They're back, and this time... they're older.
By a completely incomprehensible turn of events, Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) and friends are invited to stay at an exclusive hotel in Abu Dhabi owned by a wealthy Sheikh. Samantha (Kim Catrall, still looking suspiciously young) is supposed to be doing some public relations work for the owner, and so the gals must experience all the luxuries and pampering they can stand. Carrie's relationship with Big has hit a rocky patch, so when she bumps into old flame Aiden at a market stall, she's got some thinking to do. Oh, and shopping, don't forget shopping.
It starts off badly, with a laughable attempt by Sarah Jessica Parker and friends to play themselves but 26 years younger. Thankfully they don't use any close-ups. To show how wonderfully enlightened they all are, they start the movie going on about 'the gays, the gays', then Carrie immediately chastises Big for referring to a gay wedding as a gay wedding.
Carrie is still trying to settle into her marriage with Big. She still wants to be hitting the clubs every night whilst he has the gall to buy a big flat screen TV so they can enjoy a couple of nights in together. Bastard. What's painfully obvious to me, a man in my 20's, is that these troubles have got nothing to do with marriage, it's because they're a couple fast approaching 50 and don't want anyone to point out how old they are. You do feel sorry for Big, the poor guy looks exhausted after a days work, but still has to go to some glamourous function with his wife, which he agrees to do with only a mild resistance.
In terms of race relations, the first movie was appalling. The only black character of note was Jennifer Hudson's personal assistant, with all the other black people huddled into one room for a scene counting down for new years. This time it's worse. I think I managed to count ONE black person in the scenes set in New York; not really what you'd call a fair reflection of such a multi-cultural society. When the girls arrive in Abu Dhabi, there is a lot more ethnic diversity, but anyone who is not white seems relegated to serving these stupid women.
It's a wish fulfillment fantasy acted out by a bunch of self-obsessed JAP's for all the lowly people who don't get offered a free weeks holiday at a $22,000 a night hotel. Saying that though, it's obvious throughout the entire movie that this is not filmed where they say it is. Abu Dhabi is one of the most instantly recognisable cities on the planet, perhaps even more so than New York City, so why claim to be set there when they can't even be bothered to use stock footage of its skyline?
This really is about the westernised raping of other cultures, which ironically Abu Dhabi is somewhat of a beacon for. Wait for the scene where Samantha throws condoms at a crowd of devout Muslim's. It's quite insulting.
There's only Charlotte who actually comes across as a decent human being, and she and Miranda provide the only passable comic moment when they get drunk at the bar together. Also, they're all meant to be these fantastically fashionable women but, I'm not lying, at one point Samantha wears a dress inspired by Ming the Merciless. And what the hell was that crown thing that Carrie wears at the wedding?
The biggest problem that this film has is the loss of its fifth character, the City. Yes, they may get the opportunity to fall off camels and make jokes at the expense of women dressed in hijab's, but without the high rises and New York City culture, the girls seem out of place.
Of course, this film is really not aimed at my gender. Like Samantha after all her Menopause creams are confiscated at the airport, the less estrogen you have in your body, the less fun you're having.
I'm struggling to decide whether I hated this film more than the first one. I don't mind the TV series; it's raunchy and clever in all the right ways, and the ladies were young enough to play the gals out on the town. However, this is a franchise now, and despite some poor box-office results I'm sure they'll all be back for a third outing. But are the ladies too old to be going on adventures like this? Well let's just say, I won't be buying the high definition Blu-Ray.
Verdict
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