sex and the city 2: hell freezes over
Saturday, June 12, 2010 at 2:00PM 
For your skin's sake, ladies, cover up!I liked it.
I can hardly believe this myself. I despise nine out of ten movies, even those everyone else adores, like the dreadful Avatar. Truth be told, I am so disdainful of popular culture (and, admittedly, have a hard time sitting still for two hours) that I don't see ten movies a year. I didn't see The Blind Side, The Hurt Locker, Precious or any of the rest of this year's Oscar-nominated movies. Given all of this, I was prepared to malign Sex and the City 2 along with everyone else.
Maybe low expectations are a good thing.
As countless reviewers have pointed out, SATC2 is a brainless paean to conspicuous consumption starring four characters who have it all but still want to complain—and I say this as a fan of the original HBO series. A truly cringeworthy moment: Over drinks in the private bar of their $22,000 a night Abu Dhabi hotel suite, swathed from $800-dye-job head to meticulously pedicured toe in designer clothing, Charlotte and Miranda—both of whom have full-time nannies—discuss the tribulations of motherhood. "How do the women without help do it?" asks Charlotte, who doesn't even work outside the home. Um, yeah, Princess; good question.
But as I registered this insipid comment, mostly I was transfixed by the gorgeous iridescent goblets from which the two were drinking. Which sums up my feelings about the movie. I abhor materialism, and yet it was fun to watch Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte sing karaoke and fall off camels and change into over-the-top outfit after over-the-top outfit. More than that—and this is probably the true reason I enjoyed SATC2—it's rare to find characters my age discussing topics that aren't necessarily Earth-shattering but are things I do relate to: Keeping marriage "sparkly," the age-appropriateness of fashion, the inexorable march of time.
Still, I do have a few minor complaints about the movie:
1. Hello, sun protection? These women were out in the middle of the desert in tank tops and shorts. I kept wanting to throw shawls over their tender, exposed flesh. No, Carrie, a turban does not count as a wide-brimmed hat.
2. Speaking of flesh, Samantha's little outburst in the spice market—"I HAVE SEX!!!!" she screams to a crowd of Muslim men as she simultaneously pantomimes the act—horrified me. It wasn't a feminist statement; it was simply crass. This ain't America, Samantha; this is Abu Dhabi (actually Morocco, but whatever). If you're going to visit a place where sex isn't discussed in public, don't discuss it in public. (I'm a prude that way. The final scene in which Samantha is safely home and getting it on on the beach also bothered me. We may live in the Land of the Free, but that doesn't mean people should feel free to have sex in public. Seriously, America, let's show some decorum.)
3. Wow, that Abu Dhabi lifestyle is something else, wasn't it? So opulent. So decadent. So made possible by America's unquenchable gluttony for foreign oil.
4. The sympathetic Muslim women in the spice market wearing designer outfits under their full-length burqas: How could those ladies not be boiling, sweaty, passing-out hot?
Despite these serious and not-so-serious issues, I thought the movie was a lot of fun. When it comes out on video, I might even see it again. And coming from me, the movie-hater, that is the highest of praise.
Reader Comments (3)
I hate to admit it, but I agree! It had some of the most cringe-worthy lines ever (Lawrence of my labia? Please!) but I really enjoyed it. I laughed out loud, loved Liza and enjoyed all the eye-candy...the clothes, the glasses/dishes/furniture/textiles, and the NY homes. (Lauren, does your place look like Carrie & Big's?)
And, again, I agree that I sort of want to see it again.
Great blog entry!
I saw all 2 .5+ hours of this movie and was transfixed by the obsession of it all..... the way over the top and why would ANYONE put them up in a $22K a night room -- and not ask HOW MUCH is this? Nothing is free and that they weren't kicked out of the country was surprising.
Women there do wear clothingn like that.. under their hijabs.. or whatever country they are in calls them. I have friends who go and do that. The way these Carrie & Samantha dressed was really poor manners and shows the Ugly American side of things..
and sex on the beach-- I call every time someone does that on the beach bec -- people don't realize that it's one big echo chamber and everyone for blocks can hear you-- and what you are doing.
by the end of the summer I will have made 20 phone calls to the police to please tell them to shut up and go home.. this isn't a hotel. though the police did ticket local residents for having sex on the beach down by the water very quietly.. they don't ticket the non-locals.
(they would make more $$ that way for the city if they did)
the part about having help.. boy do I know that one-- though at times it got interesting and sometimes I did have 2 hours of babysitting so that I coudl go to an md appt or actually have lunch with someone. live in help? not in my income bracket
As a huge SATC fan, I was very excited for the movie but I still made sure to keep my expectations low. I did like the movie but was disappointed by the way the women seemed so disconnected...very unlike the series and the first movie. Also...the climax of the movie.... it all seemed to resolve way too easily.
And they changed outfits how many times during their camel ride through the desert?? LOL! :)