Cinema

For more movie summaries, see Kam’s Kapsules.

WE MUST HAVE DIED AND GONE TO HEAVEN!: The four friends are entering their luxurious hotel penthouse suite in Abu Dhabi for the first time. This is the beginning of their all expense paid trip that Samantha (Kim Catrall, third from left) has arranged for the foursome. Joining her are Miranda (Cynthia Nixon, far left,), Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker, second on left) and Charlotte (Kristen Davis, far right).

Sex and the City 2: Four Shallow Sirens Fly to Abu Dhabi for a Vapid Adventure

Kam Williams

Not being a female, and not having access to the original HBO series, seriously limits one’s ability to appreciate the two Sex and the City movies. Nonetheless, this critic came away feeling the same about the sequel as he did about the original screen version. The second film is set a couple of years after the end of the first movie, and again revolves around the camaraderie, carnality, and conspicuous consumption of the shallow quartet of spoiled New York women.

The story is narrated by Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) whose marriage to John James Preston (Chris Noth), aka Mr. Big, concluded the first movie. This time the fun starts at the same-sex wedding of Carrie’s friend Stanford (Willie Garson) to his chosen partner (played by Mario Cantone) who crudely announces at the reception that he plans to cheat on Stanford.

Of course, Carrie’s three BFFs (Best Friends Forever) are also at the wedding and are busy updating each other about the current state of their lives. Despite being kept in the lap of luxury by her wealthy husband, Carrie has become jaded abut the state of their current unexciting relationship. Meanwhile, attorney Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) is miserable at the law firm where she works because of her chauvinist boss, and stay-at-home mom Charlotte (Kristin Davis) is being driven crazy by her two young daughters, even though she has the help of a live-in nanny (Alice Eve). Finally, Samantha takes a daily regimen of vitamins and hormone therapies which enable her to keep her youthful looks and also to seduce a steady stream of younger men.

The plot thickens when Samantha’s PR work calls for her to fly to Abu Dhabi, an assignment she accepts on the condition that her client (Art Malik) extends the “all expenses paid” invitation to include her girlfriends. By the time the rich oil sheik agrees, Miranda has quit her job, Charlotte has caught her husband flirting with the babysitter, and Carrie has moved back into her bachelorette pad: developments which conveniently free up the schedules of the quartet for an overseas getaway.

Upon their arrival in Abu Dhabi, the four find themselves whisked away in a limousine to a penthouse suite in the exclusive Sahara Hotel where they are pampered by the staff. At this point, the movie morphs into a tasteless display of Western hedonism in which our heroines defiantly indulge themselves in activities that shock and offend the sensibilities of their Middle Eastern hosts. For example, Samantha gets arrested for having sex on the beach, Carrie shares a kiss in public with an ex-boyfriend (John Corbett), and they all go shopping in revealing outfits while making catty comments about the traditional attire of the local females who are dressed in headscarves, veils, and burkas.

A 2½ hour movie about four Ugly Americans in a foreign country.

Fair (1 star). Rated R for profanity, partial nudity, and graphic sexuality. Running time: 146 Minutes. Distributor: New Line Cinema.

For more movie summaries, see Kam’s Kapsules.

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