So I kept my promise and took on Sex and the City 2 this weekend. I have to be honest, to me, Sex and the City is the kind of film (good or bad) that defines the difference between a romantic chic flic and a feminist “girl-power” film. There is absolutely no reason for a man to be in a theatre showing this film unless, in my case, obligated, or sexually challenged. This would probably explain the presence of only three males in a fairly packed cinema. I braved the first film last year and basically my opinion of this film can be cut and pasted into that film. If you enjoyed the first one, you will probably like this one… as was evident from the crowd reactions, unfortunately, I have testicles… let the groaning begin.

Michael Patrick King returns to direct the sequel to one of the decade’s most popular girlie films. The story picks up two years after the first film. Carrie and Big are married, Charlotte is having kid problems, Miranda is having work problems, and Samantha is fighting menopause. For a grand opening this time, we start with a very flamboyant gay wedding (between Anthony and Stanford) with Liza Minnelli delivering the service and of course offering up the entertainment…. a very painful cover of Beyonce’s All The Single Ladies… the entire song… shot like a music video. I’m not a fan of Liza Minnellis, so it was at this point that I knew I was in for a very long ride… not unlike getting my bare ass dragged across rough pavement for two and a half hours… I have never felt this, but watching this movie makes me think thats what it would feel like.

So, they’re not getting any younger and Sarah Jessica Parker is really starting to show her age, in some scenes looking older than Kim Cattrall (almost a 10 year age difference). The fashions are over the top, frumpy and in some cases laughable. Parker, Davis, and Nixon all play characters that really advocate never getting married… at least to selfish, self absorbed, debutantes. The men in the movie came across more like whipped lap dogs. On the other hand, Kim Cattrall offers up all of the comic relief, even stealing a few laughs from me. Her sexual escapades were the highlight of my time spent with this movie. Overall though, I think one of the main problems I have with this film is the lack of growth between any of the characters. They all still act like they’re in their 30s, where it’s all about the party. They’re dealing with the same bullshit problems they were dealing with in the last film.

I have to say of all the characters, I actually found myself really disliking Carrie (Parker). It’s evident that she married Big cuz it seems like the thing to do, but she doesn’t want to adapt to married life. Big is supportive when needed and pampers the shit out of her. All he wants is to come home, kick off his shoes a few nights a week, and relax in front of the TV. But unlesss they’re doing what Carrie wants, tantrums will ensue. There’s a point when she asks Big if she’s being a bitch wife, and he held silent. A more realistic response would have been, “if you didn’t want to get married than maybe you shouldn’t have put me through all the bullshit games from the first two and a half hour movie, and just not married me… and for the record yeah, you’re a total bitch… I’ll have the divorce papers drawn up tomorrow… oh, and I bought you a tub of wrinkle cream at the Cosco!”

Anyways, to get back to the point… no, I didn’t like Sex In The City 2. It was over indulgent, silly, and about two and a half hours too long.

For my girlfriend’s sake I will add this, she enjoyed it. The closest experience I can use to relate to this is, I will go to any Star Trek movie, good or bad, just to see my favorite characters together again. To women, seeing Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda, and Samantha back on the big screen is the same feeling we fanboys get when we see Kirk, Spock, Bones, and Scotty warping across the universe… I think… without the spaceships, cool stories, special effects… and klingons!

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