Fun, Frivolous, and Downright Fabulous

Sex and the City 2

Directed By: Michael Patrick King

Starring: Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, & Cynthia Nixon

Critics have not been too kind to Sex and the City 2. Now, normally, I don't pay much attention to critics or their reviews. There is only one opinion that matters to me and that is my own. I do read Roger Ebert's reviews, as his writing is simply brilliant, and I also read a little-known critic named Dustin Putnam, whose unabashed courage in reviewing is very admirable (You can visit him at http://www.themovieboy.com/). Other than that, though, I don't really give a damn. Alas, I have been fascinated by the reviews of this movie, as so many of them are packed with a venom usually reserved for remakes of old horror movies. I'm not sure why, though I would be willing to bet it could have something to do with the recent economic downturn. Critics, not surprisingly, have been hit hard, as their jobs are not, you know, crucial to the survival of our species. It must then be rather demoralizing to watch a movie like Sex and the City 2 that features characters who, though they do discuss the recession in passing, seem to have only become richer and richer since the first movie. When one character bemoans the fact that she wasn't able to sell her second apartment in Manhattan because of the housing crisis and thus must simply hold on to it for frivolous uses here and there, even I have to admit that it could be interpreted as rather insulting.

I don't think, however, that Michael Patrick King meant such scenes to be viewed as an insult. This movie, far more light-hearted than its predecessor, is escapism, pure and simple. In a world that is home to one of the worst economic crises of all-time, Sex and the City 2 is two and a half hours of glamorous extravagance. It is refreshingly fun to watch the "fab four" walk down the streets of Manhattan or across the dunes of Abu Dhabi in some of the most gorgeous clothes to ever grace the silver screen. For most fans of the Sex and the City franchise, this is the kind of life we all secretly wish we had...and the kind we watched Carrie, Samantha, Miranda, and Charlotte try to obtain for years. Now that they have accomplished all of their most wonderful dreams (Carrie is finally married, Charlotte has not one...but two children), it is time to celebrate. Certainly, there are some dramatic moments to pad the admittedly too-long runtime (Carrie is getting tired of marriage, Charlotte is frustrated by the new strains of motherhood), but that is not really what Sex and the City 2 is all about. It is about watching four best friends living out their dreams. In some ways, just by watching this movie, we get to live vicariously through them and, when viewed in the right mindset, we can forget about that expensive mortgage, the job we just lost, or the imminent foreclosure...and just spend some time with the girls.

And you know what I say to those critics who dismiss it as being insipid and fluffy? Ah, just screw 'em. This is one party they simply shouldn't have been invited to. Let's put it this way: if you are the kind of person who wants to see Sex and the City 2, then you are probably the kind of person who will enjoy it. Sorry, straight men, this means that you will probably want to let your girlfriend or wife have a night out with her girl...or gay friends. For the women who don't get a little giddy at the mere mention of Louis Vuitton or Manola Blahnik, then Iron Man 2 is most likely playing in the next theater over and, hey, it's pretty darn good too. No, Sex and the City 2 is for the fans and, being an avid fan of both the original series and the 2008 big-screen adaptation, I felt how I imagine Carrie felt when she first walked into that glamorous penthouse apartment with Mr. Big just two years ago...or when Samantha's dog ran up on Dante's dick...ahem, deck. Here's another way to know whether or not you should see this movie: did you just get those references? Did they make your heart a little warmer just at the thought of them? If not, then like I said, Iron Man 2...right next door...same ticket price. This movie knows who its target audience is and, frankly, most movie critics just don't fall into it. Trust me, I've seen their boxy pantsuits and uncoordinated socks.

Sex and the City 2 is so effective because Michael Patrick King knows what his audience wants and, more importantly, he knows how to give it to them. There are many scenes where the ladies, all once-again brilliantly played by their respective actresses, sit around and chat about sex, marriage, and their children...an added bonus: I spotted some yummy-looking cosmos too. These same women, whom we have grown to adore over the some fourteen years we have known them, also make a much-discussed journey to Abu Dhabi...a place that is apparently gorgeous to look at, but still under the same sexist chains that are wrapped around much of the Middle East. Let's just put it this way: Samantha "I've had four people in my bed" Jones does not mesh well with the Arab culture...go figure. The adventure is uproariously funny and gives the women plenty of opportunities to go all-out with Arabian-inspired fashion, but I still missed the, you know, "city" part of Sex and the City. Here's hoping that the inevitable Sex and the City 3 sticks solely to New York...because, as pretty as they are, I don't need Mexico or Abu Dhabi to be entertained by these characters. My fellow fans of Sex and the City, it's that time to grab your cosmos and your knock-off designer bags and have a night out with friends. Carrie, Miranda, Samantha, and Charlotte are back...and, regardless of the dull-as-dirt critics, are just as fabulous as ever.