SATC 2: Where's the sparkle?
by Michelle Miles
Today, I was going to talk about LOST but CJ beat me to it and said everything I was going to say. :) (Go read her post - it's excellent!) So instead of writing about LOST (which was by far some of the best television I’d ever seen – I will miss it!), I’m writing about the new Sex and the City movie.
I’m a huge fan of the series. I watched it on HBO when it was on years ago and then bought the entire boxed set. I still watch some of my favorite episodes and sometimes I get on a kick where I sit and watch the show for eight hours. It’s full of humor and fun. I felt, as a 30-something woman, I could relate to most of the dilemmas the girls faced with their men.
I was thoroughly ecstatic when the first movie came out a couple of years ago. The fashion and the fun were back! And it didn’t disappoint. It was a great chick-flick, an awesome girlfriend movie. And I dragged my boyfriend to see it with me. Even he laughed out loud during it.
So when the second movie came out, I couldn’t wait to see it. It happened to come out on my birthday so as a gift, the Man bought tickets. We saw it Friday night.
I have a lot of complaints about the movie. The first half hour dragged like crazy and I’m not even sure what the point of the entire Stanford-Anthony wedding was all about. It’s never mentioned again in the storyline and feels like a huge plot device to prove to the viewer Big and Carrie are falling into the “boring old married couple with no children” category. That category theme continues with Big coming home with take-out and wanting to cuddle with Carrie on the couch in front of the TV. It made me have a big (no pun) “so what” moment. Miranda’s character was completely different and not like the hard-edged lawyer-type we’d come to love over the entire series. Samantha experiences hot flashes and Charlotte is an over-whelmed mom (with a nanny).
I liked several moments of the movie, which did make me laugh. The fashion was excellent, as always. Watch for the glittery Christian Louboutin shoes Carrie wears in the opening (with her white dress). Also in the opening, a mini-flashback of what the gals looked like when they first forged their friendships. It's a hoot, especially Samantha!
For the most part, though, I was let down. And it just wouldn’t end! It dragged on and on, clocking in at 2 1/2 hours. Really? They should have cut at least 45 minutes and they could have told a more effective story. Carrie even puts herself back into those sticky situations we saw her do in her much-younger self on the show when she was torn between Aiden and Big. Hasn’t that been done? Hasn’t she learned those lessons by now?
Overall, the movie was a disappointment for me, which is a shame since we spent a small fortune on tickets and concession. Do yourself a favor: save your money for the rental or the Netflix. You’ll be glad you did.
Today, I was going to talk about LOST but CJ beat me to it and said everything I was going to say. :) (Go read her post - it's excellent!) So instead of writing about LOST (which was by far some of the best television I’d ever seen – I will miss it!), I’m writing about the new Sex and the City movie.I’m a huge fan of the series. I watched it on HBO when it was on years ago and then bought the entire boxed set. I still watch some of my favorite episodes and sometimes I get on a kick where I sit and watch the show for eight hours. It’s full of humor and fun. I felt, as a 30-something woman, I could relate to most of the dilemmas the girls faced with their men.
I was thoroughly ecstatic when the first movie came out a couple of years ago. The fashion and the fun were back! And it didn’t disappoint. It was a great chick-flick, an awesome girlfriend movie. And I dragged my boyfriend to see it with me. Even he laughed out loud during it.
So when the second movie came out, I couldn’t wait to see it. It happened to come out on my birthday so as a gift, the Man bought tickets. We saw it Friday night.
I have a lot of complaints about the movie. The first half hour dragged like crazy and I’m not even sure what the point of the entire Stanford-Anthony wedding was all about. It’s never mentioned again in the storyline and feels like a huge plot device to prove to the viewer Big and Carrie are falling into the “boring old married couple with no children” category. That category theme continues with Big coming home with take-out and wanting to cuddle with Carrie on the couch in front of the TV. It made me have a big (no pun) “so what” moment. Miranda’s character was completely different and not like the hard-edged lawyer-type we’d come to love over the entire series. Samantha experiences hot flashes and Charlotte is an over-whelmed mom (with a nanny).
