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Sex and the City 2 (2010)

Director: Michael Patrick King

Time Out rating

Average user rating

33 reviews

Synopsis

The girls are back in this sequel to the smash box office hit.

Movie review

From Time Out London

Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) and her fashion-conscious gal pals are back, and they’re taking the girl-power hi-jinks to a whole new level. First things first, though: the gay, gay, gay wedding of bestest friends Anthony Marantino (Mario Cantone) and Stanford Blatch (Willie Garson), where chorus boys sing ‘Sunrise, Sunset’, swans frolic among the guests, and Liza Minnelli officiates. Watching that queerest of queer icons risk her umpteenth hip replacement by performing Beyoncé’s ‘Single Ladies’ (dance moves and all!) is as suspenseful as a Hitchcock set-piece, and a difficult act to top.

So writer-director Michael Patrick King doesn’t even try. Instead, after this camp overture, we’re plunged headfirst into Carrie and friends’ familiar mock-troubled paradise: Ms Bradshaw’s relationship with the debonair Mr Big (Chris Noth) is moving further toward stifling domesticity. Neurotic mother Charlotte (Kristin Davis) is worried her braless live-in nanny has the hots for her hubby. Lawyer Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) quits her job after too many put-downs from her chauvinist boss. And Samantha (Kim Cattrall) is, well, horny as fuck. What a great time to take an all-expenses-paid trip to Abu Dhabi!

Taken in hand by this formidable foursome, the big, bad Middle East becomes a menopausal Westerner’s delight. One wrongheaded jaw-dropper follows another, from Samantha’s description of a gay manservant as ‘Paula Abdul’ to a comic climax in which the ladies escape an angry male mob by wearing hijabs and abayas given to them by like-minded Muslim women. And the featherbrained feminism the franchise specialises in reaches its apex when Carrie files her latest book, ‘I Do. Do I?’, beside Susan Sontag’s ‘Against Interpretation’. How do you say, ‘In your dreams, girlfriend’ in Arabic?

Author: Keith Uhlich

Time Out London Issue 2075: May 27 – June 2, 2010

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User reviews of this film

Lauren said...

Posted on Jul 08 2010 02:08 It should have known better. One star for being racist, ignorant, unintelligent and plain old tacky.

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Inga said...

Posted on Jun 15 2010 22:37 I absolutely loved the film. Went with 5 girlfriends and we laughed the whole way through. I must say that that I am outraged by the time out review written by Keith Uhlich.
The humour is clearly lost on him and frankly I think a film like this should be reviewed by a female critic.

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Zoe said...

Posted on Jun 11 2010 23:17 Yes, Caitlin, you were watching a different film to the rest of us. The one we saw was "Sex and the City 2", which was trite, hackneyed, and patronising (the plot direction was constantly signposted miles ahead - presumably because the director thinks the target audience is a bit thick). I’m glad you’ll be buying a box set of the series, Caitlin. While passing through HMV on Weds I noticed a pile of them untouched, and further "reduced". They should have stopped after the first series. From the way you gush, Caitlin, you sound like one of those marketing agents who come to this site to promote a film, the box set, the "import" box set, the outtakes box set, the "import" outtakes box set, etc. Yawn. Boring film.

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caitlin said...

Posted on Jun 11 2010 16:48 saw this movie at the weekend and I just want to say one thing I am not a fan of the original TV series but I loved the first movie! I thought the second was even better! (lol I'm probrably the only person who would say that judging by reviews) but anyone who says it was crap I'm sorry but where you watching a differen...t movie from me? It was funny, girly, sad in parts and overall just a great way to spend an afternoon at the cinema. I mean c'mon even my dad enjoyed it! I have to buy the sex and the city box sets now!

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Frankie said...

Posted on Jun 08 2010 22:30 It's basically a girly version of a big action blockbuster - not intended to win any awards, just give you many laughs and pretty things to look at, and frankly there's nothing wrong with that. I absolutely adored this film!

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Stacey C said...

Posted on Jun 08 2010 21:04 Come on girlys, accept this film for what it is....four womem and yes they are getting on a bit but they still have it, having a pop at men, enjoying sex and looking fabulous in all those designer frocks and shoes. Love it!!!

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Jc in Ct said...

Posted on Jun 05 2010 22:40 I am an avid fan of Sex from day one. 63 years old and still think of it. I loved, loved the movie. Laughed,cheered and cried. The first one I did not like Carries heart being broken. I closed my eyes.
This time the only thing I did not like was Carries vintage style.
Yes, she does need a bowl of ice cream at night to fill out her face. Her body is fabulous, just like her.
Start working on three.

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Celia said...

Posted on Jun 05 2010 12:56 Yep, light and frothy aptly describes this film. If you have any brain cells, leave them at home - not only will you not need them for this film, they'll be deeply insulted that they were put through this 'experience'.

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Sam(antha) said...

Posted on Jun 04 2010 22:07 FOR DEDICATED FANS ONLY. One of the papers described SJP as looking like a "skeletal transvestite" - they're not wrong - put on some weight, girl.

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JJ said...

Posted on Jun 04 2010 09:54 Saw it last night and really, really enjoyed this film! It was camp, silly, funny, frothy stuff, which entertained. It wasn't pretending to be highbrow - just a great bit of fun and it delivered on this count.

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Judy said...

Posted on Jun 03 2010 01:27 Totally disappointed in this sequel. What made the series and first movie so great was the New York setting. I missed NY terribly... no real story to this sequel, just hijinks in the Middle East.

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minnie said...

Posted on Jun 02 2010 21:40 I LOVED IT! who seriously goes to this kinda movie expecting a groundbreaking storyline??!?! it was 2 and a half hours or pure escapism and women NOT taking themselves too seriously. I'm going to see it again!

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A Gwyn said...

Posted on Jun 02 2010 01:00 I am SUCH a fan of the series and enjoyed the last film (just!). Having just watched the sequel I am bitterly disappointed. There were beautiful and funny moments - the flash back intro, Charlotte crying in the pantry, the honest exchange between two guilt-ridden mothers. This was the stuff we were looking for. However, 'moments' of brilliance are hardly sufficient in a very long film. A producer who let his own indulgence run away with him (and the film) - Liza?! Really?!! A bigoted and patronising depiction of the middle east. Hideously embarrassing moments of Carry-on style humour that would not have been out of place in a UK 1970's comedy piece a la On the Buses. The girls in burqas! What fun. Oh those silly middle easterns. CRINGE! I don't require my films to be PC - but I expect better than this. Do I want another film? Hell yes. I don't want it to end on this bum note - but girls, this really wasn't very good.

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lolz said...

Posted on Jun 01 2010 13:12 Bitterly disappointed! As a hardcore fan of the series I was gutted to see that the 5th character (i.e. New York City) hardly featured at all and the male characters were also prohibited from making an appearance for longer than 1 minute. The slap stick moments of comedy were cringeworthy and the need to shove in cameos from random celebrities was a tad desperate.

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Brandon said...

Posted on May 31 2010 23:30 my mum and auntie went to see it nd they thought it was shite :)

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