It’s often said that sequels are almost certain to be a let down, and I think there’s something in that, as Sex and The City even managed to let me down, one of its biggest fans.
The title in itself ‘Sex and The City’ conjures up all types of ideas about what the movie will be about, to both those who have watched the television episodes, and to those who have never set eyes on the four larger-then-life female characters that rein supreme in New York city.
However neither ‘sex’ nor the ‘city’ was seen much in the film that lasted for two and a half hours. For a large chunk of the film the girls are holidaying in Abu Dhabi in the Middle East so New York, which has been quoted by the producers as being the fifth character or the famous TV show, is sadly missed as it adds to the identity of the show.
As for ‘sex’ an equally large, important part that makes the show what it is, three of the ladies are attached and holidaying without their partners, And Samantha only has two sex scenes, an average episode normally averages sex-a-holic Samantha in about four scenes, making the sequel sadly lacking in many of its key areas, and only really succeeding is showing off high end fashion which is bizarrely set in the Middle East instead of where it belongs, New York.
We pick up with Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), Charlotte (Kristin Davis), Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) and Samantha (Kim Cattrall) two years after the events of the previous film. Carrie and Mr. Big (Chris Noth) are still figuring out married life, Charlotte is concerned about her hot Irish nanny's aversion to wearing a bra, Miranda has a new boss who doesn't respect her and Samantha is battling menopause with help from Suzanne Somers. All four of them are wealthy and have everything they ever dreamed of, yet none of them are particularly happy with their fabulous New York lives.
This movie then transcends from the mundane (living in New York) to the then utterly bizarre and frankly unbelievable Abu Dhabi. This movie has so little plot and features too many camel caravans in the desert, cheap sex innuendos and the ‘sight-but-no-action’ of tanned, muscular soccer players by the pool, so it never really explores themes in the movie that could have been promising to audiences.
The rest of the characters have personal issues to work through, but it's difficult to feel much sympathy for any of them, especially when put in the context of the oppressive society of Abu Dhabi, a country where women can be arrested for kissing in public and are expected to wear black abayas and cover their faces in public at all times (even when eating). Of course, as Samantha notes, “…it does eliminate the need for botox.”
Because of these statements Sex and the City 2 has been described by many as either racist or by others honest. I personally believe that it was not intentionally racist but just ignorant of other cultures belief systems. It was an attempt to add Samantha Jones personality to the script that was relevant to where the film was situated, but sadly the jokes fell short of being funny and were more in line with bad-taste. Samantha Jones is outrageous wherever she goes, whether it is Starbucks...or Abu Dhabi. She’s an unapologetic individual, but the jokes didn’t work in this instance.
In the end, the main lesson the characters take away from their experience is that fashion is universal whether is Abu Dhabi or New York. And the lesson the audience takes is that one Sex in the City movie was more than enough.
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