Sex And The City 2: Movie Review

Sex And The City 2: Movie Review

Sex And The City 2
Rating: 4/10; but 6/10 for the chick flick film sector
Cast: Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon, Chris Noth
Director: Michael Patrick King
Ok, so let's get the reviewer disclaimer out of the way.
I am not the target market for the Sex And The City gals. Furthermore, what I know about fashion could be written in very large letters on a very small postage stamp.
What I say about this film won't stop quite a few of the female persuasion gathering up their friends and heading out for a girl's night out - and I'm comfortable with that.
So back to the film itself - it's two years after Carrie (SJP) married Chris Noth's Mr Big and the gang all reunite for their friend Stanford's wedding. Kristin Davis' Charlotte is now a full time mum, getting by with the help of her Irish nanny (Alice Eve); Cynthia Nixon's Miranda is getting no respect from her legal career and putting her family second; and Samantha (Kim Cattrall) is struggling to fight off the menopause and clinging on to her ways of cougardom.
But at the wedding, events conspire to put doubts in all of their minds - neurotic Charlotte starts to worry that her nanny will steal her husband; Miranda worries that her job is going to cost her her life; and Carrie starts to question whether life with Big is as perfect as she expected and that his stay at home lifestyle isn't truly what she wants.
So, Samantha comes to the rescue and offers the girls an all expenses paid trip to Abu Dhabi - and with each of them trying to avoid something in their life, they head there for sand, sun and sex. (Well, some of them)
But things are further complicated for Carrie when she bumps into former flame Aidan (John Corbett) and old feelings are stirred up for the one who got away...
As I've already explained, this film will appeal to a certain section and is review proof - and I knew that as I went in - but it's fair to say Sex And The City 2 will prove a crippling disappointment to fans of the series.
With a series of very humdrum moments, predictable rows and kitchen sink dramas, it's clearly not meant to be anything substantial but I have a feeling it may have detracted a little from the magical escapism and some of the characters with whom many have an affinity.
Granted, each of the girls is given a story which makes them identifiable to the audience (though I find it hard to have sympathy for Carrie whose main complaint is she's turning into Mrs Married), it becomes more about escalating farce -particularly the scenes in Abu Dhabi in the final section of the film.
But much like some of the fashion in the film, it's more about style than substance.
And talking of the fashion, there's plenty of it on display. In terms of spectacle, this is a post-recession opulence fest as every extravagance is rolled out to satiate the senses. Sure, the majority of the outfits are outrageous and impractical, but isn't that half of the fun of this hyper-reality fest?
I could rail about the fact that any pretence of a plot simply goes AWOL towards the end (and minor spoiler here - the story between Aidan and Carrie is unresolved) and that also sections of the Abu Dhabi story seems to be a training video to all Americans about Muslim tolerance, but I have a feeling many will cry "So what?"
Of the main quartet, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon come off best - there's a quiet desperation and humanity about them dealing with the reality of their life as a parent; Sarah Jessica Parker does the best she can with material that makes her flouncy girly character look like a spoilt brat and Kim Cattrall hams it up in places to comic effect.
There's some quippy one liners, an amusing 80s flashback sequence and a great Liza Minnelli cameo - but it's not enough to sustain a second outing for Carrie and the gang.

At the end of the day, the real question is how fans of the girls will feel when they leave the cinema - and I have a nagging feeling that many will see this Sex And The City sequel as lacking that substantial sparkle that the last film gave them.