore back then was going to have me. From that to the very first big set-piece (a “can-this-wedding-get-any-gayer” gay wedding starring Liza Minnelli amidst a white-tuxedoed gay men’s chorus), the film immediately set the right tone – glorious excessive melodramatic camp. This makes the SATC movies – especially this one – somewhat of a departure from the television show. They’ve got a bigger canvas to explode on, and the choice was made to go full Cecil B. DeMille this time.
Speaking of Cecil B., the action of Sex and the City 2 largely takes place outside of “the city.” Once everyone’s life is established, two years from where the first film left off, the action moves to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. Samantha (Kim Cattrall) has a client who has provided a luxurious all-expenses-paid trip to his palace hotel that he wants her to rep. She makes it contingent upon bringing the girls. So, Charlotte (Kristin Davis) leaves her two kids with the voluptuously braless nanny, Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) quits her miserable law firm, and Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) escapes the fears of boring married life, brought on by old black and white movies and take-out.
I can’t believe I’m writing this, as someone who has been pining for New York for the past twenty years, but once the characters are all untethered from the film’s New York locale, the film goes bonkers. It’s reminiscent of the Absolutely Fabulous “Morrocco” episode, where bad girls are let loose in a seductive, yet alien environment. It’s all nice at first – a suite with individual handsome butlers, four separate cars, drivers and more. But soon, they bump up against the “no-place-like-home” syndrome. And, after some soul bearing (“this is my life, I have to grow up and deal with it”), they can go back.
I liked the first film. But, it felt like it was figuring out how to translate from TV to big screen; and the story with Big had already been played out over so many years that it felt slightly stale. This time, however, John (Chris Noth) is the grown-up, and we’re back in the position of exploring our own commitment problems through Carrie – always more interesting to me, anyway. There’s plenty to complain about in the movie – lots of fashion-posing moments, maybe a little more gratuitous beefcake than is needed (did I really just write that?), and I definitely would have picked a better karaoke song. Nonetheless, I liked the dopey feminist message. There was something bold about putting Sex 2 in the middle of a desert and pointing out the inherent contradictions between consumption and orthodox religion. I just hope no one has issued a fatwa against Samantha.
Sex and The City 2 is now in theaters.
Written, produced and directed by Michael Patrick King; produced by John Melfi, Sarah Jessica Parker and Darren Star; Director of Photography, John Thomas; edited by Michael Berenbaum; music by Aaron Zigman. Released by Warner Brothers.
With: Sarah Jessica Parker (Carrie Bradshaw); Kristin Davis (Charlotte York); Cynthia Nixon (Miranda Hobbes); Kim Cattrall (Samantha Jones); Chris Noth (John Preston/Mr. Big); David Eigenberg (Steve); Evan Handler (Harry); Mario Cantone (Anthony); Willie Garson (Stanford) and Liza Minnelli as herself.
By Dianne L. Brooks
