Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Thoughts - Sex and the City 2 (In My Opinion)

(SATC the TV show)

So the other night I went and saw SATC 2 with my sisters (my two real sisters and my housemate Kirby who's pretty much been adopted by my family). I was filled with apprehension. Reviews were not kind I tell you! I thought I was about to get punched in the face with a whole load of racist jokes, musical sing-a-longs and so many bad lines: the worst bit was I knew my girls were better than that!

Truthfully I can't say I thought the movie was as bad as half of these reviews were making it out to be. It may have seemed a little patronising at times but it wasn't racist. It went for a little too long (I felt like I was in the cinema for 3 hours), lines weren't great and the laughs were cheap... BUT I think my main problem with the film was that it seemed that it was a film that was casting aside long time lovers of the television show just to appeal to new viewers who believed that the girls were only about high end fashion and sex!

That was my problem with the film. It didn't make me cry. I cried in Osmosis Jones for christ sake! Films make me cry! During the first SATC film I was in tears as soon as the opening credits began and that theme music started. That would have been hard in this film as we were only treated to about 3 seconds of the SATC music at the beginning, and instead of rolling credits with it... They played Rickie Lee! The characters all seemed like empty shells of themselves, becoming characatures of themselves so that newcommers could pick who they were. 

It also just made me angry the way that the girls/the film just fawned over popular culture. Miley Cyrus doesn't need to be in a Sex and the City film and neither does a tacky and tired dance number to All the Single Ladies (of which the only version I can appreciate is this). I admit it's a little hypocritical commenting on both of these inclusions when I'm endorsing a combination of both Disney star and Beyoncé... but while I may not be able to get over my love of the Jonas Brothers THE GIRLS ARE BETTER THAN THAT!

I started watching this show when I was 10 years old, and for 10 years it's been in important part of my life. I'd shut my eyes during the sex scenes and cringe whenever my parents would walk into the room but at the same time the movie taught me a lot about accepting myself and my body and my  and being able to feel comfortable and powerful, not despite being a woman, but because I was a woman. Sure they had amazing clothes and they lived in an amazing city and they had amazing sex, but that wasn't what made them who they were or what made them stick together. I think the film tried to emulate the bond that the girls had and tried to hone in on some of the things they've helped women accept, but I feel it fell very short of the mark. I'd probably watch it again and I'll probably buy in on DVD, but I know that if I need some advice about life or dating or if I need some guaranteed tears the film will stay on the shelf and I'll be pulling down that lovely box-set, season 1 through 6. 

2 letter(s) to the editor:

Anonymous said...

I agree, something about it wasn't quite right but it won't stop me from buying the DVD and watching it on a sooky day. I was expecting it to be a lot worse tha it was too, after all of the bitching and awful reviews but it's something I had to see because I love SATC.

natashajean said...

Haha yes I'll definitely be buying the DVD none the less! Couldn't ever say no to anything SATC!