Check your testosterone at the door.
As a Star Wars fan I’m used to standing in long lines at midnight to see a movie. However, usually when I’m in those lines I’m surrounded by Jedis, Stormtroopers and Vaders. Instead, waiting in line last night to see SATC2, I was surrounded by pink fedora’s with matching vest and shoes and other extravagant high fashion. I’m also pretty sure I was the only straight male in line.
Well, Carrie Bradshaw, excuse me, Mrs. Carrie Preston is back with her gal pals for another fabulous fun romp through the world of relationships and high fashion. The film opens with the exorbitantly over the top wedding if the girls two gay BFF’s (Stanford and Anthony), complete with Liza Minnelli marrying the two and singing Beyonce’s “Single Ladies.” (Not only was everyone in the film screaming about this, so was the audience.) After that we’re given a glimpse to the lives of the four women and what troubles they seem to be having now. Carrie is worried her marriage to Mr. Big is getting dull, Samantha is fighting off menopause, Miranda is dealing with a chauvinistic boss that doesn’t appreciate her and Charlotte is worried about the way her husband keeps looking at their super hot no bra wearing Irish nanny.
Finally, about half way through this nearly two and half hour trip through extravagance, Samantha gets invited to stay at a luxurious resort in Abu Dhabi and she invites her friends along for the ride. This section of the film feels more like an episode of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous rather than a film. I kept waiting for Robin Leech to replace Carrie’s narration. It’s very pretty to look at but not much happens. Though they do spend a whole lot of time pointing out how oppressed the women of the middle east are and poke fun at it as often as possible usually through Samantha’s sexploits.
In fact, the biggest problem with film is the utter lack of plot. There is nothing at stake. What little trials and tribulations that do come up are easily solved. You’d think losing your passport, kissing your ex (Aidan) or getting arrested for having sex in public would create a more dire situation. But no, each of these things has a very quick and easy solution. Now I’m not totally opposed to plotless films (I am a huge Jim Jarmusch fan after all), but at almost two and half hours, I felt like it needed more than pretty clothes and scenery to carry it through.
I’ll give writer/director Michael Patrick King one thing; he certainly knows his audience. He knows what they like and he knows what to give them. From the gay wedding with Liza to the slow motion shirtless soccer team at the pool in Abu Dhabi, the whole audience was hooting and hollering the whole time. This may not be a film for everyone, but it certainly has its audience and they are as hard core as any sci-fi geek I’ve ever met.
Director: Michael Patrick King
Notable Cast: Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon, Chris Noth, John Corbett and Liza Minelli
