Does Sex and the City 2 live up to the hype?
By: Tiffany M. Jones
After many stalls and delays, the girls—Carrie, Miranda, Samantha, and Charlotte—have made their way back to the silver screen once more in Sex and the City 2. Yes, fans of the series flocked to theaters over Memorial Day weekend to see the much anticipated sequel, dying to catch up on the new developments of this fabulously stylish quartet. Many guessed about what this new installment would produce. Where would Big and Carrie’s relationship go now that they were married? What new pursuits of perfection would Charlotte be chasing now that she finally had the pregnancy and birth of her baby girl? Is there enough room left to develop new drama for Steve and Miranda now that they’ve almost gone to the brink of divorce? And, what unsuspecting thing would Samantha do next? Especially, since she had already tried the extreme makeover of herself by becoming what we’d never expect: a one man woman. While the ultimate end of such a great run of drama, sex, fashion, and—let’s be honest—more sex would be devastating to imagine, it was even tougher to imagine where the story could go next. And, unfortunately, the answer is that it could not go far.
This is not to say that fans will ever tire of seeing the girls do what they do best. We can always appreciate Carrie as a fearless fashionista who thrives on melodrama, Miranda’s no-BS philosophy, Charlotte’s idealism to the point of humor, and Samantha’s wonderful ability to turn the most serious of subjects into a playground for sexual exploitation. The formula works! It’s interesting and it’s engaging. And it’s necessary for us eager, die-hard fans. If nothing else, it’s also hard to let go. Though now it may be time to do just that because Sex and the City 2, with all it’s glamour and gush, was just like a pair of Jimmy Choos, fashionaly cute, not always functional and sometimes tough to buy. (Ok, maybe only for those who can’t afford Carrie’s endless shoe budget.)
The series’ jump into cinema with the first installment, like the second, had its ups and downs. The biggest success of Sex and the City (2008) was that it answered so many questions, as the end to the HBO series left so much room for development. And, it managed to re-up in the fashion department, bringing new fashion eye-candy to the screen. Yet, it was criticized for deviating away from the series’ formula (mostly because of Samantha’s departure to L.A. and monogamous relationship, meaning less sex in the city, and the introduction of a new main character played by Jennifer Hudson, who took time away from the four we paid to see). Well, Sex and the City 2 basically exchanged one headache for the other. (Ok…they can never go wrong fashion wise—thank Goodness! ) This film has brought the real feel and flavor of the HBO show, but there is a big lapse in plot development. In short, fears of the “no-where-to-go plot” may have come true.
In fact, in some ways Carrie, who leaped light years ahead of herself in the last film, ending her single gal run and becoming Mrs. Preston, almost seems to go too retro—so much so that we come across an old page in her black book. Yes, if you’ve seen any of the movie trailers, you already know that Aidan’s back. This is definitely the writer’s attempt to try and create some new, interesting twists in the storyline. But this twist may very well be more of a predictable annoyance than anything else. Without spoiling, it’s best to just say that Aidan’s appearance is nothing more than proof that new developments were hard to come by or impossible to create. Other than the fact that Samantha has a new playground for her sexy escapades, which may be the most controversial point of the film, it’s all hand-me-downs now folks. But who’s to say that you can’t appreciate a good hand-me-down?
All in all, just like fan’s of Batman and maybe even Rocky (ok, not the best example, but you get the point), the ultimate Sex and the City enthusiast will always pray for the chance to see the next installment. And while Sex and the City 2 may not be up for grabs for any Best Screenplay awards this year, devotees will see a glimpse of what made them fall in love with the show from day one. Those four single girls, though grown up and now hot flashing.
I actually loved this movie. Yeah, the plot wasn't as dramatic as the first film, but it had huge doses of reality that I could really appreciate. The last film was more so "Happily Ever After", while this one was more so like this is the realities of marriage, motherhood, and a woman's sexuality. Most importantly, their friendships with one another was real this time around. It showed that we can hurt our friends sometimes, and still love them enough to give them our apartment when motherhood kicks their behinds. I really love their bonds with one another and I think that most women wish they had friendships like these.Great review!
Thank you Lisa for your comment! Yes, I do agree that this film was less "SATC goes Hollywood" and fantasy-filled than the first one. To me, it was more like the series in film form (if that makes any sense). I'm a TRUE fan of the series and that's who I think this film is for. Side note: I hear the next installment may be a flashback film of how they met, which really makes the movie's quick insert of their first encountner more meaningful. If this "talk" turns out to be true and such film is realized, it will be interesting to see how things play out!Thanks again Lisa (my fellow SATC lover)! 🙂