Sex and the City 2: Double take
Two writers, two totally different reactions to the new SATC. What do you think?
Two of our writers, Bobby Feingold and Besha Rodell, both attended advance screenings of Sex and the City 2 this week. And both left with completely different points of view on the film. Here are their takes. We can't help but wonder ... who do you side with?
__Sex and the City 2 divides the genders
Men are from Abu Dhabi, Women are from Venus
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
I'm so ashamed. I went into Sex and the City 2 ready to be ruthless. Even listening to the Scary Sadshaws (a term coined by blogger Emily Gould for wannabes of main character Carrie Bradshaw) seated next to me prattling about cosmos and shoes was preparing me for a painful movie experience. But something happened. After trying to appeal to all demographics with the first movie, the "Sex and the City" creators finally realized only two types of people would be seeing their film: gay men and the women who love them. Director and screenwriter Michael Patrick King created a campy free-for-all that may as well be porn for recession-era women.
The original HBO series began as a semi-realistic look at single New York City women in their 30s but soon morphed into a fairytale for ladies with an appetite for luxury. After ending in 2004, the show was edited for network TV. Soon moms were watching reruns on the WB and telling their friends that they're a Charlotte (Kristin Davis). But Charlotte is the worst character — I refuse to believe that Samantha (Kim Cattrall) would ever be friends with her — and so the first Sex and the City movie felt it had to pander to these tamer, older fans and the husbands that were supposedly dragged to the theater.
Thank God they realized no man will ever watch this movie, and if you do drag your heterosexual male significant other, it should be only for punishment purposes. The series is now a cartoon starring Botoxed female caricatures whose tight faces could snap at any moment. Like special "Scooby Doo" episodes featuring the Harlem Globetrotters or Phyllis Diller, the "Sex" girls (yes, they still call each other "girls" into their 40s) are on a wacky adventure in the Middle East. Abu-Dhabi-Doo. Even the Asshole Formerly Known as Big, now loving husband John (Chris Noth), has his hair dyed, skin fake tanned, and chest shaven.__