Movie Brief: Sex and the City 2

It’s been two years since we’ve first seen Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) a.k.a. Carrie Preston — now that she is married to Mr. Big (Chris Noth) a.k.a. John James Preston — and her BFFs on the big screen. And since then, much has changed.

The film begins with Carrie haling a cab while taking a stroll down memory lane, wearing a white Halston Heritage dress and gold encrusted Louboutins, and recalling how she met Charlotte (Kristin Davis), Miranda (Cynthia Nixon), and Samantha (Kim Cattrall).

Just like the first Sex and the City movie, there’s a big wedding, in this case it’s Carrie and Charlotte’s gay friends Stanley Blatch (Willie Garson) and Anthony Marentino (Mario Cantone) who are tieing the knot. For this white wedding, Broadway sensation Liza Minnelli makes a very memorable cameo, belting out her rendition of the Beyoncé tune, ‘Put a ring on it’ with dance moves included — it’s quite entertaining.

But it’s not all paradise for our girls. Each of them have hit a breaking point in their lives.

Charlotte, now a mother of two girls, Lily and Rose (who’s going through the ‘terrible twos’), is finding out her long-time wish of being a mother may be more than she can handle.

Miranda, who is still married to Steve (David Eigenberg), has become a workaholic determined to impress her condescending senior partner.

Samantha, who owns her own marketing agency, is battling the evils of mother nature. With the onset of menopause, she tries to remedy it with her special mixture of vitamins and hormone pills, vowing to stay ‘young’ forever.

Even Carrie finds something stale about her fairytale existence with the love of her life, Mr. Big. She has written her latest book called ‘I Do, Do I’, which speaks to newly married couples. Now, after only two years as Mrs. Preston, Carrie wants to add the sparkle back into what she sees as becoming a dull marriage.

Courtesy of Samantha, who lands a gig repping a very wealthy Arabic businessman she met via her ex-boyfriend Smith Jerrod (Jason Lewis), the BFFs pack up their designer gear and are off to Abu Dhabi, the second largest city in the United Arab Emirates. Once there, they are setup at a lavish hotel that looks like a royal palace and has the service to match.

On first view this chic city in the desert is a cosmopolitan paradise that the ladies dub as the “new Middle East.” But, this vacay delivers the ladies much mayhem when things start to get heated up, from Samantha’s run in with the Abu Dhabi law for her lascivious ways to Carries’s romantic encounter with ex-boyfriend Aidan Shaw (John Corbett), who describes the encounter as “the best mirage he ever saw.”

As usual, fashion plays a significant role and takes center stage in this film and we are bowled over with must-have fashions from Christian Dior and Christian Louboutin to vintage Valentino and Halston Heritage.

And, they don’t let hundreds of years of Middle Eastern fashion customs damper their style. Most amazing are their costumes for the Abu Dhabi scenes, which have a palette of vibrant hues that contrast against the clear blue skies and soft beige sand dunes of the Arabian desert. They were even able to make light of a serious issue when it comes to fashion in the Middle East specifically the wearing of burqas and hijabs by the women.

Another good element from this film is the soundtrack, which featured songs from Alicia keys, Jennifer Hudson, Leona Lewis, Cee Lo, Dido, and Liza Minnelli.

All in all, ‘Sex and the City 2’ was a must-see film for fans and die-heart fashionistas. After more than four years since the city-dwelling divas bid farewell to the small screen, they are still fun, fashionable, and friends — forever.

Release: May 27
Starring: Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon, Kim Cattrall, and Chris Noth.
Directing: Michael Patrick King
Rating: R
Runtime: 2 hrs.

NEW YORK CITY MOVIE PREMIER
The SATC cast hit the red carpet looking fabulous.

Chicly Yours,
The Chic Spy