2010 Movie Reviews

‘Sex in the City 2’ Should Appease Fans

Sarah Jessica Parker struts in the desert wearing a flowing dress in the Sex and the City 2 poster
Sara Jessica Parker stars in Sex in the City 2

I enjoyed Sex and the City 2 about as much as any other heterosexual male possibly could; very  little. Not being a fan of the television show put me at a bit of a disadvantage in terms knowing the back story at the beginning. Probably more detrimental to my viewing experience however was that I was unable to identify with its strong female characters, preventing me from being engaged by the story. Even if it failed to hook me though, the film seems like a satisfying outing for fans of the series because it has got all the things that made the television show popular: designer clothes, lavish spending, dirty puns, and yes, sex.

At the opening of the movie, Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) has been married to Mr. Big (Christopher Noth), for a year, and as they hit some bumps in the road, she starts to worry that things will easily become boring for them. Charlotte (Kristen Davis) is struggling with insecurity about her marriage, while Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) decides to make some bold career moves after feeling under appreciated at her job. The remaining single woman Samantha (Kim Cattrall), is determined to keep menopause at bay so that she can continue feeling young.

One of Samantha’s ex-boyfriends celebrates the release of a new film that was shot in Abu Dhabi, and as the star’s former publicist, she is invited there by a wealthy businessman for an expense paid trip. Samantha agrees to the trip under the sole condition that her best female friends Carrie, Miranda, and Charlotte be allowed to join her. It’s no surprise that they all readily agree to join Samantha and before you know it, they are soaking in the decadence of Abu Dhabi.

Carrie’s loyalty to Mr. Big is further challenged by a run in with her ex Aidan (John Corbett) who is passing through the Middle East on business, Charlotte spends the whole time stressing about her family, Samantha’s outrageous behavior stirs up trouble with the conservative locals, and poor Miranda just tries to keep everyone sane. That’s about as complex as the story gets.

Fans of the series will be delighted to see the girls together again on a new adventure that has fancy clothes, dirty humor, and beautiful landscapes. They will appreciate that the film’s extravagant spending is a nice escape from the tough economic times people have been experiencing in real life.  Women in the audience will continue to enjoy the emphasis in dialogue and in plot on strong feminist characters.

As an outside observer though I found the puns thrown around during the movie to be absolutely painful to hear, and the statements the film makes about feminism to be heavy-handed. Sarah Jessica Parker’s character absolutely annoyed me because she came off as a typical stereotype of a nagging wife, making mountains out of molehills. It was hard to sympathize with her point of view as a result. Despite the fact that Sex in the City 2 failed to excite me, it should still appease fans of the television show by delivering more of the same formula.

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Evan Crean

Hello! My name is Evan Crean. By day I work for a marketing agency, but by night, I’m a film critic based in Boston, MA. Since 2009, I have written hundreds of movie reviews and celebrity interviews for Starpulse.com. I have also contributed pieces to NewEnglandFilm.com and to The Independent, as a writer and editor. I maintain an active Letterboxd account too. In addition to publishing short form work, I am a co-author of the book Your ’80s Movie Guide to Better Living, which is available on CreateSpace and Amazon. The book is the first in a series of lighthearted self-help books for film fans, which distills advice from ’80s movies on how to tackle many of life’s challenges. On top of writing, I co-host and edit the weekly film podcast Spoilerpiece Theatre with two other Boston film critics. I’m a founding member and the current treasurer for the Boston Online Film Critics Association as well. This site, Reel Recon.com, is a one-stop-shop where you can find links to all of my past and present work. Have any questions or comments after checking it out? Please feel free to email me (Evan Crean) at: ecrean AT reelrecon DOT COM .