Sex and the City 2 - movie review

The second "Sex and the City" movie has received A LOT of bad press. The critics have been less than kind about the film. It has been percieved as a bloated, mis-directed and empty movie experience. It has been laughed at for spending more on the costume budget than anything else. It has been called an out-dated and over-ripe fruit full of lacklustre labour. And worse of all, it has been condemned for forgetting what the series was all about. And so, with less than 2stars overall, the second film version of the seminal TV series is not getting its due at the box office. And this is a shame.

I will admit that I was not in love with the first film. And I was surprised that a second film was made at all. However, the film achieves most of what it aims to do and that makes it a success. We are entering a new age of film-adapted movies and I would suggest that the regular rules no longer apply. Elements such as 'narrative arc', 'character development', and 'essence of conflict' are not as important for these types of films. And while the critics will continue to lambast a film that does not possess them, an audience will still understand.

Yes, SATC2 is missing these things but it does not matter. The audience knows these characters and so development is not the motive. The audience is there to visit "friends" they have come to love through television. It is this very thing that removes the need for a traditional narrative arc. The audience is used to experiencing the trials of Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda in an episodic fashion. So, while some might see the film as a loooong, untethered story it is, in fact, a series of five episodes put together to fulfill a larger sense of story. There is the wedding episode. The life frustration episode. The travel abroad episode. The return of the past episode. And the true love episode. Just like the television show it is Carrie's drama that propels the actions through these episodes. And for fans of the series nothing more is needed. They get to spend a couple hours with the ladies going forward on their lives. What else where we paying for?

Which brings us to the point of conflict. Much of the derision about the film rests with the relocation to Abu Dhabi for the majority of the story-telling. Director Michael Patrick King once said that New York City was the fifth central character in the show and now that quote is coming back to haunt him. If that is the case, HOW could most of the film happen somewhere else? But this is the point. NYC has become emblematic of the girls' single lives. It is the place that they searched, and fought and loved and sexed until this point and now, sadly, life is not all they hoped it would be. Miranda has made partner but work is not fulfilling and she is missing the joys in motherhood. Charlotte finally has two beautiful daughters and she is completely overwhelmed. Samantha is feeling her mojo disappear through menopause. Carrie is married and the excitement of her dating life is gone. So if the city is the fifth character then the city is in peril. It is withered. It is a testament to the past. It is everything the girls' thought they wanted until they had it. Which is why the relocation for film two is the best choice to highlight the conflicts in life and help all four ladies come to terms with it. And, for a series hell-bent on fighting the norms of women and sex in society what better location than a place that clearly represents the contrast of progress and tradition: Abu Dhabi.

The film has been scolded for poking fun at Arabian women and suggesting, inappropriately, that the American way is better. But I do not think this is the point of the film. The location is established as a mirror for the struggles of our girls who are all fighting with their own traditional challenges in the face of progress. And so, in this way, being a modern woman is evaluated in light of the long-standing roles of mother, wife and crone. New challenges for the fab four means new city. And when they return home they are able to make peace with their new roles and thus welcome the fifth character back into their hearts. And so SATC2 is not a waste of celluloid. For those women who have grown up close in age to the ladies they will be able to see what is going on with the film and they will love it. They will also love the ludicrous fashion. And the return of Aiden. And the loving moments between characters that make them cry. Really, what more do you want?