I liked several moments of the movie, which did make me laugh. The fashion was excellent, as always. Watch for the glittery Christian Louboutin shoes Carrie wears in the opening (with her white dress). Also in the opening, a mini-flashback of what the gals looked like when they first forged their friendships. It's a hoot, especially Samantha!For the most part, though, I was let down. And it just wouldn’t end! It dragged on and on, clocking in at 2 1/2 hours. Really? They should have cut at least 45 minutes and they could have told a more effective story. Carrie even puts herself back into those sticky situations we saw her do in her much-younger self on the show when she was torn between Aiden and Big. Hasn’t that been done? Hasn’t she learned those lessons by now?
Overall, the movie was a disappointment for me, which is a shame since we spent a small fortune on tickets and concession. Do yourself a favor: save your money for the rental or the Netflix. You’ll be glad you did.
Michelle Miles writes books, loves movies, buys shoes and drinks coffee. Read more about her current published work at her website at http://www.michellemiles.net/.
I know my mom's disappointed - she can already tell it's flopping, and she loved that show and the first movie. So she won't be going.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I've read and heard it doesn't seem worth watching. Frankly I thought they dealt with all the stories in the series as well - so the first movie was superfluous. It was fun to see the girls together again but the story line was redundant and sounds like this one is even more derivative. What I like the most about the girls is their interaction - their chats over meals and "walks and talks" and we all love the fashion - so why not do a "documentary" about these four women - go back to what Season 1 was like - although it didn't quite work that well back then - but now that we know and love these women - why not make a fictional documentary about the characters - Carrie has written a best seller and someone wants to make a documentary about the former famously single girl who's now married and her friends whom she wrote so much about back in her single days - and the movie could revolve around that - but the storyline could look at how they each evaluate where they are in life - now that they are approaching middle age - looking back - are they happy with their decisions - do they have any regrets and the doc could be full of rich and wonderful conversations between the women that we all love - and it could clock in at at a tight 88 minutes leaving us wanting more. That's my two cents - it could just be a different sort of approach without rehashing the same old story line. ;) Good review!
ReplyDeleteHey, Michelle--happy belated! The movie also came out on my birthday, which means you must also be a May 27th baby!
ReplyDeleteThe movie was very long, and the beginning seemed to move a bit slowly. I liked when the girls got to Abu Dhabi. The chat Miranda and Charlotte had about motherhood was total fun, and Samantha was fun to watch as well. The movie was lacking some sparkle for sure, but I really don't know that I preferred the first one--and that's just because I really had trouble with Carrie marrying Big after he stood her up. To me, Big should have been dumped once and for all in that movie.
Jo, there were other issues for our favorite gals to deal with--like Samantha facing menopause, Carrie and Big settling into married life, Charlotte coping as a mother after having wanted to be one so badly... The script was just a bit, well, blah. Maybe if there was a bigger life issue, like a divorce or something.
I should add, I went with some girlfriends and we got dressed up...well, I definitely did! I loved Charlotte's red dress in the desert. I NEED that, as well as that fabulous necklace she was wearing. I kinda liked Miranda being a different person--totally fun and carefree once she didn't have that job monopolizing her life. I thought Carrie blew the bit with Aiden waaaaay out of proportion...heck, maybe she should have ended up in the room with him and then come to her senses. But I was alway an Aiden fan, so it was nice to see him.
ReplyDeleteI left feeling that is wasn't as good as the first, but like you said it was enjoyable. I hated Aiden in the series and I wanted to vomit when I saw him on the screen. I'd have been much happier with that gone.
ReplyDeleteSay it ain't so, Mrs. Posey! The producer said that people kept asking about Adien, wanted to see him in the film, and that's why they put him in. I think in fantasy, Big is ideal, but in real life women are better off with an Aiden!
ReplyDelete