movie review: (not very much) Sex

I saw Sex and the City 2 last weekend. For you.

Okay, I kind of wanted to see it. Not a lot, since I had seen several clips, and was saddened by the staleness of the puns. But a girlfriend reallllly wanted to go, and do the whole “girls’ night out” thing that very much makes me cringe. I actually liked the first movie, and have been a devout fan of the show since the beginning, back in 1998. So it is saying a lot that I was ready to pass on this event…but I’m slightly glad I didn’t.

(The rest of this post will include spoilers, so if you are looking forward to seeing this film for yourself, consider yourself warned!!!)

For all the mocking we all throw at Carrie and the girls for being slutty sluts and  terrible role models, this movie was something a little different. Amidst the over-the-top luxury and  immaturity, there were quite a few Conservative Ideals thrown in. Just as the six seasons of the show were about being single and the pursuit of the right partner, the first movie about next steps and transitions, this movie was mostly about the responsibilities of marriage/families. For everyone except Samantha, of course. But, what I realized just a few days ago (and not many reviews seem to acknowledge) is that there’s really not much sex happening in this chapter of the SATC franchise. Samantha only gets action TWICE in this movie…once at the very beginning, and once at the VERY end. Nothing for Miranda and Charlotte sex-wise, and Carrie shares an oh-so-scandalous KISS with a man who is not her husband! High drama follows in a should I/shouldn’t I tell my husband storyette, and the resolution was one which would probably make Dr. Laura proud. So yeah. Not very much sex. Shots of man-bulges at the pool, yes—lots of dirty sex scenes? No.

Miranda’s storyline fit in with the anti-misogyny theme of the film; she quits her job after telling off her woman-hating boss. Her new joy is being able to “be there” for her son at school events, things she has always missed in the past due to work (again, I think Dr. Laura would kinda love that). The usually-perfect wife and mother Charlotte is trying to cope with the day-to-day frazzled mess of raising two young children. She’s ashamed and depressed that she can’t handle it by herself and is worried that her husband is interested in their hot nanny.

All the while Carrie and Big are trying to not be boring, or something. They’re the crazy married couple who dare to not have children, and experience a moment of discrimination from complete strangers because of this. Conveniently, Samantha scores a business deal that flies all of them to Abu Dhabi as guests of a Sheikh (this scene was filmed at my favorite hangout in Lincoln Center, by the way, and you can get officially-themed SATC drinks there, too) where all the fun let’s-shock-the-Arabs hijinks occur.

Aside from a SOOOO so so so so embarrassing scene with the girls doing karaoke to “I am Woman”, it’s an okay movie. It feels long at 146 minutes, for sure, but it’s a pretty good time. The interiors are damn beautiful, it’s like an orgy of Vogue and Architectural Digest. The clothes are way fun to look at. I love it when people are shocked and horrified by something Carrie is wearing (OMG like who would WEAR that?) It’s a MOVIE, kids. It’s fashion. It’s all fantasy. No one is forcing you to put it on and wear it to church. Also, as much as I don’t like Liza Minnelli, her version of “Single Ladies” performed at the Big Gay Wedding is worth the price of admission alone.

Oh, and for boys who like cars, you get to look at a whole lot of these throughout the movie. And in case you were wondering, SATC3 may be in the works.