“Sex and the City 2” is a humorless movie about horrible people who react so idiotically it’s a shock the filmmakers couldn’t create a few laughs. But the characters’ “problems” and reactions to their issues is so ridiculous the movie might induce more headaches than giggle fits.
The sequel picks up two years after the first movie and follows Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), Samantha (Kim Cattrall), Charlotte (Kristin Davis) and Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) as they adjust to the changes in their lives. Carrie is obsessed over whether or not she and Mr. Big (Chris Noth) will become a boring married couple. Charlotte is having a hard time navigating motherhood, even with a full time nanny, and is worried her husband will cheat on her with the nanny. Miranda (the one who actually has a real problem) finds her job at the law firm becoming more and more demanding.
Samantha is afraid of how aging will affect her lifestyle and has become obsessed with trying to stay younger. In the midst of this, a sheikh offers Samantha and her friends a free trip to Abu Dhabi so she can devise a public relations campaign for him.
The formula for a typical, semi-enjoyable chick flick is at the core of the movie: four friends navigating “relatable” problems, shoes, clothes, beautiful scenery, an adventure in the Middle East and romance. However, while most films who follow this pattern usually at least garner some enjoyment from the audience, this movie utterly fails.
The running time for the movie is almost as long as a the sweeping epic “Avatar.” However, instead of viewers being treated to anything resembling a plot, the movie is filled with tours of hotels (broken down by private elevators and individual rooms) and shopping trips for shoes. By the second hour, the film basically becomes a tour around Abu Dhabi.
Contrived plot devices and “character moments” fill in the time between the sight seeing and shopping trips.
The emotional moments of the film are ruined by the pitiful characters. Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha aren’t nice to their families, the people around them or each other half the time.
Flawed characters make watching movies interesting, but unredeemable characters make a bad movie nausea inducing. By the time any of the characters decide to do something semi-unselfish, it’s too late to save any semblance of sympathy the viewer may have had for them at the beginning.
“Sex and the City” is seen by some as the ultimate female escapist franchise. However, the newest edition into the series may leave anyone in the audience, no matter what their gender, begging to escape the movie by the first thirty minutes.
out of 4 stars