Sex and the Sit down your in for a long ride....

Well I promised that I would see a variety of cinema both art house and Hollywood money makers. Therefore this week I have most certainly gone for the latter. It was the turn of those four women from New York in Sex and the City 2, set to be one of the biggest grossing film of the season. This was quite dramatically demonstrated to me when I went to see it in the Richmond Odeon screen 1, which was completely sold out consisting solely of women...I was already getting worried at this point.
Now here is where I would normally give a synopsis of the film, explain the initial equilibrium the characters find themselves in and then the various twists and turns the plot takes and the moral and physical journeys the characters are facing. However in this case I feel this to be almost completely unnecessary as the plot in this film seemed almost non-existent. OK, maybe this is being too cruel the film is almost 2 and a 1/2 hours after all so something must happen in it...some characters must change in some way and learn some life lessons...surely? Well, lets take a closer look. So two years have passed since the last look at these women when Carrie finally took the plunge and married 'Big'. So today in 2010 they find themselves all in fairly similar situations. It begins at a big gay wedding, something which I would never normally be averse to, but when you are quite boldly confronted with a gyrating Liza Minnelli singing Beyonce's 'All the Single Ladies' it's quite a different matter...I assure you. So that was all quite good fun for all but Carrie's getting worried her marriage is stale, and Charlotte isn't coping well with two children (and a Nannie...poor thing) Miranda isn't happy at her high powered law firm and Samantha is about to face the menopause. Well it certainly looks like these women are close to breaking point, I don't know how they're surviving...hmmm. Well Samantha comes to the rescue and whisks them all away to Abu Dahbi on and all expenses paid trip. Now the flurry of money that is hurled at this sequence is quite astonishing, private jets, private butlers, private cars, hotel rooms, swimming pools, wardrobe's...you get the picture. And they're all having a wonderful time in the sun and sand. But it couldn't really justify itself as a film if things didn't go wrong so some things do...Charlotte fears her husband is cheating, Samantha is facing hot flushes AND indecency charges when she has a little fling with a man in the hotel, Carrie meets an ex boyfriend and kisses him! (OMG) and Miranda is fine...so how will they ever get home after Carrie leaves her passport at a spice market? oh wait it's still there when they go back, thank God for that there could have been an interesting plot development there for a second. Then in my opinion the real low point in the film comes. When trying to escape the market they are taken into a little side room by a group of women, covered up in the traditional burka's, which of course the New Yorker's find shocking. But then these women reveal they in fact love fashion and toss their burka's to the side to flaunt their fabulous hair and make-up and everyone is happy. Now the thought that these women would only be interested in the materialistic culture of those women rather then embrace any of their natural heritage seems slightly odd to me. But may I'm just being too sensitive? So they all return safely to their natural habitat and everyone is forgiven and everyone is happy. I felt here that my usual discretion when revealing film ending's to be somewhat unnecessary. Another key point to bring up is that these women are just slightly too old now to be these glamorous sex kittens, I just don't think Sarah Jessica Parker's face can handle a close up. Or I can't!
Now it's not all bad to be fair, it's true that this film doesn't take itself too seriously and provides some light relief for thousands of women, and being honest I had a fun time in the cinema with my girlfriends. But that's all it is...a fun time. And I think such popular films owe it to their audience to give something more, if escapism is all it is then why do these women lead lifestyles most people could never achieve, driven almost entirely by money. And people shouldn't aspire to lead such vacuous lives, they deserve more. While these women are unquestionably strong and independent, all they want is money, sex and fashion. Is there really nothing more to a happy life? If that is the case that is a depressing thought to be faced with. I will leave you with the image that in the cinema as soon as an attractive man threw is shirt off to reveal his sweaty abs the audience spontaneously burst into applause and whooping...enough said really.
Therefore I believe this film really only deserves 4/10, for irresponsible film making...shame on you Michael Patrick King. Keep reading for next week for something completely different!