Film Review: Sex and the City 2

I recently saw Sex & the City II, and I have to admit, as amazing as the girls' (Carrie, Samantha, Miranda, Charlotte) wardrobe and hotel rooms in Abu Dhabi were, the movie as a whole wasn't spectacular. I heard on TV that over $10 million was spent on wardrobe alone. It seemed that there was more of a focus on the clothes than anything; there were clothing changes when they weren't even necessary, which made it distracting from the plot.

One scene in particular where I was like "oh, come on now" was when Miranda surprised the girls with a camel back ride followed by a picnic. First of all, even though she was surprising them, she could have at least told them to wear something comfortable so she didn't have to spend time picking out outfits, complete with matching accessories of course. Second, without even mentioning the fact that even though Miranda picked out special outfits for her and all of the girls, she still managed to chose the ugliest one for herself, it didn't make sense that the girls changed outfits right before the camel ride, then again right before their picnic. It seemed choppy when one minute they were riding camels in the middle of the desert and the next they were in totally different outfits eating in an elaborate picnic setup. Who were they trying to look good for at their picnic anyway, the scorpions in the desert?

Another aspect that was semi-disappointing that I'm sure critics have already dwelt on is the fact that despite the title "Sex and the City," neither was there much sex nor New York City in the film. The majority of the movie took place in modish Abu Dhabi. Even sex queen Samantha had to take a break from her sexcapades. It seems that in place of the staple sassy sex scenes, they were replaced by awkward and often overdone scenes. While I often agree with the saying "go big or go home," the gay wedding that started off the movie was only a preview of how overdone to expect everything. Carrie's black crown piece she wore as the "man of honor" may have been expensive, but it just made her look like a big child trying to play princess again. At least the film stayed consistent with its ridiculousness throughout. One of the ending scenes in which the girls follow a veiled Abu Dhabi woman into a back room where she and several other women disrobe to show the NYC girls their designer clothes that they wear under their veils did not make me laugh. If anything, it made me sad that the Muslim women were wearing the latest fashions by famous designers that cost thousands of dollars and no one could even see and appreciate it!

Now, a brief comment on the ladies wardrobes. Although most people said Carrie hands-down was best dressed, I personally preferred Samantha's wardrobe. Besides the black crown Carrie wore at Stanley's wedding that I didn't care for, I also did not like the poofy purple skirt with black Dior tee shirt she wore to the market, and I hated the newspaper print dress she wore on a date with Big. Ugh, fashion faux pas! My favorite of Carrie's outfits is the plain white dress shown in the opening scene and on the poster above that was literally sparkled up with her gold sparkly Louis Vuitton heels and multi-colored diamond necklace. See, sometimes less is more.

The movie has a weak plot but its strength is keeping the viewers' eyes glowing from the numerous extravagant wardrobe changes made throughout the film. I did really like its message about doing things that best fit an individual relationship rather than just following what society says is norm. To close, as much as I like how nontraditional Carrie and Big's relationship is, I also liked how Big finally put a rock on Carrie's finger even though it was a black diamond.

My film rating: 2.75/5