Sex and the City 2

I have been out of the country for a while traveling and so I am readjusting a little bit still to my life in the US. I feel like I have so many things to blog about and yet I feel compelled to rant about something I just saw. It was so vile, so awful, that I feel like a geyser of angry adjectives about to erupt. Members, I am talking about the new Sex and the City movie or what I like to refer to as Ishtar in Heels.

I should preface this rant by informing you of what a huge fan I was of the series. The series was revolutionary for women and I say that with all sincerity. Not only did they have believable women (except for the income to wardrobe ratio) talking about things that women with close relationships actually talk about, but it was some of the most groundbreaking roles for women in television. I actually own all six complete series and they are well loved.

You might imagine that being such a huge fan of the series I couldn't wait for the first movie and you would be right. I rarely if ever see a movie on opening night but there I was in the huge cue of women in my fancy duds waiting to see Carrie and the gals in all their glamour on the big screen. I liked the first movie. I felt it was a little long but it did a good job of giving you a little more of what you want while nicely wrapping up any unanswered questions. When I heard they were making another movie I was skeptical, and with good reason. After seeing the film I am simply appalled. I have never been so embarrassed for actors in a film as I was while watching that sad excuse of a sequel.

The first hour wasn't too bad, a little boring, but it was good to see all of the characters again. The thing about the first hour or so of the film is that they are in New York and its surrounding areas. New York is and has always been the fifth character. It plays an integral role in the series. Whenever the characters leave New York, they always spiral. They are out of their element and become literal fish out of water. They can't relate to other people. They can't behave. They quite simply can't function and this is exactly when Sex and the City 2 takes a huge nose-dive. New York is a place where anything goes and when they leave the sacred, protective arms of New York and head for of all places Abu Dhabi, well let’s just say, let the cringing begin.

I watched in horror as the women go to Abu Dhabi and make complete fools of themselves. Miranda tries to embrace their new surroundings with some semblance of grace by buying some travel guides and learning the basics of Arabic. The rest of the clan might as well have read the manual on all things not to do in an Islamic country because that is exactly where the film goes. Samantha the eldest, sex-crazed character, who I always admired for her boldness, is the worst of the lot. She can’t understand why she needs to cover up her body, why she needs to tone down the sex talk, and why everyone in Abu Dhabi is so uptight about sex. In one horrible climactic scene when her bag is spilled out on the ground while surrounded by a group of Muslim Men, she explodes like a lunatic, screaming that she has sex while waving a stack of condoms in their faces. It is so offensive that I was astounded that not one of the actors or producers looked at that scene in the editing room and thought, “Hmmm, maybe we should rethink this.” Samantha is supposed to be so liberated, but she ends up looking like a crazy woman. I secretly wished someone would stone her. Or maybe I just felt like something needed to be flung because I know I sure wanted to throw something at the screen.

If the filmmakers wanted to make a feminist critique about Muslim women and their roles in modern society, then they totally missed the mark. This film did nothing but make American women look like idiots and Americans in general look like insensitive, brutish jerks. Thanks a lot Michael Patrick King for setting us back 100 years.